Homestead Act

The Homestead Act of 1862 was an act that U.S. citizens and immigrants opportunities to own their own land and start over in life. This act offered 160 acres of land to settlers that were willing to settle on open land west of the Mississippi River. Once the Homestead Act was passed, many people started to settle the western United States. These settlers were able to change the frontier into a large domain of farmland. The U.S. was able to protect their proprietary claims in what was known as the “Indian Territories.” However, not everyone could buy land without meeting certain criteria. The government wanted pioneers to settle west to help the U.S., but they had to take precautions. They allowed anyone who had not fought the Union to file…

The 1862 Homestead Act. A homestead bill passed the House in 1858 but was defeated by one vote in the Senate; the next year, a similar bill passed both houses but was vetoed by President James Buchanan. Before the Civil War, the southern states had regularly voted against homestead legislation because they correctly foresaw that the law would hasten the settlement of western territory, ultimately adding to the number and political influence of the free states. This opposition to the homestead…

Homesteading in Montana became a way of life in 1862, several citizens from all around fled to Montana to claim land and began farming and ranching. Although this might sound easy there were many stipulations and processes in order to make homesteading possible. From families, wives, operations and much more led into the boom. “The ready available of free or inexpensive land and the new methods of dry farming made the Montana homestead boom possible” (Malone, Roeder and Lang 238). “Three…

The 1862 Homestead Act made to measure lands accessible to homesteaders, the act specified that men and women over and within the age of 21 and single women who were the head any family and married men under and within the age of 21 who do not own over 160acres of land elsewhere were and eligible citizens or wished to become citizens of the United States were qualified to be homestead. The circulation of government lands had been a problem from the time the Revolutionary War, early…

For this essay, I will be examining the Dawes Act, the Homestead Act, and the Morrill Act. The Dawes Act, Homestead Act, and the Morrill all have similar aspects in them. During this essay, a comparison will be made between all three of these acts. Also, each act has different principles that are important to its fundamentals. Those different principles will be examined also. The Dawes Act of 1887 split up reservations held by Native American tribes into smaller units and distributed these…

Willa Cather entwines the historical dimension of the Homestead Act throughout her novel O Pioneers. Alexandra Bergson and her family must overcome many obstacles to accomplish successful farming in the Middle West. Cather uses the main character, Alexandra, to portray the great feat taken in order to continually learn how to cultivate the rugged land and make it into flourishing farmland. Alexandra followed her father’s wishes in taking care of the farm— a task that was uncertain to be…

immigrants, but they later became really successful and became a threat to Americans. Due to the language barrier and the white American fear of their increased success, they were discriminated against and had to face anti-Chinese movements that aimed to ban Chinese Employment. For example, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1883 banned Chinese immigration and made it very hard for the Chinese that were already in the U.S. to become citizens. The White Americans were afraid the Chinese workers would…

There are many factors that promoted the settlement of the American Western frontier from 1865 to 1900 including; free land for western settlers, having a railroad to connect the east with the west, and the economy, which brought a lot of immigrants over in search of work. Free land was offered to western settlers through an act that passed called The Homestead Act. The settlement of the Western frontier brought people from different racial backgrounds in hopes of free land and to work on the…

After the end of the American Civil War, the three reforms, consisting of the Homestead Act; Pacific Railway Act; and the Land-Grant Act, began to take affect strongly throughout the nation. Along with these acts came with the Industrial Revolution that took root throughout the nation, propelling the U.S. to the world stage with Great Britain, France, and the North German Confederation. With this rapid development in technology came the demand for cheap labor to operate it, and impoverished…

The Homestead Act, which became law in May of 1862, allowed any American citizen to clam 160 acres of land for free. This act opened up the opportunity for families to move west and begin settlement of Western territories. It may seem simple, but this Act made it very easy for people to move west, and quickened the settlement of the Western United States. Before the Civil War, similar acts to the Homestead Act were proposed in the government multiple times, but never passed. Oftentimes, the…