Slow down, pardner. Thomas Jefferson had the U.S. Treasury write Napoleon a check for the Louisiana Purchase. Andrew Johnson had the Treasury write the czar a check for Alaska. The feds bought Florida from Spain the same way, and the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico. These lands were acquired by the federal government, with federal money. The states that were later carved out of them, in the case of the Louisiana Purchase, or organized out of them, in the case of Florida and Alaska, did not yet exist. Ignoring the Native Americans, of course, these lands were the sovereign territory of Spain, Mexico, or Russia before they were U.S. territory, and they were federal lands long before the states came into being. What is there to verify?
When I saw the posts from you and arrogantsob yesterday, I started doing some scratching. Regardless that the feds originally bought land that has now been divided into states, the question of who controls land in the USA has evidently been an issue since before the Constitution was ratified. And problems haven’t been resolved, partly because of voter apathy imo.
If you haven’t seen the 30 min. video by the late(?) Steven Pratt, please have a look. It is not conclusive imo, but does give a good idea of the ongoing conflicts of interest in state versus federal lands.
Steven Pratt, Bound by Oath to Support THIS Constitution