ABSTRACT
The Reclamation Act was intended to be self-sustaining. Most of the settlers lacked the funds to repay the costs, which forced a revision of the program. This led to substantial federal subsidies.†
Many construction projects were enacted following the Reclamation Act. Among these were the Boulder Canyon Project and the Colorado River Storage Act,‡ which provided for construction of dams (the most famous of which is probably the Hoover Dam).§
This act was intended to speed up construction of small reclamation projects with some federal funding. It required that local governments secure water rights, easements, and land.
