Posted by 4ashley on September 27, 2009 at 11:13am
One of the major attractions to bring settlers to the West was the Homestead Act. The Homestead Act gave 160 acres of land to any citizen or citizen to be who was also the head of the house hold. The act was signed by Abraham Lincoln on May 20th, 1862.
There was many families that took advantage of the Homestead Act. About 1.6 million havesteads were granted along with 270 million acres were given between 1862 and 1986, a total of about 10% of the lands in the US. Many thousands were African Americans who moved from the post-reconstruction south to Kansas.Eventually, the government changed the act and passed more legislation to excite settlers.
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