The Homestead Act

What was the Homestead Act?

The Homestead Act was a law, signed by Lincoln, which gave farmers 160 acres of Plains land (called a homestead). The land was free so long as it was successfully farmed for five years. It cost just $10 to register and claim this land.

When was the Homestead Act passed?

The Homestead Act was signed into law in 1862.

How was land distributed before the Homestead Act?

Before the Homestead Act the government owned all the land in the West, then sold land at $1 an acre. This was too expensive for most people to afford.

Who could claim land using the Homestead Act?

To file a claim you needed to be over 21 years old (unless you were an ex-soldier), and either single or the head of a family. This opened up claiming to more people: those in the process of becoming a US citizen, ex-slaves, and women. Native Americans were still excluded.

What limits were there to claiming land under the Homestead Act?

To prevent business owners snapping up land and making a profit from it there were strict rules. A person could not file numerous claims. They had to live on the land, build a house, plant at least five acres of crops, and work it for five years.

What was 'proving up' under the Homestead Act?

If the rules were followed for 5 years the homestead could be bought out fully for $30. This was called 'proving up'.

What did the Homestead Act achieve?

As a result of the Homestead Act, over 6 million acres of government land and over 80 million acres of public land were settled. Nebraska's population grew so much that it became a state in 1867.

How did the Homestead Act affect migration?

The Homestead Act encouraged people who would not have been able to do so, to migrate to the West. Nebraska alone was boosted by 123,000 immigrants - almost half the population of the state.

What were the problems with the Homestead Act?

There were 5 main limitations to the Homestead Act.

• ❖ Proving up was not common, so much of the land stayed as homesteads. By 1900 only 24 million acres had been proved up; and, overall, 60% of the land was never proved up.
• ❖ Although a lot of land was given over to homesteads, more land went to the railroads (300 million acres), and to cattle ranchers, who paid highly for it.
• ❖ Many homesteaders bought their land from the railroad companies, instead of through the government scheme.
• ❖ Rich landowners sometimes abused the scheme by getting employees to claim land as a homesteader, then handing the rights over to the landowner.
• ❖ Part of the scheme allowed people to pay $1.25 an acre for land, which they were allowed to sell after six months of living there and ploughing at least an acre of it. They could earn profits using the scheme.