Homestead Act

• Homestead Act of 1862


  160 acres of land to one plot

  One claim per homesteader

  Had to be head of a family and over 21

  To own the land you had to build a house on the land and live their for 5 years whilst upgrading it by growing crops

  Meant to move people into the plains

  Costed 10 dollars to file a claim
• Limitation

  By 1884, only 13 million acres had become the legal property of homesteaders.

  By 1900, this figure had grown to 24 million acres

  60% of claims failed because farming the land for five years was not easy
• Achievement

  The Homestead Act encouraged immigration from Europe

  By 1875, more than half of Nebraska's population were recent immigrants and their children
• Limitation

  The government gave far more land to the railroads

  300 million acres compared to 80 million acres eventually given to homesteaders
• Achievement

  Parts of the Great Plains were settled for the first time

  80 million acres of public land were settled as a direct consequence of the Homestead Act

  In Nebraska, half the land was settled by Homesteaders
• Limitation

  More homesteads were formed by people buying land from the railroad companies than through the Homestead Act
• Limitation

  Rich landowners found ways to exploit the Homestead Act to get very cheap land

  Big ranch owners would make employees file claims and then get them to hand over the rights to the land to the ranch owner
• Limitation

  Many people filed claims to sell the land for profit

  Possible to buy the land cheaply after 6 months rather than waiting 5 years to get it for free

  Land could then be sold for a higher price

  This meant that the family farming the land had paid someone for it rather than getting it through the Homestead Act
• Achievement

  By 1876, over 6 million acres of government land had become homesteads