Final answer:
The Curtain Principle related to the Land Title Act describes the procedures for orderly public land transfer, with laws in 1796 and 1800 making land more accessible to settlers by reducing parcel sizes and introducing credit options.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Land Title Act included stipulations for the orderly transfer of public land to citizens, primarily through public auctions. The 1796 law established procedures following Ohio's separation from Native people. This act set the minimum parcel at 640 acres at a cost of $2 per acre. Recognizing the need to make land accessible to more settlers, the Land Law of 1800 reduced the minimum parcel size to 320 acres and introduced the option to purchase on credit.
To stimulate settlement by ordinary farmers, the government reduced barriers to land ownership by establishing local land offices in the West, offering land sales at set prices, and providing low-interest rates with a four-year payment plan. Surveyors partitioned the land into checkerboard squares, which guided the physical layout of the settlements.