Signed into law in May 1862, the Homestead Act<span>opened up settlement in the western United States, allowing any American, including freed slaves, to put in a claim for up to 160 free acres of federal land. By the end of the Civil War, 15,000 </span>homestead<span> claims had been established, and more followed in the postwar years.</span>
Penn obtained the land from King Charles II as payment for a debt owed to his deceased father.
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<span>Invasions by Barbarian tribes <span>Economic troubles and overreliance on slave labor<span>Overexpansion and military overspending
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