Homestead Acts
An extension of the homestead principle in law, the Homestead Acts were an expression of the Free Soil policy of Northerners who wanted individual farmers to own and operate their own farms, as opposed to Southern slave owners who wanted to buy up large tracts of land and use slave labor, thereby shutting out free white farmers.
[3] Land-grant laws similar to the Homestead Acts had been proposed by northern Republicans prior to Civil War but they had been repeatedly blocked in Congress by Democrats who wanted western lands open for purchase by slave owners.
After the Southern states seceded from the Union in 1861 (and their representatives had left Congress), the bill passed and was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln (May 20, 1862).
About 40% of the applicants who started the process were able to complete it and obtain title to their homesteaded land after paying a small fee in cash.
[6] Homestead laws depleted Native American resources as much of the land they relied on was taken by the federal government and sold to settlers.
Due to the United States' economic power, these tribes had little leverage and millions of acres of land were transferred from their ownership.
[9] As an indirect, de facto way to secure the dispossessed land, the US government allowed late homesteading during the early twentieth century.
To get permanent title to the land, the person had to accomplish certain actions, such as continue to reside on it or improve it for at least five years; they could not leave or abandon it for more than six months at a time.
[19] The "yeoman farmer" ideal of Jeffersonian democracy was still a powerful influence in American politics during the 1840–1850s, with many politicians believing a homestead act would help increase the number of "virtuous yeomen".
[30] George Henry Evans famously coined the phrase "Vote Yourself a Farm" in a bid to garner support for the movement.
The new act also required that the person "has never borne arms against the United States Government or given aid and comfort to its enemies"; unlike the 1848 and 1850 laws, it did not have any provision mentioning race.
A homesteader could also pay the $1.25 (or the current rate) per acre price after proof of the less-stringent requirements set in the Preemption Act.
Those affidavits affirmed the 5 years of residence or cultivation and that "no part of said land has been alienated [transferred or mortgaged], and that he [the homesteader] has borne true allegiance to the Government of the United States".
The act was enacted to allow poor tenant farmers and sharecroppers in the South to become landowners in the Southern United States during Reconstruction.
In the South, poor farmers and sharecroppers made up the majority of the population so the act sold land at a lower price to decrease poverty among the working class.
Access to such homesteads was further complicated by delays in resolving border disputes due to distance and discord between the US Land Office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
on), responding to opponents of the nation's Forest Reserves who felt land suited for agriculture was being withheld from private development.
[41] A massive influx of these new farmers, combined with inappropriate cultivation techniques and misunderstanding of the ecology, led to immense land erosion and eventually the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.
[42][43] In 1916, the Stock-Raising Homestead Act was passed for settlers seeking 640 acres (260 ha) of public land for ranching purposes.
In 1938 Congress passed a law, called the Small Tract Act (STA) of 1938, by which it is possible for any citizen to obtain certain lands from the Federal Government for residence, recreation, or business purposes.
[44] 4,000 previously classified Small Tracts were offered at public auction at fair market value, circa 1958, by the Los Angeles Office of BLM.
She was among a group of people, including her son William J. Smith, who filed for homestead west of Big Delta, Alaska.
[47] The last claim under this Act was made by Ken Deardorff for 80 acres (32 ha) of land on the Stony River in southwestern Alaska.
[52] In 1995, a random survey of 178 members of the Economic History Association found that 70 percent of economists and 84 percent of economic historians disagreed with the statement "Nineteenth-century U.S. land policy, which attempted to give away free land, probably represented a net drain on the productive capacity of the country.
[58] Similar laws were passed in Canada: The Legislative Assembly of Ontario passed The Free Grants and Homestead Act in 1868,[59] which introduced a conditional scheme to an existing free grant plan previously authorized by the Province of Canada in The Public Lands Act of 1860.
[65] The Parliament of Canada passed the Dominion Lands Act in 1872 in order to encourage settlement in the Northwest Territories.
[68] Newfoundland and Labrador provided for free grants of land upon proof of possession for twenty years prior to 1977, with continuous use for agricultural, business or residential purposes during that time.
