Good Example Of Essay On Homesteading Is A Major Theme In The Settling Of The American West

a) The Homestead Act originated from an earlier United States Federal law that gave away 160 acres of land, outside of the original 13 American colonies. The Homestead Act was signed by Abraham Lincoln in 1862. The two main brains behind the promotion of the act were George Henry Evans and Horace Greenly. Evans promoted his idea with the slogan “vote yourself a farm” and is called the father of the Homestead Act. The act requires people settling in the Homestead area to undertake 3 steps: file for an application, improve land and file for the deed of title.
b) Through this Act, the applicants could acquire 160 acres of land for free. To get a land in the West for free, one should be an American citizen above 21 years of age and be willing to stay on the land for 5 years (at least 6months per year for every year) and pay the small application fees. 270,000,000 acres of land were distributed to Americans and it accounts for 10% of America.
c) The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ended the Homestead Act. However, the act was in effect in Alaska till 1986. The Western land was found unsuitable for agriculture and the government decided to use it for public activities. In many places the law was abused and water resources were misused. The land was also found to unsuitable for agriculture. Even from 1935 many acts were put forth to end homestead and return it for conservation efforts.
d). The settlers agreed to move west, believing in the lure “rain follows the plough’, however it was not true, these arid land, west of Mississippi rarely received rain and the earth was dry and hard baked. There was also deficiency in fuel and water sources.