CLAIM CLUBS

CLAIM CLUBS. Settlers could not be sure that someone else might not buy the land on which they lived. To avoid this, organized groups of squatters banded together for self-protection and claimed property before land offices were opened. These claim clubs had written constitutions, elected officers, held regular meetings, and had dues. They recorded titles to land and land transfers. (1) One man in each association was appointed to buy the land for all the members. When government officials held a public land sale, this person bought the claim of each settler. Other members of the club would not allow anyone else to bid. (2)

One of the earliest clubs, formed on June 17, 1830, met in Dubuque at the base of Jones Street. These miners had discovered potentially rich veins of LEAD and planned to hold them against other miners and speculators. As intruders on land given to Native Americans by a treaty signed in 1804, these men were later forced from their holdings by federal troops.

The first public land sales were held in Burlington and Dubuque in November 1838. The feeling of settlers at this time is found in the Wisconsin Territorial Gazette and Burlington Advertiser of September 7, 1837:

         A claim is a matter of great importance in this new territory. In 
         most instances a claim is the only home of the settler. With regard
         to them, then, this hope is entertained, first, that the general
         government will pass a preemption law, giving to the settler a
         special privilege in regard to the public land he occupies, to
         a certain extent or second, if this be not done by the general
         government that a common sense of justice and equity throughout
         the community will allow the settler to buy at the public sales
         to a reasonable extent (say a half section) without competition. (3)

What constituted a claim was also considered but never agreed to beyond local areas. The same source went on to state:

         On the claim there must be a cabin built, or five acres of land
         broken, or five acres enclosed by a good fence. This was not to
         be left unoccupied for six months at any time.  The claim shall
         be defined by marks or bounds plainly set. No person shall claim
         more than a half section and not more than a half mile fronting
         the river or prairie. (4)

Claim clubs have historically been considered as foundations of democracy on the frontier. (5) Claim associations provided a means by which squatters could register, transfer, and mortgage claims without the presence of the federal land office. The clubs promoted self-sufficiency, but often developed into powerful speculative organizations in their own right. State and territorial legislatures often validated the doctrines of the claim clubs, upholding the claims of settlers who came first and improved their land. Although speculators had considerable power on the frontier, claim club ideals—encouraging individuals to protect against outsiders—had an important influence in the Middle West. (6)

The establishment of claim clubs in frontier areas continued until about 1870. Usually these clubs lasted only a few years until federal officials took control. (7)

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Source:

1. Moeller, Hubert L. "How the Pioneers Ruled," The Des Moines Register, October 24, 1938

2. The History of Keokuk County, Iowa. Des Moines: Union Historical Company, 1880, "Claim Clubs and Club Laws. Online: http://iagenweb.org/keokuk/1880/Claimclubs.htm

3. Moeller, Hubert L. "Frontier Land Claim Associations," The Des Moines Register, December 3, 1934

4. Ibid.

5. Bogue, Allan G. "The Iowa Claim Clubs: Symbol and Substance," The Mississippi Valley Historical Review Vol. 45, No. 2 (Sep., 1958), Online: http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1902928?uid=3739664&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21103850330241

6. "Claim Clubs," Encyclopedia of American History: Expansion and Reform, 1813 to 1855, Revised Edition, vol. IV. Online: http://www.fofweb.com/History/HistRefMain.asp?iPin=EAHIV060&SID=2&DatabaseName=American+History+Online&InputText=%22claim+clubs%22&SearchStyle=&dTitle=claim+clubs&TabRecordType=Subject+Entry&BioCountPass=0&SubCountPass=2&DocCountPass=0&ImgCountPass=0&MapCountPass=0&FedCountPass=&MedCountPass=0&NewsCountPass=0&RecPosition=1&AmericanData=Set&WomenData=&AFHCData=&IndianData=&WorldData=&AncientData=&GovernmentData=

7. Ibid.