Farming has always been a hard life, and it was made more so on the Great Plains by the region’s unforgiving environment and mercurial weatherA settler (“homesteader”) could gain title to federal land simply by staking out a claim and living on it for five years, or he could buy land at $1.25 an acre after six months
It was the Militia Act of 1862, that stated during the American Civil War that allowed African-Americans to participate as war laborers for the first time since the Militia Act of 1792. I hope this helps! :)
