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Homestead Act The expansion of the United States is such a vital part of American history, yet some often forget how it all happened. Many thriving settlers were given an extraordinary opportunity starting on January 1, 1863 that would end up laying the floor work for many Midwestern and Western citizens today. The rights and responsibilities to live on and maintain 160 acres of land may seem like a lot to take in for a student learning about an Act about land from the 1860s. However, think about all the people the Homestead Act of 1862 affected. There was a lot of pressure on the original homesteaders to make good use of their newfound land, the government was giving out land that wasn’t exactly theirs, and the Native American would have some their rights stolen. It was not very easy for the United States to expand like they had in mind. The division of land had been a rising problem since the Revolutionary war. Two of the main issues during the time of the Articles of Confederation were the pricing and land measurement (Potter and Schamel 1). Throughout the course of over fifty years, the government had tried many different attempts to get people to want to expand to the west. They just didn’t really know the right way of how to go about it. Trying to sell the acres did not go over well, considering the price seemed outrageous for what they were getting. Untouched soil was very hard to start on and be successful from the beginning, which caused some problems with people not wanting to buy the land (Weiser 1). So again, a different political group tried a different approach. A political group called the Free Soil Party in 1852 demanded free homesteads. Legends of America says, “In 1854 the first free homestead bill was intro... ... middle of paper ... ...r for the United states to be successful. Foner, Eric, and John A. Garraty. "Homestead Act." The Reader's Companion to American History. Dec. 1 1991: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 06 Feb. 2014. I used this sourse to give me some backround information about the Homestead Act and a quote. Potter, Lee Ann, and Wynell Schamel. "The Homestead Act of 1862." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014. I used this source for a quote and to learn the majority of what I needed to know about the history and effects of the Homestead Act of 1862. Weiser, Kathy. "The Homestead Act - Creating Prosperity in America." The Homestead Act - Creating Prosperity in America. N.p., May 2012. Web. 06 Feb. 2014. I used this source for many quotes and a good portion of my information about the Homestead Act itself.
The failure of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to manage this trust fund properly led to legislation and lawsuits in the 1990s and early 2000s to force the government to properly account for the revenues collected. The aim of the act was to encourage American Indians to take up agriculture and adopt the habits of civilized life and ultimately.... ... middle of paper ... ...upon the survey of the lands so as to conform thereto; and patents. shall be issued to them for such lands in the manner and with the restrictions as provided herein.
Eibling, Harold H., et al., eds. History of Our United States. 2nd edition. River Forest, Ill: Laidlaw Brothers, 1968.
The availability of inexpensive land in the American West provided opportunity for many Americans to fulfill the American dream of individualism, economic opportunity and personal freedom. Immigrants, former slaves and other settlers moved across the country to become western farmers and ranchers to make a new life. One of the reasons why the west was a land of opportunity for the farmers and ranchers was the large quantity of cheap available land. This allowed for many Americans, both rich and poor, to buy land for farming and raising cattle. The Homestead Act of 1862 aided the process. The Homestead Act gave title to 160 acres of federal land to farmers who staked a claim and lived on the land for five years. Alternatively, a farmer could buy the land after six months for $1.25 an acre. Many blacks and immigrants joined the westward expansion, looking for a better life. Immigrants saw the land as opportunity because many could not own land in the countries where they were born. For example, in Nebraska, a fourth of the population was foreign born. These immigrants transformed...
Imagine living alone at 16, thousands of miles from your only family, no friends, and trying to gain land of your own. Hattie Brooks did just that, she was always known as Hattie Here-and-There because her parents died when she was young and she was shipped from relative to relative. She was bound to change that. She wanted something of her own, she wanted a home. So, in 1918 after receiving a letter leaving a homestead claim to her from a long lost uncle Chester she packed up all she owned and moved to Montana. She quickly found out how difficult and demanding farm life was. In order to own the land officially she had to prove up which included having to set 480 rods of fence, cultivate one eighth of land, and pay thirty-seven seventy-five
Smith, John. "Settlement Of Jamestown - 1607." The National Center for Public Policy Research. http://www.nationalcenter.org/SettlementofJamestown
In the 1830’s America was highly influenced by the Manifest Destiny Ideal. Manifest Destiny was the motivating force behind the rapid expansion of America into the West. This ideal was highly sponsored by posters, newspapers, and various other methods of communication. Propaganda was and is still an incredibly common way to spread an idea to the masses. Though Manifest Destiny was not an official government policy, it led to the passing of the Homestead Act. The Homestead Act gave applicants freehold titles of undeveloped land outside of the original thirteen colonies. It encouraged Westward colonization and territorial acquisition. The Homestead Act was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862. To America, Manifest Destiny was the idea that America was destined to expand across the North American continent, from the Atlantic, to the Pacific Ocean. Throughout this time Native Americans were seen as obstacles because they occupied land that the United States needed to conquer to continue with their Manifest Destiny Ideal. Many wars were fought between the A...
The diary of Martha provides releveled information through the life of colonial Massachusetts. The land was a conflict in the 18th century. Martha's husband Ephraim Ballard was a surveyor as well as a mapmaker for most of his life, he was caught in the middle of a conflict over land that exploded in the years after the revolution. It was a time of geographic mobility (e.g., A Midwife's Tale). No one knew who own the land at that time, but it seems that they moved to get a better life for his
Mill, John Stuart, “On Liberty. ch. 1, 3,” from Project Gutenberg Web site: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34901, No. 01/10, Pp. 1-19, Public Domain, 2011
A decision was made that with this newly gained land would either be sold or rented out in forty acre plots. "Such plots were to be leased for three year periods for annual rentals not to exceed six percent of the appraised value in 1860..."(Abbot, 54), which meant that freedmen would be able to afford this land and not be forced into a labor contract. General Rufus Saxton, the head of this plan, had another idea too.
Wachal, Barbara Schwarz. "Louisiana Purchase." Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 5. New York: Charles Scribner 's Sons, 2003. 162-163. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 13 Nov.
Linder, Doug. "The Nineteenth Amendment." The Nineteenth Amendment. University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School, 2001. Web. 19 Dec. 2013. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/nineteentham.htm
Another goal of African Americans was the ownership of land. To the freedmen, land ownership was equivalent to economic independency. However, they were mistaken. Economic independency was an unrealistic goal in the southern environment. As former slaves, African Americans were very familiar to the agricultural life style. As a result of Sherman's raids across the south, large plots of land were left uninhabited. Vast amounts of freedmen took the opportunity to occupy these lands. In 1866, Congress also passed the Southern Homestead Act giving African Americans access to public lands in five southern states. Contrary to what the freedmen believed, land ownership did not ensure financial success. Most land owned by African Americans was small and had an inferior value compared to white farms.
Many causes fueling America's need to expand and acquire new lands existed. One of the reasons was Americans were experiencing "a large birthrate increase due to immigration. And because agriculture provided the primary economic structure, large f...
Taylor, Alan American Colonies: The Settling of North America, New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2001. pg. 1685-1730
"Chapter 2 Western Settlement and the Frontier." Major Problems in American History: Documents and Essays. Ed. Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman, Edward J. Blum, and Jon Gjerde. 3rd ed. Vol. II: Since 1865. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. 37-68. Print.