The Homestead Act was enacted to help reduce poverty and reward persons who did fight on the side of the Confederacy during the Civil War while furthering western expansion.
It was open to any citizen or person wanting to become a citizen that did not fight against the government in the war.
For this act, gender did not matter as long as the person was head of a household or at least 21 years old.
They had to reside on the property for 5 years while improving it, such as clearing it, farming it and putting a proper home on it. They would receive the title at that time once they paid a registration fee. Another way for them to receive the title faster was if they lived on it for 6 months, with minor improvements and paid $1.25 per acre.
There was a lot more to it than that though. The individual had to sign agreements saying they never fought against the United States government, they couldn't owe debt, they had to be able to afford to clear, farm and build on the land for those five years. They then had to find people to sign acknowledgements that those improvements were actually done and the land wasn't abandoned.
