THE HOMESTEAD ACT

_____________________ signed the Homestead Act on May 20, 1862.

• Abraham Lincoln

• Thomas Jefferson

• Meriwether Lewis

• William Clark

The law gave settlers the chance to get __________ acres of free land from the federal government

• 100

• 120

• 140

• 160

Why did the government support homesteading?

• to encourage trade with Canada

• to encourage settlers to farm the western land

Even for those who afford all of the supplies needed to farm the land, farming was NOT easy.

• true

• false

An individual had to be at least _____ years old to claim land.

• 18

• 20

• 21

• 30

What was the overall purpose of the Homestead Act?

• Encourage people to migrate westward

• To spread people out more

• To keep people in the same place

• To make everyone leave

The Homestead Act attempted to promote development of western lands by

• creating a system of dams for crop migration

• removing all restrictions on immigration

• placing Native Americans on reservations

• providing free land to settlers

What was passed to encourage settlers to move west?

• Infrastructure

• The Declaration of Independence

• The Homestead Act

• The Emancipation Proclamation

The Homestead Act authorized the government to grant _____ acres of land to people willing to reside on - and improve - their plot of land for a minimum of five years.

• 160

• 170

• 161

• 171

What type of houses did people live in under the homestead act?

• Brick Houses

• Sod Houses

• Tepees

• Tents