A Country In Progress During The 1800's

It was originally opposed by Northern manufacturers, who feared the loss of inexpensive labor; and Southern slaveholders, who feared the development of free soil. It was intended to branch Western immigration, but numerous frontiersmen would fail and arrive home. The Homestead Act provided settlers with 160 acres of surveyed public land. By living on the property for five years and improving it, a small fee would grant the settler the land. This served as a way to encourage the development of the family farm and fill in the normally unoccupied region in the Great Plains in which railroads facilitated this growth. Because of the severe environmental circumstances of the Great Plain region, the Homestead Act turned out to be less effective than anticipated.

During this time period the need for natural resources were in high demand. As the transcontinental railroad spread west to California, towns became popping up around the railroad, called boom towns. The people living in these towns discovered the natural resources, such as mining for gold, silver, iron ore, copper, and timber. People would come and mine for the resources and once the resource was gone, the miners would leave, and these boom towns would then become “ghost” towns. Also in the west, there was a large supply of land. In 1862, farmers and ranchers moved out to the west. The land in the west was very cheap, and farmers were able to buy large amount of land, for a low price. The Homestead Act of 1862, said that farmers would receive

The American Government did their part in encouraging farmers to venture out into the Great Plains. Back during the Civil War, political parties battled with deciding whether to promote the west as proslave or anti-slave; officials would send citizens of their party to claim residence in western territories to populate the newly forming states with enough supporters to strengthen their power in Congress, in this particular debate. Later in the 1800s, regulations and accommodations were passed to make obtaining land cheaper and transportation more efficient. One of these regulations, developed and supported by Abraham Lincoln, was the Homestead Act of 1862. Under this law, any citizen could claim up to 160 acres from the government if they promise to improve the land. Costing close to nothing, many small farm owners saw

Many did not realize but government was the one who was providing opportunities and was in fact encouraging economic development even during the time of Laissez faire. To make land cheaper for people to purchase and to grow business on, the US Congress has passed the Homestead Act in 1962. It had declared that any citizen could claim 160 acres but they must grow crops on it. The Homestead Act made settlement in the West feasible for many new immigrants.

Any American including freed slaves could claim a land up to 160 acres for free if they worked on the land for 5 years (Doc. B). What this meant for the Native Americans was that they now have less land to hunt on so they are resorted to the reservations. Forty-eight million acres were given away. In 1872 there was an advertisement on the Homestead Act showing millions of acres in Iowa and Nebraska (Doc. E). Also in 1862, the Morrill Land-Grant Act was created to allow the creation of land-grant colleges in the US (Doc. C). It was a huge uplift to higher education in

During the 1800's America was figuring out how to run a nation through trial and error. During this period of time America faced hardships with foreign powers and with in its self, but the sweet victories made them all worth it. In the 1800's America learned to stand on its own, and became the strong nation it is today.

Good analysis, but I wonder how much of our perspective is based on a relative interpretation. Even though it appears to us that the road to the legal world is a great deal more challenging today than in the 1800’s, but perhaps it’s just what we perceive. Truth be told I took on the same viewpoint as you, that todays process is harder. On the surface it appears we are correct in our assumption. However we have no set basis for comparison, its like comparing apples and oranges. There is a lot more to becoming a lawyer today but at the same time, today everything is centralized making process that much easier. For instance, instead of caring tons of casebooks everything now can be downloaded on to mobile device for quick reference.

To begin urbanizing the west, the government began the building of railroads, granting land to families, and companies with policies such as, the Homestead Act of 1864. Eric Foner describes the industrial phenomenon, “ By the 1890s, five transcontinental lines transported the products of western mines, farms, ranches, and forests to eastern markets and carried manufactured goods to the West.” The incorporation of production companies, family farms, and small cities with justice systems starting to form, made the west a much tamer place, and shunned away the “wild” lifestyle of the cowboys. On the other hand these policies caused massive economic growth, “By 1913, the United States produced one-third of the world’s industrial output—more than the total of Great Britain, France, and Germany combined.”

Late in the 19th century, the U.S. would go to war with Spain over the mistreatment of Cuba over other reasons. The U.S. found out that the Spanish was holding Cubans in concentration camps which gave the U.S. have a reason to liberate Cuba from Spain. Also, American business had fifty million invested in Cuba and didn’t feel it was safe until America was directly involved with Cuba. The Spanish-American war was the event needed most for the U.S. to start expanding its reign. The Spanish-American war ended with Spanish defeat and the U.S. gaining Spain’s colonies: Philippines, Guam, and

This act granted anyone 160 acres of land if they could survive on it for five years, improve it, and pay the small fee of $30. Many farmers, who didn’t have the money to pay for the land otherwise, quickly took advantage of this deal. So did big corporations, who had people claim the prosperous land for the company to use later. As for the farmers, they quickly realized that although the land was bountiful, the water was not. Lack of water drove out and killed many settlers. Eventually drought resistant crops and irrigation plans contributed to the eventual success of the West, which was declared completely settled officially in

With many farmers having such high yields, there was an abundance of crops so the prices fell and a farmer had to plant more in order to have enough money to support their families. The Enlarged Homestead Act guaranteed 320 acres of land to farmers who were willing to take land that were considered to be marginal and could not be irrigated well. They plowed up the virgin soil and planted acres and acres of golden wheat, leaving the land vulnerable to the elements after the yearly harvest. The farmers also implemented the use of fossil fuel ran machinery that made it easier to plow up hundreds of acres in a short period of time, which exposed even more soil than what would have been open to the elements had the farming been done by an animal pulled plow. The massive influx of farmers because of that act caused major soil erosion which was made worse by the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

The American Frontier and Railroad System provided a new and shining horizon for the majority of American civilians. Prior to the Westward expansion of America, majority of the territory located within the west remained uninhabited and untamed. The Homestead act, which was signed by Lincoln in 1862, provided willing settlers 160 acres of land. The only requirements for the settlers was five years of continuous residence on the land and a small fee. This was a major contributor for western expansion and cultivation of the land. Additionally, this was the one of the first time within history where the authority put forth effort to help and promote becoming a landowner

The settlement of the west was a huge movement after the American Civil War. Greatly due to the fact that in 1862 the Homestead Act was passed allowing one hundred and sixty acres free to settlers. With innovations and expansions of the railroad system it began to clash with the

In a bid to encourage people onto the Plains advertisements told success stories of those who had claimed land under the terms of the Homestead Act and had become successful. It divided 2.5 million acres of Plains land into sections or homesteads of 160 acres. People could now claim 160 acres of land. The only requirement on their part was that they paid a small charge and built a house or added something to the land such as a house or a well and lived on the land for at least 5 years.

“Abraham Lincoln passed the Homestead Act of 1862. It gave people ownership of land. They must have proof of living on the land for at least 5 years.” (Anirudh).