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Essays on the significance of the homestead act
Essay on homestead act
The influence of the Homestead Act of America
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I THESIS STATEMENT
The Homestead Act of 1862 made surveyed lands obtainable to homesteaders. The act stated that men and women over the age of 21, unmarried women who were head of households and married men under the age of 21, who did not own over 160 acres of land anywhere, were citizens or intended on becoming citizens of the United States, were eligible to homestead. This paper will show how the Homestead Act came to be enacted, who the homesteaders were and the effects of the Homestead Act on the pioneers.
II WHAT EVENTS LEAD TO THE HOMESTEAD ACT?
The distribution of Government lands had been an issue since the Revolutionary War. Early methods for allocating unsettled land outside the original 13 colonies were chaotic. Boundaries were established by stepping off plots from geographical landmarks. As a result, overlapping claims and border disputes were common. The Land Ordinance of 1785 finally implemented a standardized system of Federal land surveys that eased boundary conflicts. Territories were divided into a 6-mile square called a township prior to settlement. The township was divided into 36 sections, each measuring 1 square mile or 640 acres each. Sale of public land was viewed as a means to generate revenue for the Government rather than as a way to encourage settlement. Initially, an individual was required to purchase a full section of land at the cost of $1 per acre for 640 acres. The investment needed to purchase these large plots and the massive amount of physical labor required to clear the land for agriculture were often insurmountable obstacles.
According to all available indexes of growth, the United States grew enormously between 1840 and 1860. The continental limits of the nation were reached, with the exception of Alaska, by 1854 through the acquisition of the Mexican Cession territory and the Gadsden Purchase. The population continued its upward spiral, moving from slightly over seventeen million in 1840 to over thirty-eight million in 1860. New canals, steamboats, turnpikes, and railroads knit the nation together into an integrated economic unit. Hundred of thousands of people crossed the Atlantic to take up residence in the dynamic nation, while other hundreds of thousands moved into the Western regions of the country.
Legislative efforts to improve homest...
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Allotments could be sold after a statutory period (25 years), and “surplus” land. not allotted was opened to settlers. Within decades following the passage of the act the vast majority of what had been tribal land in the West was in white hands. The act also established a trust fund to collect and distribute proceeds from oil, mineral, timber, and grazing. leases on Native American lands.
Abbott, Martin. "Free Land, Free Labor and the Freedmen's Bureau." Agricultural History 30.4 (1956): 150-56.
Availability of land from The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 contributed to the overexpansion of land speculation and caused inflation of land values. This purchase doubled the U.S. territory with an additional 828,000 square miles. The cost per acre was approximately 40 cents. This whole area later became 15 states. These states were Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico, Texas, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Louisiana. As a
On the east coast people were also being taken advantage of by the government. As a result of the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, the government began giving out land grants ‒through the Homestead Act of 1862‒ for Americans to live on and farm; the only problem was that another culture was already living on the land: the Sioux Nation. After the S...
"Chapter 2 Western Settlement and the Frontier." Major Problems in American History: Documents and Essays. Ed. Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman, Edward J. Blum, and Jon Gjerde. 3rd ed. Vol. II: Since 1865. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. 37-68. Print.
The availability of inexpensive land in the American West provided opportunity for many Americans to fulfill the American dream of individualism, economic opportunity and personal freedom. Immigrants, former slaves and other settlers moved across the country to become western farmers and ranchers to make a new life. One of the reasons why the west was a land of opportunity for the farmers and ranchers was the large quantity of cheap available land. This allowed for many Americans, both rich and poor, to buy land for farming and raising cattle. The Homestead Act of 1862 aided the process. The Homestead Act gave title to 160 acres of federal land to farmers who staked a claim and lived on the land for five years. Alternatively, a farmer could buy the land after six months for $1.25 an acre. Many blacks and immigrants joined the westward expansion, looking for a better life. Immigrants saw the land as opportunity because many could not own land in the countries where they were born. For example, in Nebraska, a fourth of the population was foreign born. These immigrants transformed...
The early 1800’s was a very important time for America. The small country was quickly expanding. With the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition, America almost tripled in size by 1853. However, even with the amount of land growing, not everyone was welcomed with open arms. With the expansion of the country, the white Americans decided that they needed the Natives out.
In the case of Hulga, the physical damage was done at the young age of ten, as told in the story. She was, however, able to care for herself and able to walk with the assistance of a false leg made of wood, and she had had over twenty years to learn to accept her disability. Hulga was, however, very sensitive about her false leg, as she explains to the new male interest in her life, “No one ever touched it but her” (O’Connor 456). The male interest she now had, was met as a Bible salesman, and was very curious and insistent about her false leg. As he continued to pry, Hulga explained, “It joins at the knee. Only at the knee” (O’Connor 456). She exclaimed this to her new beau to set his mind at ease and to keep him interested. The physical damage to her leg was a hindrance, but not a total debilitating disability. This being said, she was still not very interested in sharing information about her false
There are a lot of differences between high school and college. Some of the differences are the education, the professors, and the students. This essay will explain the difference between high school and college.
Potter, Lee Ann, and Wynell Schamel. "The Homestead Act of 1862." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
To begin, the most obvious difference between high school and college is that high school is free while students have to pay for college. During high school years the only things that requires money would be school supplies and things wanted by students. High school students have free access to learning and textbooks and that’s different for college students. College requires payment to attend classes and to use text books new or used. However, colleges do have payment plans, access to scholarships and financial aid, and the state may even provide grants making the
Students who make the transition from high school into college have difficulty adjusting because many are not used to being on their own nor their new environment. Entering college, you come to understand that it is not the same as high school. There are crucial differences like the level of academic responsibilities, time management and scheduling, as well as the method of learning. College and high school are different in many ways but they both ultimately share the same goal in teaching students to learn.
At a high school, there are many things to offer such as auditoriums, lunch rooms, computer labs and science labs. Along with these things sports are offered too, among those sports are basketball, soccer, baseball, football and various running sports. While students benefit from these extracurricular activities there are rules to be obeyed such as the school dress code and cell phones are not permitted during school hours. While in college it is a little different, you get treated like an adult and you have a bit more freedom. College students take advantage of this freedom of roaming and exploring the campus. For example, college kids can freely take out their cellphone without it being taken up at any given point in the class. “In high school, your day is typically planned for you, including where and when your classes meet and what time you eat lunch. College gives you significantly more freedom in building your schedule and choosing how to spend your time” (Kori Morgan). Along with extensive freedom offered at the college level there are other things offered as well, like sports fields, theatres and concert halls most of those things are unheard of in high school. Whether college kids are in class they could easily be hitting the books hard in libraries or just relaxing in the campus café. The choices are endless in
School is an exceptionally important phase in our lives. Elementary, middle school, high school, and college are the places where besides our homes we learn most of our principles and moral values. I consider high school and college as the most important chapters in my life. However, high school and college education systems differ from each other in various aspects. Back when I was in high school, I thought that college would be just a follow-up, but slightly more complicated. Now that I am a college student, I realize that it is considerably more complex than high school. I personally categorize college significantly harder than high school for the following reasons; complexity of subjects, treatment of the professors towards students, and
Even though the differences between college and high school are broad, the same statement could be made about the similarities between the two. Both levels of schooling have their positives and negatives. People should learn to enjoy both levels because they only come once and you only get one chance to live each one. The experience you could get in both levels could be the greatest of people 's lives. Go out and live