Homestead Act (1862)

Passed on May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act accelerated the settlement of the western territory by granting adult heads of families 160 acres of surveyed public land for a minimal filing fee and five years of continuous residence on that land. This act helped settle the west by giving any adult citizen 160 acres of land essentially for free. The citizen had to live on and improve the land, and after 5 years were given the title to the land for a small filing fee. Indigenous people living on these lands were forced off to make the land available. In the 124 years the Homestead Act was in effect, land was given to 1.6 million white families and less than 6000 black families. Read more about the Act here.