Acts

• What did the Homestead Act of 1862 provide for settlers?

  Incentives for taking unclaimed land
• How large were the homestead plots under the Homestead Act?

  160 acres
• What was the registration cost for a homestead plot?

  $10
• Who was the intended beneficiary of the Homestead Act?

  Individual farmers, not rich landowners
• Who could file a claim under the Homestead Act?

  Heads of families over 21 or ex-soldiers
• Who was excluded from filing claims under the Homestead Act?

  Indigenous peoples
• What were the requirements for someone filing a claim?

  Live and work the land themselves
• What was the process to prove up a homestead?

  Live there for 5 years and improve it
• How much did someone have to pay to own their homestead outright after proving up?

  $30
• What demographic made up more than half of Nebraska's population by 1875?

  Recent immigrants and their children
• When was the Southern Homestead Act signed?

  June 21, 1866
• How many acres of land did the Southern Homestead Act open up?

  46 million acres
• Who received preferential access to land under the Southern Homestead Act?

  Freed people of colour
• What hindered the effectiveness of the Southern Homestead Act?

  High cost and poor quality of land
• What did the Timber Culture Act of 1873 allow homesteaders to do?

  Claim an extra 160 acres for planting trees
• Why were trees important according to the Timber Culture Act?

  They acted as windbreaks and provided timber
• What was the main goal of the Timber Culture Act?

  Reduce failure rates of homesteads
• How many acres had been claimed under the Timber Culture Act by 1878?

  16 million acres
• Which territories had the majority of claims under the Timber Culture Act?

  Dakota Territory, Kansas, and Nebraska
• What was a major issue with the trees planted under the Timber Culture Act?

  Most trees died due to lack of water
• How did some people exploit the Timber Culture Act?

  Claimed land without settling on it
• What did the Desert Land Act allow married settlers to do?

  Purchase 640 acres of land cheaply
• What was the cost per acre under the Desert Land Act?

  $1.25 per acre
• What was a requirement for purchasing land under the Desert Land Act?

  Promise to irrigate the land within three years
• What was the purpose of the Desert Land Act?

  Encourage economic development of arid lands
• What were the main acts related to land settlement in the 1860s and 1870s?

  • Homestead Act 1862
  • Southern Homestead Act 1866
  • Timber Culture Act 1873
  • Desert Land Act
• What were the strengths and weaknesses of the Homestead Act and its related acts?

  Strengths:

  • Provided land to individual farmers
  • Encouraged settlement in the West

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • Excluded Indigenous peoples
  • Many claims were exploited
  • Poor land quality in some areas
• What did the Dawes Act of 1887 authorize?

  It authorized breaking up reservation land
• How was the Dawes Act similar to the Homestead Act?

  Both aimed to distribute land to individuals
• How many acres were allotted to each Indigenous family under the Dawes Act?

  160 acres
• What happened to any leftover land after allotments were made?

  It was made available for white settlers
• What were the main impacts of the Dawes Act on Indigenous Peoples?

  • Fragmentation of tribal land
  • Loss of communal land ownership
  • Encouragement of assimilation into American society
  • Opening of land for white settlement