USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The government encouraged westward expansion by providing free land to individual settlers and private corporations. The Homestead Act of 1862 gave up to 160 acres of land to any person who traveled west, claimed and “improved” (built a house and farmed) the land.

Detailed explanation-2: -The goal was to encourage settlement, solidify Union control of the trans-Mississippi West, and further marginalize the physical and cultural presence of tribes native to the West.

Detailed explanation-3: -To help develop the American West and spur economic growth, Congress passed the Homestead Act of 1862, which provided 160 acres of federal land to anyone who agreed to farm the land. The act distributed millions of acres of western land to individual settlers.

Detailed explanation-4: -Pioneers and settlers moved out west for different reasons. Some of them wanted to claim free land for ranching and farming from the government through the Homestead Act. Others came to California during the gold rush to strike it rich. Even others, such as the Mormons, moved west to avoid persecution.