Federal seizure of Western goldfields in the late 1860s

[OHC]

The Mining Act of 1872 established American citizens' right to stake mineral claims on the public domain - something that had previously been ambiguous-to-illegal on the federal level despite a few decades' worth of gold rushes in the West. Recently I've come across suggestions in a few sources that Eastern politicians were unhappy with the proposal at first. This was partially because of how heavily Southerners were represented in the goldfields, but mostly because it was seen as theft from the government at a time of heavy federal debt; both Radical Republican George W. Julian and notorious copperhead Fernando Wood apparently suggested seizing gold mines as government property.

The only sources I've been able to find so far, though, are blogs that cite books I don't have access to at the moment. Was this really an idea in common circulation? Could it have succeeded (probably not; afaik the Mining Act passed comfortably)? If so, what would the results be? Given the ferocity of gold lust and frontier life in general, I could see a federal occupation of the goldfields resulting in something akin to guerrilla warfare - and at a time when a lot of the army is still tied up Reconstructing the South...

I suppose one way to make this more likely would be a failed Pacific Republic insurrection, like I've talked about on this forum before and like @TheNixonator appears to be exploring at the moment.

 

[Von Callay]

It sounds like really overheated jingoistic rhetoric from an age in love with overheated jingoistic rhetoric.

I don't doubt it could be done, physically, for the army to go to California and shoot every gold miner who won't turn over their claim, but it still demands a comprehensive solution that just taking over the mines doesn't provide. A federal gold mining agency taking over all the gold claims in the country seems like it would more or less instantly turn into a giant pit of corruption and graft to make the Whiskey Ring blush.

 

[OHC]

It sounds like really overheated jingoistic rhetoric from an age in love with overheated jingoistic rhetoric.

Almost certainly!

I don't doubt it could be done, physically, for the army to go to California and shoot every gold miner who won't turn over their claim, but it still demands a comprehensive solution that just taking over the mines doesn't provide. A federal gold mining agency taking over all the gold claims in the country seems like it would more or less instantly turn into a giant pit of corruption and graft to make the Whiskey Ring blush.

Not just the graft - I'm trying to imagine how they could possibly even operate the mines. There's probably no amount they could pay to dissuade massive theft by their workforce, and the alternative would be some sort of Spanish America style conscript labor which would be a) politically difficult to justify and b) probably result in a lot of unrest and violence.

If it worked it would allow the government a bit of control over the money supply while retaining the gold standard, which would drastically change the economic history of the nineteenth century, but yeah, I don't see how it could work in a realistic TL. But maybe in some pulpy Wild West timeline you could have either former Confederates sent down the mines as punishment, or (more cynically) emancipated Black people agitating for land reform appeased with "good government jobs" in the mines.

 

[Von Callay]

If it worked it would allow the government a bit of control over the money supply while retaining the gold standard, which would drastically change the economic history of the nineteenth century, but yeah, I don't see how it could work in a realistic TL. But maybe in some pulpy Wild West timeline you could have either former Confederates sent down the mines as punishment, or (more cynically) emancipated Black people agitating for land reform appeased with "good government jobs" in the mines.

Not either, both! That way, everyone around the mines hates them, and everyone in the mines hates each other, a perfect system.

 

[Charles EP M.]

Not either, both! That way, everyone around the mines hates them, and everyone in the mines hates each other, a perfect system.

This works great for a pulpy Wild West AH, as there's your big issue the leads have to resolve (uniting miners against their now-common foe despite generations of horror) and your secondary villain (Jefferson "Bloodhound" Beauregard, infamous war criminal who'll turn quisling rather than work with black people)

 

[Von Callay]

This works great for a pulpy Wild West AH, as there's your big issue the leads have to resolve (uniting miners against their now-common foe despite generations of horror) and your secondary villain (Jefferson "Bloodhound" Beauregard, infamous war criminal who'll turn quisling rather than work with black people)

And you can still end on a sour note, if you want, when they do manage to get together and stand up to the federal mine management and then have a whole different kind of race riot when the mine tries to replace them with Chinese laborers.

 

[OHC]

This works great for a pulpy Wild West AH, as there's your big issue the leads have to resolve (uniting miners against their now-common foe despite generations of horror) and your secondary villain (Jefferson "Bloodhound" Beauregard, infamous war criminal who'll turn quisling rather than work with black people)

And you can still end on a sour note, if you want, when they do manage to get together and stand up to the federal mine management and then have a whole different kind of race riot when the mine tries to replace them with Chinese laborers.

