The Homestead Acts

To many people, the word ‘homesteader’ conjures up images of people living in small cabins tucked away in the middle of nowhere in Alaska. While it is true that homesteading did happen and was very popular in Alaska until recently, a more significant portion of land was passed into the hands of homesteaders who claimed land in the Great Plains during the latter half of the 19th century. The Homestead Act opened the door to the settlement of the west and gave many citizens a fresh start in life at little cost. The passage of the homestead acts not only led to the settlement of the west and fulfillment of manifest destiny; due to the hard conditions the homesteaders faced, the homestead acts led to the development of many new technologies to improve life in the west.

Poster advertising cheap land for homesteaders 

So, if the original ‘homesteader’ was not someone living in a one-room cabin in Alaska, who exactly where they? A homesteader was a person who fulfilled the requirements to gain access to a small plot of land in the west. Homesteaders came from all walks of life; some came looking for adventure or something different, while some looked for a fresh start entirely. Freed slaves, US citizens, and recent immigrants all rushed to claim their part of the west once the first act was passed. The Homestead Act was signed into law by President Lincoln in 1862 and took effect on January 1, 1863. This act gave new settlers of the west, homesteaders, land at little to no cost. The act initially faced some opposition from southerners, who feared the small farmers who settled in these areas would be opposed to slavery. However, after the southern states seceded, the Homestead Act was passed with no issues. To gain access to land in the west, the perspective homesteader had to pay a 10 dollar claim fee and a 2 dollar commission to the issuing agent. After paying these fees, the homesteader was granted access to the land.

Poster encouraging freed blacks to become homesteaders

After living on the land for five years and making small improvements (defined by growing crops on the land and building a 12 by 14 foot dwelling), the homesteader was then able to own the land. With written proof from his neighbors stating that he had lived there for the required time and fulfilled the requirements, the homesteader would present this proof along with a 6 dollar fee, and would then be granted the title for the land. However, many of the early homesteaders did not make it through the required 5 years of residency. A homesteader in 1863 was granted only 160 acres to grow crops, which, in the poor soil of the Plains and with limited resources proved very difficult. Homesteaders were plagued by insects, severe weather, and drought, which drove many off of their homesteads. Despite the odds being stacked against them, many homesteaders persevered, and were rewarded with the passage of subsequent laws to make their lives easier, and with several new inventions.

An early homesteader with his cabin in Oregon

After the civil war ended, congress began to realize the hardships that faced homesteaders. Growing crops on the small amount of land with limited resources available was unfeasible. So, in 1873, the Timber Culture Act was passed. This grated homesteaders an additional 160 acres of land, provided they plant at least 16 acres of trees. This act had two benefits; it both increased the land available to grow crops on, and if trees were grown, homesteaders would have additional materials to build their homes with. The treeless plains meant that most early homesteaders had to build their houses out of the thick sod that was abundant in that region. The Desert Land Act followed in 1877, granting homesteaders an additional 640 acres for grazing animals. This would free up more land for crops and avoid the crops being trampled by cattle. After the passage of this act, it was then possible for homesteaders to attain 960 acres at little cost, which for most was enough to survive.

A typical sod home built by a homesteader

Due to hardships homesteaders faced, many inventions also came as a result of the Homestead Act. John Deere invented the ‘sodbuster’ to plow through the thick sod of the plains after many plows brought from the east broke when put to the test in hard ground. The completion of the transcontinental railroad also improved life dramatically for homesteaders, as food and building supplies were able to be transported to remote areas. The ‘Turkey Red’ wheat variety brought by Russian settlers in 1874 to the region came as a welcome relief because it was able to stand up to the harsh conditions, unlike American varieties that were planted up until then. The invention of the barbed wire machine by Joseph Glidden made the passage of the Desert Land act possible, as homesteaders were able to divide their land up for their cattle to graze on. The Homestead Act has left a lasting legacy on farming today, because many of the technologies that resulted from the hardships homesteaders faced, such as barbed wire, are still in use today.

An early barbed wire machine similar to the design of Glidden's invention

Furthermore, the passage of the Homestead Act led to the dream of ‘manifest destiny’ becoming a reality as the remaining Native American territory was settled by Americans. Over the course of the main land rush, between 1863 and 1934 over 270 million acres was transferred from the government to the hands of private landowners. In the lower 48, homesteading came to an end in 1976, but was extended to 1986 for Alaska. So yes, the most recent homesteaders did in fact settle in Alaska. However, the homesteaders who settled in the plains in the latter half of the 19th century by far had the most lasting impact on life in America today.  

Works Cited

"The Homestead Act of 1862." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.

United States. National Park Service. "About the Homestead Act." National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, 26 Oct. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

The Homestead Act of 1862. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web.

"homesteader." Helicon Encyclopedia of World History. 2010. History Study Center. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.

"Frontier Outrages in America" Chambers's Journal 31 July 1873: 0_1. History Study Center. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.

"Benjamin "Pap" Singleton: A Leader in the "Great Exodus"." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.

Sowards, Adam M. "federal public lands." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.

Images:

"Advertisement for land in Nebraska." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.

"Settler's house in the forest." Photos/Illustrations. Forest History Society. American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.

"Broadside calling for African Americans to migrate (1878)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/assets/jb/civil/jb_civil_homested_2_e.jpg 
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