Homestead Act
This was the year that the homestead act was signed into law
What is 1862
These were the three major cash crops in the Mississippi Valley region
What are wheat, corn, and cotton
By 1865, 20,000 of these traveled to the west in search of a new life
What are pioneers
This type of train car allowed agricultural goods to be transported longer distances without spoiling
What is the refrigerator car
This was the amount of land granted by the homestead act
What is 160 acres
A credit system where farmers traded ownership of their crops for credit before planting season, causing many farmers to go into debt
What is the Crop Lien system
In 1865, this percent of western farmers faced so much debt and failure that they were forced to move back to the East
What is 50%
These factors threatened crops, often wiping out a farmer's entire harvest (name two)
What are fires, locusts, hailstorms, and wind
These three requirements allowed land to be claimed using the Homestead Act
What is living on the land for 5 years, improving the land, and paying $30
A large, corporate farm that benefited from discounted prices on resources and railroad prices
What is a "bonanza" farm
This term refers to the southern area where many tenant farmers worked growing cotton. The homestead act lead many southern farmers to leave this area to go west.
What is the Cotton Belt
This company was the first to create mail-order catalogues for farms