Not many people nowadays remember the name of Democratic Senator Thomas Hart Benton, but he is the very reason why the eastern states now own the large majority of their public lands. Senator Benton of Missouri, whose state at the time was 90% federally controlled for decades, spent 10 years working to get the federal government to honor the promises made to those eastern states (at the time they were considered "western states") and was finally successful in getting the ownership of public lands transferred to the respective states.

In fact, President John F. Kennedy included Thomas Hart Benton as one of eight prominent U.S. senators in his best-selling, Piltzer Prize-Winning book Profiles in Courage. And Teddy roosevelt wrote a 372-page biography of Thomas Hart Benton because of the tremendous positive influence that his tenacity had upon the well-being of our country as a whole, and the existing states in particular.

Read the third Breitbart article, published on Feb. 10, 2015, and learn how the determination of one man helped preserve the sovereignty of the existing states, as well as the ability for states to protect their lands and provide for the health, safety and welfare of their citizens. Then share it with a friend or two and do your part to help bring greater health, access, and productivity to your state and your public lands.

American Lands Council