may 20, 1862 - Homestead Act
Description:
Act that allowed a settler to acquire as much as 160 Acres of land by living on it for 5 years, improving it and paying a nominal fee of about $30 instead of public land being sold primarily for revenue it was now being given away to encourage a rapid filling of empty spaces and to provide a stimulus to the family farm, turned out to be a cruel hoax because the land given to the settlers usually had terrible soil and the weather included no rain, many farmers were repo'd or failed until "dry farming" took root on the plains, then wheat grew due to massive irrigation projects that were put into place.
Added to timeline:
APUSH
unit 1 to unit 9 main ideas
Date:
