Development of the Plains

• When was the Homestead Act?


  1862
• The Homestead Act, 1862:

  • Settlers could buy 160 acre plots of land called Homesteads.

  • $10 to make a claim for the land.

  • After 5 years, if they could prove they had farmed the land they could purchase the land for $30.

  • Nearly anyone could purchase the land if they were over 21; women, ex soldiers, ex slaves but not Indians.
• What were the limitations of the Homestead Act?

  • Only 80 out of 500 million acres available (26%) were actually homesteaded.
  • Over 300 million acres were given to the railroad companies, which they could sell for profit.
  • Cattle Barons used it to enlarge their ranches.
  • 60% of homesteaders failed and quit before the 5 years were up.
• The government passed the Pacific Railroad Act in 1862.

  It provided incentives for companies to build the first transcontinental railroad in 1869.

  The act led to two companies being set up to build the railroad: The Union Pacific and The Central Pacific.
• By 1869, the railroad was complete, it had a huge impact on America. Over the next decades thousands more miles or railroad were built connecting the West.