RECONSTRUCTION 1865 1877
HOMESTEAD ACT
|
Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
|
|
|
You must be 21 or have a family and fill out an application at the Land Office.
|
|
|
You must live and farm the land for 5 years.
|
|
|
You must fill out a second application in order to officially own the land.
|
|
|
None of the above
|
Detailed explanation-1: -The new law established a three-fold homestead acquisition process: file an application, improve the land, and file for deed of title. Any U.S. citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. Government could file an application and lay claim to 160 acres of surveyed Government land.
Detailed explanation-2: -Each homesteader had to live on the land, build a home, make improvements and farm to get the land. The patent they received represented the culmination of hard work and determination. Nearly four million homesteaders settled land across 30 states over 123 years.
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: -In all, some 270 million acres (109 million hectares) were distributed under the 1862 Homestead Act. The act remained in effect for more than a century, and the last claim made under it was granted in 1988 for a parcel of land in Alaska.
Detailed explanation-5: -Signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act encouraged Western migration by providing settlers 160 acres of public land. In exchange, homesteaders paid a small filing fee and were required to complete five years of continuous residence before receiving ownership of the land.