USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -noun. 1. a dwelling with its land and buildings, occupied by the owner as a home and exempted by a homestead law from seizure or sale for debt. 2. any dwelling with its land and buildings where a family makes its home.

Detailed explanation-2: -Passed on May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act accelerated the settlement of the western territory by granting adult heads of families 160 acres of surveyed public land for a minimal filing fee and five years of continuous residence on that land.

Detailed explanation-3: -Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craft work for household use or sale.

Detailed explanation-4: -President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act on May 20, 1862. On January 1, 1863, Daniel Freeman made the first claim under the Act, which gave citizens or future citizens up to 160 acres of public land provided they live on it, improve it, and pay a small registration fee.