RECONSTRUCTION 1865 1877
HOMESTEAD ACT
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Prior to the act, the Federal Government auctioned off large plots of land that only the wealthy could purchase.
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The law was passed by President Washington after the Revolutionary War sparking westward expansion.
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The passage of the law shifted land ownership to ordinary citizens.
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The law encouraged average people to move west for free land.
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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: -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.
Detailed explanation-3: -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-4: -In 1862 congress passed the homestead act offering 160 acres of free land to any citizen or intended citizen who was head of the household. African Americans who moved from post reconstruction South to Kansas.