Homesteading and Settling the Frontier by Morretta Alison;

Author:Morretta, Alison;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cavendish Square Publishing LLC

A photographer captured antislavery settlers in Topeka, Kansas, preparing to fight proslavery forces during the “Bleeding Kansas” period in 1856.

The Homestead Act of 1862

Before the Homestead Act, the federal government used the sale of public land as a source of revenue. Public land was offered in large parcels and at a price the average citizen could not afford or manage. The Homestead Act of 1862, which went into effect January 1, 1863, allowed people to claim 160 acres (65 ha) of land in the Great Plains region, much of which was not yet settled by whites. The act reads, in part, that applicants were required to make an affidavit (or statement) confirming that:

… he or she is the head of a family, or is twenty-one years or more of age, or shall have performed service in the army or navy of the United States, and that he has never borne arms against the Government of the United States or given aid and comfort to its enemies, and that such application is made for his or her exclusive use and benefit, and that said entry is made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation.

Under the Homestead Act, the applicant paid a $10 filing fee and would have a recognized but temporary claim on the land. Applicants had six months to start living on and cultivating their land, and after five years they would be the owners if they could prove they met the settlement requirements. If any applicant could meet the requirements after six months, they could buy the land for $1.25 per acre through the act’s commutation clause.

The first person to file a claim was Union soldier Daniel Freeman. Freeman filed on January 1, 1863—the first day the law went into effect—and his homestead in Beatrice, Nebraska, was designated a national monument in 1936. After the Civil War ended, the amount of claims increased significantly, and by 1872, more than 4.6 million acres (1.86 million ha) had been claimed under the Homestead Act.

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