ppp homesteaders living
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The Homestead Act 1862
• 160 acres free land for each family.
• Homesteaders had to build a house on the land and live there for 5 years to get the land free.
• If they wanted to have the land more quickly, they had to pay for it.
• Some said the amount of land was too small, particularly in the high plains were soil was infertile.
• Better farm machinery meant you could bring more land under cultivation.
• Land speculators decided to use the law to make a profit, they got their employees to get the land free and then sold it at a higher price.
• After 1873 a Homesteader could get 480 acres if they claimed land under the 1841, 1862 and 1873 Acts.
• In 1877 the government passed the Desert Land Act allowing people to buy 160 acres if rainfall was a problem in their area.
• The Homestead act offered 2.5m acres of land.
• Thousands of farmers got free land.
• Many farmers got a shock when they arrived, the land was terrible.
• Tools and seeds used by farmers in the East were useless in the western soil.
The Homestead Act 1862
• 160 acres free land for each family.
• If they wanted to have the land more quickly, they had to pay for it.
• After 1873 a Homesteader could get 480 acres if they claimed land under the 1841, 1862 and 1873 Acts.
• In 1877 the government passed the Desert Land Act allowing people to buy 160 acres if rainfall was a problem in their area.
• The Homestead act offered 2.5m acres of land.
• Thousands of farmers got free land.
• Homesteaders had to build a house on the land and live there for 5 years to get the land free.
• Some said the amount of land was too small, particularly in the high plains were soil was infertile.
• Better farm machinery meant you could bring more land under cultivation.
• Land speculators decided to use the law to make a profit, they got their employees to get the land free and then sold it at a higher price.
• Many farmers got a shock when they arrived, the land was terrible.
• Tools and seeds used by farmers in the East were useless in the western soil.
Was life on the Homestead tougher for men or women?
MEN: (p. 65-6)• Lack of water• Shortage of building materials• Extreme weather• Prairie fires and plagues• Problems with crops
WOMEN: (p. 67-8)• Illness (children)• Medical care• Substitute items• Reading and writing• Cooking• Replacing items• Loneliness
• The Homesteader’s are famous for writing letters home. You have got to West and realised you have made a dreadful mistake. You are writing home to your friends telling them NOT to follow you. You need to include details of:
Was life on the Homestead tougher for men or women?