10 Dec What Is the Definition of the Word Homestead Act
In 1974, a Vietnam veteran and California native named Kenneth Deardorff filed a claim to 80 acres of land on the Stony River in southwest Alaska. After meeting all the requirements of the law and living and working in the countryside for more than a decade, Deardorff obtained his patent in May 1988. He was the last person to receive title to the lands claimed under the Civil War Act. The last claim under this law was made by Ken Deardorff for 80 acres (32 ha) of land on the Stony River in southwestern Alaska. He met all the requirements of the Homestead Act in 1979, but did not receive his certificate until May 1988. He was the last person to receive a land claim under the Homestead Acts. [27] A homesteader only had to be the head of the household or at least 21 years old to claim a 160-acre property. Settlers from all walks of life, including newly arrived immigrants, Eastern farmers without their own land, single women and former slaves, worked to meet the challenge of “proving” and preserving this “free land.” Each hometeader had to live in the country, build a house, make improvements and cultivate for 5 years before they could “prove themselves”. A total deposit fee of $18 was the only money needed, but sacrifice and hard work demanded a different price than the hopeful settlers. Read the Homestead Act of 1862 A family poses with their car in Loup Valley, Nebraska, on the way to their new property, circa 1886. Recognizing that the Sandhills, Nebraska needed more than 160 acres for a plaintiff to support a family, Congress passed the Kinkaid Act, which granted Nebraska settlers larger properties of up to 640 acres.
The government has not developed a systematic approach to assessing claims under the Homestead Acts. The land authorities relied on affidavits from witnesses that the plaintiff had lived on the property for the required time and had made the necessary improvements. In practice, some of these witnesses were bribed or otherwise colluded with the plaintiff. The incentive to move and settle in Western territory was open to all U.S. citizens or intended citizens, resulting in 4 million homestead claims, even though 1.6 million deeds were officially received in 30 states. Montana, followed by North Dakota, Colorado and Nebraska, was the most successful. Native Americans were forced to leave their land to take refuge on reservations to make room for settlers. The first Homestead Act, passed in 1862, sought to liberalize the homesteading requirements of the Preemption Act of 1841.
It was signed by Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862, when, after the secession of the United States, the loudest opposition in Congress, the Southern states, was eliminated. [11] However, the law has proven not to be a panacea for poverty. Comparatively few workers and farmers could afford to build a farm or acquire the necessary tools, seeds and livestock. In the end, most of those who bought land under the law came from areas very close to their new farms (Iowans moved to Nebraska, Minnesotan to South Dakota, etc.). Unfortunately, the law was so ambiguous that it seemed to invite fraud, and Congress` early amendments only exacerbated the problem. Most of the land went to speculators, cattle owners, miners, loggers and railroads. Of the approximately 500 million acres dispersed by the General Land Office between 1862 and 1904, only 80 million acres went to settlers. In fact, small farmers acquired more land under the Homestead Act in the 20th century than in the 19th century. With the application and receipt in hand, the hometeader then returned to the land to start building a house and cultivating the land, two prerequisites for the “review” after five years. When all the requirements were met and the house teader was ready to take possession legally, the house teader found two neighbors or friends who were willing to vouch for the veracity of his statements about the land improvements and sign the “proof document”. After successfully completing this final form and paying a $6 fee, the hometeader received the patent for the land, signed with the name of the current president of the United States.
This paper was often proudly displayed on the wall of a booth and represented the culmination of hard work and determination. Learn more about Homestead Records. The Timber Act granted up to 160 hectares of land to a homesteader who planted at least 40 hectares (revised to 10) of trees over a period of several years. This quarter section could be added to an existing property claim, giving a settler a total of 320 acres. This offered homesteaders cheap land. “In the end, most of those who bought land under the law came from areas very close to their new farms (Iowans moved to Nebraska, Minnesotan to South Dakota, etc.),” the agency said. Unfortunately, the law was so ambiguous that it seemed to invite fraud, and Congress` early amendments only exacerbated the problem. Most of the land went to speculators, ranchers, miners, loggers and railroads. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ended colonization; [25] [26] By this time, federal government policy had evolved towards maintaining control of western Crown lands. The only exception to this new policy was Alaska, for which the law allowed settlement until 1986. [25] Settlers found land and registered their claims with the regional land office, usually in individual family units, although others formed closer communities. Often the farm consisted of several buildings or structures next to the main house.
The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States under which a plaintiff could acquire ownership of state land or public property, generally referred to as homesteads. In total, more than 160 million acres (650,000 km2; 250,000 square miles) of public land, or nearly 10% of the total area of the United States, were given free of charge to 1.6 million settlers; most of the homesteads were located west of the Mississippi River. The renewed interest in colonization was sparked by U.S. President Franklin D.`s homesteading program. Roosevelt, which was implemented in the 1930s as part of the New Deal. Between 1862 and 1934, the federal government granted 1.6 million farms and distributed 270,000,000 acres (420,000 square miles) of federal land for private property. This represented a total of 10% of all land in the United States. [4] Homesteading was abandoned in 1976, except in Alaska, where it existed until 1986.
Approximately 40% of applicants who initiated the process were able to complete it and, after paying a small amount in cash, acquire ownership of their property. [5] To make a claim, homesteaders paid an application fee of $18 to $10 to make a temporary claim to the land, $2 for the commission to the land broker, and an additional final payment of $6 to obtain an official patent on the land. Land titles could also be purchased by the government for $1.25 per acre after six months of proven residency. Of course, there were those who profited from colonization. According to the National Archives, a limited number of farmers and workers could afford to build a farm that included access to tools, crops, livestock and more. The “Yeoman Farmer” ideal of Jeffersonian democracy still had a strong influence on American politics in the 1840s and 1850s, with many politicians believing that a Homestead Act would help increase the number of “virtuous Yeomen.” The Free Soil Party of 1848-52 and the new Republican Party after 1854 demanded that the new lands that opened up in the West be made available to independent farmers rather than wealthy planters who would develop them with the use of slaves who forced Yeomen farmers onto marginal lands. [6] Southern Democrats had consistently opposed (and opposed) the previous proposals of the Homestead Bill, fearing that free land would attract European immigrants and poor whites from the South to the West. [7] [8] [9] After the secession of the South and the departure of its delegates from Congress in 1861, Republicans and other supporters of the Upper South passed a Homestead Act.[10] Find out which words work together and create more natural English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app. As an extension of the Homestead principle in law, the Homestead Acts were an expression of the free land policy of Northerners, who wanted individual farmers to own and operate their own farms, as opposed to Southern slave owners who wanted to buy large tracts of land and use slave labor. thus excluding free white farmers. The Homestead Act remained in effect until it was repealed in 1976, with provisions for homesteading in Alaska until 1986. Alaska was one of the last places in the country where homesteading remained a viable option until the second half of the 1900s.
The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 drastically reduced the amount of land available to settlers in the West.