The Homestead Act: Westward Expansion

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.

However, there were many positive economic aspects for American citizens who were moving westward. The Homestead Act of 1862 was an incentive for people to move

The environment of the west had played a major role in shaping the settlement West of the Mississippi River. As expressed in the map of the land West of the Mississippi, the geography had a significant impact on settlement. This explains the location of Grasslands, Forests, Deserts, and the location of rivers throughout western land. The geography of the land had a direct impact on the Homestead Act of 1862, which gave citizens 160 acres of land in the west as long as they stayed on the land for five years. Due to

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

Cotton still played a big part in the growth of farming in the south. There was a high demand for textiles and cotton mills increased production of cotton bales up to 1,479,000 bales per year. While these changes were occurring in the South, many changes in farming were also taking place in other parts of the nation. The government wanted to encourage settlement in the vast areas of the country not yet populated. The Homestead Act helped shape the western landscape. This act allowed farmers to claim up to 160 acres of land. Farmers would stake a claim to a parcel of land and by living on it for five years would be free and clear to take title of the land. Or the farmer could buy

During the Civil War a special act of Congress, known as the Homestead Act of 1862, made it possible that federal land in the west, divided

On May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act was passed (Homestead Act). This act stated that any adult citizen who had never borne arms against the United States government could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land (Homestead Act). The government

Westward Expansion started with President Thomas Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase from the French for only fifteen million dollars. This allowed landless families to migrate from where they currently were to a new place with fresh lands to claim. This had a few effects such as increasing the size of the country, while providing land and means for income to families. During the course of westward expansion the size of the United States took a drastic population increase, with the overall population going from five million to seventy-six million. This set the U.S. on the fast track to expand out to the west coast. Abraham Lincoln signed in to law the Homestead Act, which gave people willing to

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.

After the Transcontinental Railroad, a railway that stretched across the entire US, was completed in 1869, there were new opportunities expanding in the West. According to the Homestead Act Document which was written in May of 1862, people could obtain free land when under certain conditions, such as “...who has never borne arms against the United States Government…,” and being an approved citizen of the United States. These people were allowed a certain allotment of land in the west, and all they had to do was move there. This allowed expansion for the US, and it made more room for the massive amounts of immigrants pouring in to the country. The Homestead Act of 1862 created a positive effect on the people coming into the United States, and it helped to expand the territory of the country to potentially develop more towns and opportunities for

In the early to mid 1800s, Americans began to want to expand the country again. Some Americans did not agree with the idea of expansion, and wanted to remain complacent with the amount of territory that they currently owned. The nation was torn. There were supporters and opponents of the idea of expansion. Each side presented their points but we eventually ended up expanding.

A section of land could be bought for $640. The problem was that most people could not afford that price, their only option was to buy land from speculators and land companies; much smaller plots of land. Congress ended up selling large areas of land to private groups, and this led to the public outcry about the high cost of government-owned land; leading eventually to the Homestead Act of

In my European home country the people of the lesser social class suffered considerably. I have experienced war, drought, famine, and religious persecution. It was time to leave the Old World for a chance at better life. The trip costed me almost all I had to my name. The voyage was long and miserable, but the idea of a better life provided me dreams which pumped me full of personal strength and courage. After all, I heard of the Homestead Act which offered the chance to own land and make my own destiny ("U.S. Immigration History," n.a., p. 1-3). This kind of opportunity is not possible in my homeland.

Confrontations and conflicts between White American and Native American during the late eighteen hundreds become increasingly one sided. From ritual practices and beliefs to land ownership and government policy; Native Americans and there white contour parts differed greatly. Between 1865 to 1900 the "White man" and Native American relationships in western United States could be characterized as a horrible and miss leading rampage of white man destroying foreign customs and peoples. In 1862 Congress had granted western settlers their two greatest wishes, the Home Stead Act, promising ownership of 160 acre tract of public land to a citizen or head of a family who had resided on/ or

How do you see progress, as a process that is beneficial or in contrast, that it´s a hurtful process that everyone at one point of their lives has to pass through it? At the time, progress was beneficial for the United States, but those benefits came with a cost, such cost that instead of advancements and developments being advantageous factors for humanity, it also became a harmful process in which numerous people were affected in many facets of life. This all means that progress is awsome to achieve, but when achieved, people have to realize the process they had to do to achieve it, which was stepping on other people to get there.