Did Trump Just Resurrect Lincoln’s Most Radical Idea?

Former CIA advisor says a long-lost American policy is quietly being revived—unlocking $150 trillion in national wealth

/EIN News/ -- BALTIMORE, May 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed the original Homestead Act, granting 160 acres of land to Americans willing to settle the West.

Now, over 160 years later, one former intelligence advisor says we may be witnessing a modern revival of this radical concept—only this time, it’s not farmland that’s up for grabs.

According to Jim Rickards—former advisor to the CIA, Pentagon, and U.S. Treasury—a forgotten provision in U.S. law has quietly grown into what he calls a $150 trillion “national endowment”… and for the first time in over a century, it may be opened to the public.

“For 163 years, [the government] held on to it,” Rickards says. “But thanks to a recent Supreme Court Decision, it will soon release this vast $150 trillion asset.”

A New Frontier—Without Leaving Home

Rickards draws a direct comparison between today’s unfolding events and the Homestead era of the 1800s.

“Back in 1862, President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act. Instantly granting any American citizen the right to claim 160 acres of public land for $18,” he explains.

“That $18 investment equates to around $562 today. While 160 acres of farmland is worth about $900,000.”

Mineral Wealth Buried Beneath Our Feet

The “endowment,” according to Rickards, refers to vast quantities of mineral resources—gold, copper, lithium, and more—located under federal lands. These materials are critical to everything from national defense to modern technology.

“These seemingly obscure minerals… are the building blocks of everything from NVIDIA chips to advanced military weapons… to the new ‘freedom cities’ Trump has proposed”.

Rickards says the only reason this wealth has remained locked away is due to decades of environmental regulations and bureaucratic overreach.

“To protect the ‘environment,’ they destroyed our middle class,” he argues. “They shipped our key industries overseas. Then bottled-up America’s most valuable resources.”

“We have massive mineral wealth here… but the government got in the way.”

A Legal Shift That Changes Everything

The turning point, Rickards says, came with the Supreme Court’s recent reversal of the Chevron Doctrine—a policy that gave unelected federal agencies power to block projects on public land.

“For the first time in half a century—we can go get them,” Rickards explains. “Trump’s Supreme Court overturned the Chevron Doctrine… and he’s re-opening our mineral-rich Federal Lands.”

This, he says, clears the way for Americans to finally benefit from the country’s natural resources—just as they did under Lincoln’s original Homestead Act.

“This is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Rickards says. “We’re finally unlocking our American Birthright.”

About Jim Rickards

Jim Rickards is a financial and legal strategist with a long career in national security and economic policy. He served as an advisor to the CIA and Pentagon, helped resolve the 1981 Iran Hostage Crisis, and was instrumental in crafting the 1970s Petrodollar Accord.

Rickards has testified before Congress and advised senior leaders at the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department. He currently serves as the editor of Strategic Intelligence, a research initiative tracking America’s most significant economic and geopolitical developments.

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