Homestead Act Essays - 2875 Words

I THESIS STATEMENT nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; The Homestead Act of 1862 made surveyed lands obtainable to homesteaders. The act stated that men and women over the age of 21, unmarried women who were head of households and married men under the age of 21, who did not own over 160 acres of land anywhere, were citizens or intended on becoming citizens of the United States, were eligible to homestead. This paper will show how the Homestead Act came to be enacted, who the homesteaders were and the effects of the Homestead Act on the pioneers. II WHAT EVENTS LEAD TO THE HOMESTEAD ACT? The distribution of Government lands had been an issue since the Revolutionary War. Early methods for allocating unsettled land outside the†¦show more content†¦Others were concerned that factories in the East would lose their supply of cheap labor if workers were lured westward by the availability of small blocks of land at low prices. Congressmen from the West argued that settlers were performing a patriotic service when they tamed the wilderness and advanced the frontier. For decades, the halls of Congress echoed with debates about the minimal price at which land should be sold and the minimal acreage that a buyer should be required to purchase. Gradually, Congress decreased the minimum unit from 640 acres in 1785 to 320 acres in 1800, 160 acres in 1804, 80 acres in 1820, and 40 acres from 1832 until 1862, when the Homestead Act gave 160 acres free to anyone who would live on the land and cultivate it for five years. III PASSAGE OF THE HOMESTEAD ACT nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Pre-emption Act of 1841 legitimized squatting by letting farmers claim unsurveyed plots and later buy them from the government. Pre-emption became the national policy, but supporting legislation was blocked. Senator Andrew Johnson of Tennessee took up the cause in 1840. Southerners opposed Johnson’s land giveaway as benefiting working-class whites who were unlikely to vote slavery into the new states. Three times the House of RepresentativesShow MoreRelatedHomestead Act2916 Words   |  12 PagesSTATEMENT The Homestead Act of 1862 made surveyed lands obtainable to homesteaders. The act stated that men and women over the age of 21, unmarried women who were head of households and married men under the age of 21, who did not own over 160 acres of land anywhere, were citizens or intended on becoming citizens of the United States, were eligible to homestead. This paper will show how the Homestead Act came to be enacted, who the homesteaders were and the effects of the Homestead Act on the pioneersRead MoreWhat The Homestead Act Is Through Its Powerpoint Slideshow And Worksheet Activities946 Words   |  4 Pagesfound a great lesson to work off of for my lesson plan on history of the Homestead Act. The original lesson was well organized but very short. I chose to focus on Domain 2 Conceptual Understandings because this lesson plan only had one assessment and I felt that the assessment was weak in whether a teacher could gage students understanding of the material. This lesson did a below average job of explaining what the Homestead Act is through its powerpoint slideshow and worksheet activities. I also didnRead MoreWhy People Mirgrated West to Oregon Essay1513 Words   |  7 PagesPeople who had different religions and ideas such as Mormons and the main opportunity found in Oregon was land. People who moved west in hope of a new life who fled to Oregon gained a tremendous amount of. The Homestead Act of 1862 made vast areas of the western plains available to farmers. The Act granted to an adult citizen, or one who declared the intention of becoming a citizen, a quarter section or 160 acres of the public domain for free if the occupant agreed to settle and cultivate the land immediatelyRead MoreThe Expansion of America to the West1314 Words   |  5 Pagesheld this belief and was the driving force in Americas expansion. In 1862, Congress passed the Homestead Act and the Pacific Railway Act that would help aid settlers in their plight across the Plains. These ac ts used public lands to achieve significant national ambitions of western migration and the construction of the transcontinental railroad. In 1862, the Homestead Act was passed into law. The act stated that any American citizen could file an application and for a small amount purchase 160Read MoreThe World Of The New World1258 Words   |  6 Pageswhy. While some say the beginning of the end for Native Americans started the moment Europeans first arrived on the continent, there was a number of events that defined the end of Native life and survival to a large extent. First we have the Homestead Act of 1862[6], this granted the right to land ownership of 160 acres to white settlers who were willing to commit to living on the land they claimed. This naturally applied an extraordinary amount of pressure on Plains Indians as their land was beingRead MoreKey Qualities Of An Effective Leader818 Words   |  4 Pagesleader proved to be a daunting assignment because there have been so many in history or even present day who have impacted our world. However, Abraham Lincoln is my choice for this assignment. In many respects, Lincoln was a hero due to his notable acts, great causes and nobel works. In fact, his entire cabinet were rivals who opposed him, but he knew each of their abilities and strengths would be of value to the country (Gilder Lehrman, n.d.). At a Society for Human Resource Management ConferenceRead MoreEast Of Eden Character Analysis963 Words   |  4 PagesHamilton family. Samuel Hamilton an Irish Immigrant, father of nine, and husband to Liza Hamilton meets the Trask family when Adam Trask would need help with an irrigation system for his new farm, when he moved to the Saliana Valleys during the Homestead Act. Samuel Hamilton becomes very close with the Trask family and even birth Adam and Cathys son. After Cathy shots Adam in the shoulder and runs away from him, Samuel will help him. Along with Samuel Hamilton, Lee a chinese immigrant and housekeeperRead MoreThe Expansion of America and The Homestead Act of 18621180 Words   |  5 Pagestreaty signed with France in 1803 by which the U.S. purchased for $15,000,000 the land extending from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Other causes of westward expansion included the Homestead Act which is An act passed by Congress in 1862 promising ownership of a 160-acre tract of public land to a citizen or head of a family who had resided on and cultivated the land for five years after the initial claim. and African American slaves, traveledRead MoreImpact Of Railroads On American Development And The Framework Of The Country2242 Words   |  9 Pagesand Western Expansion allowed for the railroad business to progress. The Transcontinental Railroad was a product of Western Expansion and the construction of more railroads. The Transcontinental Railroad began to be built after the Pacific Railroad Act passed in 1862, that promoted and aided the construction of this railroad. The Transcontinental Railroad was built to link the east to the west in the United States. The Central Pacific and The Union Pacific Railroad Companies were appointed the taskRead Morethe worst ha rd time1139 Words   |  5 Pagesthe event and presentation of the report were affected by these different types of evidence. 5. Conduct further research on the political and social events coinciding with Egan’s Dust Bowl portrayal—such as the Stock Market Crash of 1929, the Homestead Act, the Hoover administration policies, the election of FDR, the New Deal programs implemented by FDR, etc. Then write an analysis of how an understanding of the larger cultural, historical, and economic context can deepen our understanding of the