Something about this story (anti-government message, sympathetic Confederates but combined with Black Power) says "Heaven's Gate-style Seventies revisionist western epic"

 

[Coiler]

And of course, having the government operate the gold fields with an iron fist just turns the "able and willing to embezzle" temptation from the workers to the managers...

 

[Charles EP M.]

And you can still end on a sour note, if you want, when they do manage to get together and stand up to the federal mine management and then have a whole different kind of race riot when the mine tries to replace them with Chinese laborers.

Boom, we got the ending!

 

[Delta Force]

The whole idea seems totally nonviable because it seems like the kind of issue that could actually unify major interest groups in every corner of the country. It isn't just an issue of specie currency but an issue of business and property rights. It would also make the Sagebrush Rebellion and demands for federal cession of land occur with much greater prominence about a century earlier.

During the mid-1800s the West was politically a swing region. Seizing the goldfields would likely lead to them entering into a political alliance with the South and it wouldn't take much to make it veto proof. Assuming everything goes historically, there would be 37 states participating in Congress by mid-1870, meaning 25 senators (12.5 states) could hold up legislation in the Senate. That would only require the former Confederate senators plus 3, and the senators from Nevada would likely be willing to vote with the South due to the importance of mining (it's going to be almost a single issue state for the next century). With the admission of Colorado (historically the next state, and the last until 1889) there would be 38 states and it would take 26 senators to hold up legislation, which is exactly how many the former Confederacy plus Nevada and Colorado would have. That's assuming California and other states don't participate in the bloc for some reason.

It's likely that the bloc could expand beyond senators and states from the South and mining regions. For example, the railroads were built on land granted to them by the federal government and they would definitely fear being seized next. Since the federal government owns so much land in the West it could really stymie economic growth in the area if mining groups and railroads stay out for fear of their assets being seized. Even farmers would have concerns if they use federal land for water and grazing. That would actually make the pro-federalization bloc the one that would be most concerned with adding new states, as all states west of the Mississippi River have extensive federal land ownership.

 

[Coiler]

That would actually make the pro-federalization bloc the one that would be most concerned with adding new states, as all states west of the Mississippi River have extensive federal land ownership.

I wonder if you'd end up with more than the OTL lower 48 states. There's definitely room.

 

[OHC]

Since the federal government owns so much land in the West it could really stymie economic growth in the area if mining groups and railroads stay out for fear of their assets being seized.

This is of course a good thing in my book, lol.

But yes I think you're right, taking over the gold mines would be a political disaster if anyone (maybe a power-drunk Radical Republican administration?) really went ahead with it.

 

[Delta Force]

I wonder if you'd end up with more than the OTL lower 48 states. There's definitely room.

If any thing there might be fewer states. That would work more for the benefit of the South and also the pro-federal groups since the West is the only place with territories that can become states. The fewer states there are the more powerful those two groups are, because a historical admission of states would threaten to make the South an equal or even junior partner in the bloc, at least in the Senate.

This is of course a good thing in my book, lol.

But yes I think you're right, taking over the gold mines would be a political disaster if anyone (maybe a power-drunk Radical Republican administration?) really went ahead with it.

European banks would be hesitant to invest in the United States too. That's going to hurt not just new growth in the West but also economic recovery in the South and border states too. Then there are the implications for the petroleum industry going forwards. Canada, South America, and South Africa would likely be seeing a lot more investment to compensate.

 

[Nyvis]

Not just the graft - I'm trying to imagine how they could possibly even operate the mines. There's probably no amount they could pay to dissuade massive theft by their workforce, and the alternative would be some sort of Spanish America style conscript labor which would be a) politically difficult to justify and b) probably result in a lot of unrest and violence.

If it worked it would allow the government a bit of control over the money supply while retaining the gold standard, which would drastically change the economic history of the nineteenth century, but yeah, I don't see how it could work in a realistic TL. But maybe in some pulpy Wild West timeline you could have either former Confederates sent down the mines as punishment, or (more cynically) emancipated Black people agitating for land reform appeased with "good government jobs" in the mines.

Wouldn't they just rent the plots to private miners? This way you just have to enforce who mines where rather than try to control the work itself.