Revision/summary sheet covering The 1962 Homestead Act Contains information on the causes such as the American Civil War, the terms of the Act and the impact of the Homestead Act Also contains two GCSE questions - narrative on settlement in the West and importance the Homestead Act. 2. don't have an online Like to read more content, Join the Grit Community Today. The homesteaders who struggled to survive a century ago would scarcely recognize the agricultural powerhouse our country has become. Over enthusiastic expectations of the Acts Sponsor’s in Congress 3. Wilderness was often established with privately owned land or state owned land within it, called in-holdings. But imagine that same countryside a century or more ago, when homesteaders made the arduous journey west in a horse-drawn wagon. A homestead and family west of Callaway, Nebraska, between 1886 and 1912. July/August 2010. o To highlight the consequences of the Homestead Act relative to the reservation system, let’s consider these figures. In the 1860’s, people in the Great Plains didn’t really have ranches; they planted crops because it … ... How did the government use the Sherman antitrust act to end the Pullman strike of 1894. The act provides that settlers could claim 160 acres of public land, paid a small filing fee and then had two options for getting land title. HOMESTEAD ACT (1862) The Homestead Act, passed by the Republican-dominated Congress during the American Civil War (1861 – 1865), was intended to place public land in the hands of western settlers. In 1862, the U.S. Congress passed one of the most influential pieces of legislation ever written. America's Rural Yesterday: Volume 2, Barn & Farmyard. Or, Bill Me Later and send me one year of GRIT for just $22.95! The act, which offered 160 acres of land to any qualified homesteader who paid a modest filing fee, built a home, planted at least 10 acres of crops and remained on his or her claim for at least five years, has been called the most important act ever passed for the benefit of the American people. The lure of free land prompted millions of Europeans to immigrate to the United States in the years following the Civil War. But as the agricultural frontier advanced into the vast, treeless tracts of the western High Plains, settlers were forced to make do with the resources at hand. Question 1: Explain two consequences of… Starter: What is a consequence? grandfather brought his family to the United States from Germany in the 1880s to claim a homestead in northeastern Nebraska. Still, some 783,000 claims totaling 270 million acres were successfully “proved up.” They included 151,600 homesteads in Montana; more than 118,000 in North Dakota; approximately 100,000 each in the states of Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Dakota; and nearly 90,000 in Kansas. Looks at key points, impact and examples. Being passed by Politicians unfamiliar with the American West 4. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law in 1862. The monument is open to visitors and includes an 1867 cabin and a school built in 1872. A risk that is always taken when expanding a frontier is the risk of facing the unknown. The Homestead Act. -grasshopper plagues and prairie fire destroyed crops Explain two consequences of the Homestead Act in 1862 One consequence of the Act was that the Government could buy land to help build the railroad. It is located west of Beatrice, about 40 miles south of the state capital of Lincoln. Pupils then consolidate their learning by explaining two consequences of the Homestead Act as per the Edexcel GCSE Paper 2 question One ‘The American West’. The living conditions out in the west were harsh, however, which caused difficulties for homesteaders. New homesteaders quickly discovered it was backbreaking work to ‘bust’ the native sod with a walking plow hitched behind a team of oxen or horses. Her grandfather later claimed his own homestead in South Dakota. Already a Member? The Homestead Act came with many positive impacts as well as negative impacts. The Homestead Act of 1862 was a result of vigorous agitation by many western settlers. The effect that the Homestead Act had on almost every element of the Western Frontier came with positive aspects as well as negative ones. When she was small, my mother and her family lived for a time in a “basement house,” a single room excavated from the ground and covered with a temporary roof until the cash was available to complete the aboveground part of the house. It stated that any adult citizen (or a person who declared an intention to become a citizen) who was the head of a family could lay claim to 160 acres of public land. Almost five times as much land was given away, for free, to immigrants as was reserved for all Indian nations combined. This was unavoidable in the expansion of the United States into the West. [The total acreage of homesteaded lands in the US 1862-1934 was about 270 million acres, or 10% of all US land. This means that the Plains Indians were restricted on the land. The soil was dry, which made growing crops difficult at times. Lush fields of corn and soybeans thrive under sprinkler irrigation systems, and cattle grow fat in pastures and feedlots. Prior to the act, the U.S. government auctioned or sold public land in large lots that ordinary citizens could not afford to buy or manage. People cherished the freedom and space that the west provided, because it allowed them to own farms and room for cattle. These 160-acre plots were known as homesteads. That's why we want you to save money and trees by subscribing to GRIT through our automatic renewal savings plan. In fact, only two of every 100 Americans now live on a farm, and less than 1 percent of the 300 million people in our country claim farming as their occupation. Farmers in the United States each year now produce more than $200 billion of cattle, hogs, poultry and eggs, grains, fruit, vegetables, and dairy products. Hi, thanks for stopping by. Another amended act, the national Stock-Raising Homestead Act, was passed in 1916 and granted 640 acres (260 ha) for ranching purposes. Once they arrived at their destinations, the first obstacle they faced was to build a home. The effect that the Homestead Act had on almost every element of the Western Frontier came with positive aspects as well as negative ones. (Contains 63 notes.) My wife’s great- Some left their homelands because of crop failures and economic depression. Hundreds of thousands of additional homesteads were claimed in states reaching from Alabama to California, from Arizona to Alaska. account? The Homestead Act of 1862 was fraught with several problems including: 1. My wife and I are among them. A brief introduction to the Homestead Act of 1862 and the impacts it had on the land, the people, and the future of the United States of America. The Homestead Act also changed how much ranching and farming there was done. The East generally had livestock, and many of the ranches there had animals such as cattle, sheep, and pigs. Sign in with your online account. That Settles It: The Debate and Consequences of the Homestead Act of 1 862 1 1 9 After 1852, the Free Soil Party's popularity declined, but from its free-soil, Create your own unique website with customizable templates. Positive. The law was signed into effect by President Abraham Lincoln as part of his effort to expand the Union into the American West. You can still find their descendants living in places like Denmark, Kansas; Bruno, Nebraska; New Holland, South Dakota; Bismarck, North Dakota; and Glasgow, Montana. One of the purposes of the Homestead Act was to help the poor and recently freed slaves to live a comfortable life The act stated that anyone who had never taken up arms against the U.S government, including freed slaves and women, was 21 years or older or the head of their family, could file for an application in order to claim a federal land grant. 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