USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Homestead Act, enacted during the Civil War in 1862, provided that any adult citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. government could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land.

Detailed explanation-2: -Donation Land Claims (DLC) Under terms of an 1850 act, certain white settlers and Indians of mixed blood in Oregon Territory (then including Washington), and certain settlers arriving between Dec. 1, 1850 and Dec. 1, 1853, were entitled to land.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Land Act of 1820 (ch. 51, 3 Stat. 566), enacted April 24, 1820, is the United States federal law that ended the ability to purchase the United States’ public domain lands on a credit or installment system over four years, as previously established.

Detailed explanation-4: -Members of Native tribes were not U.S. citizens and therefore could not own land under the law, although Section 4 of the Donation Claims Act allowed “American half-breed Indians” of legal age who were citizens of the United States (or declared to be) to take Donation claims.

Detailed explanation-5: -Any head of a family of any age, or a single person over 21 who was or who intended to become a US citizen could claim 160 acres (one-quarter of a section) of public land by paying a $34 fee then residing on and cultivating the property for five years. After five years, they received legal title to their claim.