HomesteadAct



Homestead Act

Signed by President Lincoln in 1862. Under the act, for a small fee settlers could have 160 acres of land, if they met certain conditions. They were at least 21 years old or the heads of families. They were American citizens or immigrants filing for citizenship. They built a house of a certain minimum size (usually 12 feet by 14 feet) on their claims and levied in it at least 6 months a year. Finally, they had to far m the land for five years in a row before claiming ownership. The act created more than 372,000 farms. By 1900, settlers had filed 600,000 claims for more than 80 million acres under the Homestead Act.

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Ch. 7 Sec. 1 Pg. 259 http://www.walvoordhistory.com/Images/millions_acres.jpg