1answer.
Ask question
Login Signup
Ask question
All categories
  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Social Studies
  • Business
  • History
  • Health
  • Geography
  • Biology
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Computers and Technology
  • Arts
  • World Languages
  • Spanish
  • French
  • German
  • Advanced Placement (AP)
  • SAT
  • Medicine
  • Law
  • Engineering
poizon [28]
3 years ago
10

Describe the homestead act of 1868, how did that result in the settlement of the Great Plains

History
1 answer:
pentagon [3]3 years ago
3 0

Answer:

President Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Homestead Act on May 20, 1862 granted Americans 160-acre plots of public land for the price a small filing fee. The Civil War-era act, considered one of the United States’ most important pieces of legislation, led to Western expansion and allowed citizens of all walks of life—including former slaves, women and immigrants—to become landowners.In a July 4, 1861 speech, Lincoln told the nation the purpose of America’s government was "to elevate the condition of men, to lift artificial burdens from all shoulders and to give everyone an unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life." He followed through with the passage of the Homestead Act, which remained active for 124 years until it was repealed in 1976, and resulted in 10 percent of U.S. land—or 270 million acres—to be claimed and settled.

The incentive to move and settled on western territory was open to all U.S. citizens, or intended citizens, and resulted in 4 million homestead claims, although 1.6 million deeds in 30 states were actually officially obtained.Montana, followed by North Dakota, Colorado and Nebraska had the most successful claims. Native Americans were forced from their lands and onto reservations to make way for homesteaders.

During a speech made in Ohio in February 1861, Lincoln said the act was “worthy of consideration, and that the wild lands of the country should be distributed so that every man should have the means and opportunity of benefiting his condition."

The Homestead Act

A family pose with their wagon in Loup Valley, Nebraska, on their way to their new homestead, circa 1886.

MPI/Getty Images

How People Applied to the Homestead Act

To make a claim, homesteaders paid a filing fee of $18—$10 to make a temporary claim on the land, $2 for commission to the land agent and an additional $6 final payment to receive an official patent on the land. Land titles could also be purchased from the government for $1.25 per acre following six months of proven residency.

Additional requirements included five years of continuous residence on the land, building a home on it, farming the land and making improvements. Homesteaders, who had to be the head of a household or 21 years of age and had to certify they had never borne arms against the U.S., also needed two neighbors or friends to attest to the government that they had fulfilled the requirements. Union soldiers could shave off time served in the Civil War from the five-year residency requirement.

How Speculators Took Advantage of the Homestead Act

Of course, there were those who took advantage of homesteading. According to the National Archives, a limited number of farmers and laborers could afford to build a farm, which included access to tools, crops, livestock and more.

Recommended for you

Transcontinental Railroad

Manifest Destiny

Oregon Trail

“In the end, most of those who purchased land under the act came from areas quite close to their new homesteads (Iowans moved to Nebraska, Minnesotans to South Dakota, and so on),” the agency states. “Unfortunately, the act was framed so ambiguously that it seemed to invite fraud, and early modifications by Congress only compounded the problem. Most of the land went to speculators, cattlemen, miners, lumbermen, and railroads.”

Other loopholes, according to the National Archives, included building the required 12-by-14 dwelling in inches, rather than feet, since the exact measurement wasn’t specified. A shortage of investigators also allowed false claims to be approved. And unpredictable weather, water shortages and remoteness led many homesteaders to abandon their claims well before the five-year mark.

But with improvements in rail lines and growing populations, new towns and states were created. "One hundred years ago the Congress passed the Homestead Act,” President John F. Kennedy said in his message on conservation, sent to Congress in 1962, “probably the single greatest stimulus to national development ever enacted."

The Act’s End and Repeal

Homesteading virtually came to a screeching halt with the enactment of the Taylor Grazing Act, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934, which regulated grazing on federal public lands and authorized the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to apportion grazing districts.

In 1976, the Homestead Act was repealed with the passage of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, which stated “public lands be retained in Federal ownership.” The act authorized the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to manage federal lands. Homesteading was still allowed for another decade in Alaska, until 1986.

You might be interested in
Both the glorious revolution and the english bills of right supported the idea that
Serhud [2]
The government should respect the rights of its citizens.
7 0
1 year ago
Galileo's approach to stimulate scientific thought and discovery influenced scientists of the industrial world just as it contin
AURORKA [14]
A. Don’t just accept traditional knowledge about how the natural world works—experiment and observe the results.
6 0
3 years ago
The Populist Party of the 1890s was an example of a party formed chiefly to help a?
bekas [8.4K]
What did the populist party want?

There were a few things hat the populist party wanted. The itemsthat the party wanted were, a secret ballot, an election forsenators, an income tax, to oppose legislature votes, free coinageof silver, farmers to get the money back that they paid on loans,and the railroad system, telephone system, and telegraph system tobe owned by the public.

8 0
3 years ago
Read 2 more answers
What happened in Islamic
vagabundo [1.1K]

Answer:

The start of Islam is marked in the year 610, following the first revelation to the prophet Muhammad at the age of 40. Muhammad and his followers spread the teachings of Islam throughout the Arabian peninsula. Soon after the death of the prophet

8 0
2 years ago
How did the Cold War change under President Reagan? Check all that apply.
insens350 [35]

Answer:

B, C, E

Explanation:

5 0
3 years ago
Read 2 more answers
Other questions:
  • - a. Describe How were colonial governments<br> organized?
    13·1 answer
  • Which information below could be printed under “Both” in the Venn diagram?
    15·2 answers
  • Which was NOT a reason for the decline in support for President Bush's policies during his second term?
    10·1 answer
  • What is the primary purpose of a trading bloc? (5 points) A) to foster political and social unity B) lower manufacturing costs C
    11·2 answers
  • Question 5
    13·1 answer
  • This tribe migrated across Africa bringing iron technology with it
    13·2 answers
  • To construct an income distribution table, the second step is to _____.
    15·1 answer
  • Who seized power in an 1834 Mexico City revolt?
    12·2 answers
  • What is the 3rd most dangerous city in the world.
    6·2 answers
  • 2. How many states can a candidate win and still lose the election
    8·1 answer
Add answer
Login
Not registered? Fast signup
Signup
Login Signup
Ask question!