About the Law THE HOMESTEAD ACT
How long did homesteaders have to live on the land before it was officially theirs?
5 years
Who was the president that signed the Homestead Act?
Abraham Lincoln
What did “the West” mean when most Americans lived on the East Coast?
The present-day Midwest
How old did you have to be to apply for land?
21 years or older
What did homesteaders have to build on their land?
A home
In what year was the Homestead Act signed?
1862
What group of people already lived in the areas settlers moved into?
Native Americans
What did you have to be the head of to qualify?
A household
Who could count their time in the Civil War toward the 5 years?
Union soldiers
How much was the fee to apply for the land?
$18 plus $1.25 per acre
What attracted settlers to the Midwest?
Flat land that was good for farming
Name two groups of people who could apply under the Homestead Act.
Women, African Americans, freed slaves, immigrants
How many acres of land could a homesteader receive?
160 acres
When was the Homestead Act repealed?
1976
What was one main reason people wanted land in the West? Any main reason works
To start farms and own land/ land was cheap
Who actually ended up getting a lot of the land instead of homesteaders?
Speculators, cattlemen, mine owners, lumbermen & railroads
What was the purpose of the Homestead Act?
To help people who couldn’t afford their own land get a chance to own land
What was one negative effect of the act? Any effect will work
Speculators and large companies took much of the land instead of true settlers
What crops did many Midwest farms grow?
Corn and wheat.
Why were these other people able to get so much land?
There were loopholes in the act