Homesteaders Reasons

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The Homesteaders

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Transcript of Homesteaders Reasons

Page 1: Homesteaders Reasons

The Homesteaders

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Presentation Objectives:

1. Why people moved onto the Plains.

2. Impact of the railroad and the Homestead Acts.

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Movement on the Plains

The Plains for a long time was considered the ‘great American desert’. This was because they felt no-one could survive on the barren landscape.

The only people who lived on the Plains were the Native Americans.

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Reasons for movement: Push and Pull factors.

Push

High cost of living in the East coast

Escape the poverty of

being immigrants,

Overcrowding in the East

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Reasons for movement: Push and Pull factors.

Pull

Sense of adventure –

Manifest Destiny

Cheap land with Rail and Govt. Laws

Adverts saying how good it is.

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Homestead Act of 1862

The Homestead Act of 1862 was a US Govt. law designed to get people to move on to the Plains. (Kansas, Nebraska and Dakota)

If a person moved on the Plains then they would get 160 acres of land which would be free except a small charge to file a claim.

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Homestead Act of 1862 To meet the terms of

the agreement the homesteaders had to live on their homestead for 5 years.

They would then get the deeds to own the lands. A quick sale could be done in 6 months.

How they lived on the Homestead was a different matter. To succeed, crops were sometimes more important than the home someone lived in.

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Timber Culture Act 1873

This act was designed to add to the Homestead Act of 1862.

It gave Homesteaders a further 160 acres if they turned 40 for planting trees (it was later reduced to just 10 acres).

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Desert Land Act 1877

The Homestead Act was allowed to increase holdings to 640 acres.

In 1877 it also created the Desert Land Act which enabled Homesteaders to get 640 acres in poor rainfall or water areas.

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What was good and bad about the Homestead Act?

What was bad Not enough land – 160

acres was not enough in some areas e.g. Colorado.

Some people took advantage of the law by getting their employees to get claims and then take the land.

What was good People thought 160

acres was manageable. A Homesteader could

get 480 acres under the three acts up to 1873.

It got people to move on to the Plains. 2.5 million acres were on offer.

By 1885-7, 43,000 claims were made.

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Railroads all led to the Plains

Railroads were being made across the Plains (the Transcontinental Railroads).

To help pay for the projects, the companies marketed settling on the Plains. To make the railroads full of passengers. To settle the Plains in between the coasts on their

land. The freight on the rails would be needed for

supplying the Homesteaders.

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Adverts like this, sold the idea of settling on the Plains.

Notice the lush green scenery – not all the Plains were like this!

The Railways also set up ‘Exploring ticket’, which allowed people top visit the plains.

If a person wanted to, they could then buy the land on credit from the rail company.

The company was selling land it owned either side of the railways.