RECONSTRUCTION 1865 1877
HOMESTEAD ACT
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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True
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False
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Either A or B
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None of the above
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Detailed explanation-1: -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-2: -Most of the land went to speculators, cattle owners, miners, loggers, and railroads. Of some 500 million acres dispersed by the General Land Office between 1862 and 1904, only 80 million acres went to homesteaders. Indeed, small farmers acquired more land under the Homestead Act in the 20th century than in the 19th.
Detailed explanation-3: -By 1934, over 1.6 million homestead applications were processed and more than 270 million acres-10 percent of all U.S. lands-passed into the hands of individuals.