Proving Up: Domesticating Land in U.s. History

On July 9, 1920, William Krall, a coal miner in Wyoming, was shot by his neighbor in a dispute over water as he attempted to "prove up" and gain title to his homestead. Attempting to understand her grandfather's passion and determination for making his own 160 acres of land in dry, sagebrush country, Lisi Krall embarked on a unique journey through the interconnections of economy, culture, and land in the history of the United States. She tells the story of the domestication of land in the United States, a story that hinges on the market economy and the agrarian and wilderness ethos as foundational land institutions. Drawing on institutional or evolutionary economics, Proving Up explores in detail the rich and ever-changing intermingling of cultural, economic, and material conditions through American history. Untangling the complicated history of Americans' experiences with nature, Krall provides a critical focus and a timely contribution to the current debate surrounding our relationship to land and nature.

Lisi Krall is Professor of Economics at the State University of New York at Cortland.