Homestead Act of 1862
The Homestead Act was passed on May 20, 1862; this act accelerated the settlement of the western territory by granting the head of families 160 acres of surveyed public land for a fee of $30 and 5 years of continuous residence on that land. During the forty years after its passing about half a million families took advantage of the act by purchasing land trying to make a home for themselves in the vast open lands. Though the act held good intentions it was truly a hoax, making it seem better than it actually was through all the loopholes and fine print the public did not see. The Homestead Act was considered to a significant failure by examining how land was sold, attitude toward Indian reservations, and corporate greed
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The Homestead Act was considered a success by some historians; they have come to their own conclusions about the purpose of the Act. Some historians have said the Homestead Act encouraged settlers to leave their previous homes and move into areas of the United States. In The American Pageant it states, “Shattering the myth of the Great American Desert opened the gateways to the agricultural West” (Kennedy 646). Areas like the “Great American Desert” that was said to be barren and had previously not been settled this was an amazing way to expand the country and use more of the land, bringing it new hope. The Homestead Act also held hope for those who wanted a chance to start over. Before the Act, most farmers living in the east were renters who only borrowed land from larger owners, they had to pay taxes and split their gains. After the Act, there was a hope and realistic chance that small farmers could be counted among the landowners. Stated in The American Pageant, “rapid filling of empty spaces and to provide a stimulus to the family farm” (Kennedy 645), this quote refers to how the land was now for the common man not the businesses, the central focus is for the farmers and their benefits. The Homestead Act and a few other land policies were important in the encouragement of the settlement in areas like current day …show more content…
Not only were the land sales out in the west was a major problem but also the physical land held major problems for farmers. Many people bought land from the government like they were supposed to while many did not purchase the legitimate way, in The American Pageant it states, “about half a million families took advantage of the Homestead Act … Yet five times that many families purchased their lands from railroads” (Kennedy 645), the people were cheating the system. This quote is showing how the railroads were wrongfully benefiting from the West lands and how people could get around the requirements the Act stated, for example the five year limit and in those years the lands must be improved. Another problem with the land sales was that naked fraud occurred; this meant that the public lands were owned by “land-grabbing promoters” than regular farmers this was cheating the farmers and the government of proper land development. On the topic of land development a large problem with the farming life in the west was that the lands were unfit for farming. Much of the land was too hard and broke plows. The American Pageant quotes, “the tough sod had been pounded solid by millions of buffalo hooves” (Kennedy 646). This refers to how hard and compacted the ground had become. When ground is very tightly packed no moisture can enter drying out the land making it unfertile. A method of farming
The Homestead Strike During the late 1800’s, the United States went through an immense amount of growth that marked a waypoint in the country’s history, named The Industrial Revolution. This period marked a milestone in development and industry U.S., causing the nation to become the leading country in industrial production. In many ways the United States created its own “American dream”, with more individuals becoming wealthier because of this economic explosion; however, not everyone received the long end of things. Life for factory workers deemed particularly difficult, with workdays lasting up to 16 hours for 6 days a week.
Railroads replaced much slower, less efficient modes of transport with an all weather, 24 hour, year round alternative. The Railroads, in conjunction with telegraph lines, and steamships connected the nation and opened vast regions to the development of industries. Railroads, eager to sell land on the Great Plains granted to them by the government, advertised migration in conjunction with land speculators, transatlantic steamship lines and western territories. The government initiated Homestead Act allowed for the establishment of farms along the frontier, and built up the interior west which was only occupied by Natives, for it allowed 160 acres of land to anyone who was willing to farm it for five years. The Morrill Land Act allowed 140 million acres of federal lands to be sold by states to raise money for the establishment of public universities/ land grant colleges to broaden educational opportunities and foster technical and scientific expertise, thus allowing agricultural education to be available to migrants with little experience, thus opening up the prospect of western settlement to urban workers in the East.
The homesteaders used irrigation ditches to help with their production. By doing this they transformed the barren land into productive farmland. And as technology advanced more, the farming and ranching industry took its role that it still has today in Colorado’s culture. As the population in cities grew, the agricultural industry grew and so did the demands for
The changes that were seen after the act was put into law included the end of the communal holding of property by the Native Americans. They would fractionated into individual plots of property, which caused more than half of their lands to be sold off. Women were not given any land under this act, and had to be married to receive the full 160 acres offered. While the Act was supposed to help the Indians, many resisted the changes that came with individual property ownership. They thought that becoming ranchers and farmers was distasteful.
The closure of the Frontier was motivated by American Manifest Destiny, which was an American idea that America’s destiny was to expand and bring American ideals to new lands. American Manifest Destiny provided the main motivation behind the settlement of the Frontier, as Americans and their government saw the Frontier as an uncivilized, mysterious land that had the potential to be settled by the rising population present in the Eastern United States. The American Federal Government advertised and urged potential settlers to journey West and occupy the land. In addition to the advertisement, legislation passed in 1862, named the Homestead Acts offered distributions of land to applicants that committed to living on the land for a substantial amount of time. As a result, more settlers poured into the area resulting in more communities being constructed in the American Frontier, furthermore, with the construction of railroads in the 1820s-1860s connecting East to, previously, remote areas in the West, travel
Voting Crisis 3 ~ Passage of the Dawes Act and the End of the Indian Wars As Western Homesteaders, who happen to be farmers, we strongly stood behind the passage of the Dawes Act and an end to the indian wars. Our reasoning for supporting the Dawes Act was that if the land held by the native Americans was no longer affiliated by tribe, it could be privatized, which would offer us the opportunity of acquiring more land. Furthermore, a reduction of conflict between ourselves and the indians would greatly increase our quality of life, as the constant threat of raids had become a great nuisance.
“Americans settled more land in the West than they had on the entire continent in the centuries before 1870.” Expanding the western settlements was important because it brought population growth, which meant more farming leading to a booming economy. The Homestead Act was a major incentive for people to move their families to a new homeland. Passed by Abraham Lincoln in May of 1862, it provided 160 acres of federal land to people who agreed to farm, make improvements, and build a home. As long as you were 21, a United States citizen, or agreed to intend to become one, and promised to never fight against the United States or help the enemy, you could obtain land.
While their accounts provide a valuable insight in the history of the area, their insight lacks an objective outlook on the overall failure of the farming community. The history of Alderwood reflects a period of Washington state history that allowed citizens to immerse themselves back into the country lands and experience the natural landscape. While the failure to cultivate the land, as exemplified by the Alderwood Manor community, indicates that people of the early 20th century had a very poor understand of land use and ecology of the Pacific Northwest. For those fooled by the Puget Mill Company into purchasing land of poor arability, this must have been a harsh reality to admit, and may return as undocumented. Yet the record does reflect that these setters, who retained faith in the potential success of their stump lands, worked hard to produce a successful income, even if that illusion never reached its latent
It gave men and women 160 acres of land free of charge if you paid $10 to claim the land. If you cultivated for at least five years the settler could gain ownership of the land. The government encouraged citizens to move westward and live on the reservation of the Great Plains. The government did this to reduce the amount of land the
Life for the Native Americans was much harder during and after the western expansion. For example, the US took land from the Indians leading the formation of reservations, White men almost hunted the Buffalo , an important food source for the Indians, to extinction, and forced the Indians to get rid of their culture. Because of the western expansion, the area of land the Indians could occupy decreased significantly. The government would make treaties with the Indians allowing them to keep a certain area of land, but this would soon be broken ; When the Pacific Railroad Act was passed it stated that wherever a track was laid the company would own any land 200 ft surrounding the track including Indian land ; the Government would make sure that
The U.S had gained a lot of land, or frontiers in the West from Mexico. The land was undeveloped, therefore the U.S had to find a way to develop the land. The U.S would come up with the Homestead Act. The Homestead Acts states that any citizen or anyone planning to become a citizen is eligible to gain 160 acres of land, typically to form farms. The plan was intended to make the people stay in that land and create a
There were many advantages of the Louisiana Purchase such as the doubling of the size of the United States, total access to the Mississippi River and port of New Orleans, and more resourceful land to expand westward. Economic progress took place, and the more resourceful land the United States had, the more power the nation had. To encourage citizens to claim more land for homes and crops, the Homestead Act was passed. The Homestead Act of 1862 provided settlers with 160 acres of land, and in exchange, the land was to be used for living and growing crops. After 5 years of residency, settlers were able to receive ownership of the land.
First of all, Native Americans were settled on a hotbed of natural resources which included oil and precious metals such as silver and gold. There was also much fertile land that would entice farmers and frontiersmen to move out west. On this land there was so much potential economic opportunity for farmers, cattle drivers, miners and many other occupations. The government developed the popular public misconception that the indians were misusing the land and that Americans had the right to take advantage of the opportunities that lie in the west. These ideas led to the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 which authorized encroachment of Indian lands by the US government in order to divide up reservations and control Indian activity.
From the beginning of the book, Ball has been advocating for the treatment of all aspects of farming, on large scale agriculture plantations, to improve. Ball is specifically observant of the soil, crop, and cattle quality, when illustrating plantations he visited or passes by on his journeys. He writes about the greed of southern plantation owners, and their unremitting crops of tobacco, drying out their plantations, writing, “It had originally been highly fertile and productive, and had it been properly treated, would doubtlessly have continues to yield abundant and prolific crops… but regardless of their true interest, they valued their lands less than their slaves,…”(Ball, p. 32). This quote is important because compares the white landowners view of the land to Ball’s, while the landowners focus on the money the land has to offer and are overrun with greed. Ball highlights the care and value of the land, making the distinction that if not properly treated it will be useless, and “exhausted”.
The Homestead Act is a special Act that promoted migration to the western part of US. Public lands were made easily accessible to settlers with a small filing fee in exchange for 160 acres of land to be used for farming. Homesteaders received ownership of the land after continuously residing on the land for five years. Homesteaders also had an alternative of acquiring the land from the government by paying a specified amount per acre, after six months of residency. The Homestead Act resulted in the distribution of million acres of public land (Library of Congress n.p).