B2 MAYER

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

Why did homesteaders want to live near the railroad?

• to make it easy to transport their crops to market

• to take vacations in the open space in the West

The Homestead Act:

• Encouraged westward settlement

• Granted 160 acres to every head of household

• Created Native Tension

• was an act which granted land to Natives

A person who migrated to the West to take advantage of the Homestead Act

• migrant

• drought

• homesteader

Could women secure a grant in their own names?

• Yes, women could own land.

• No, women could not own land.

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

True or False: If people were unable to complete the requirements in the 5 year span, the land went back to the government?

• True

• False

Vocabulary Review: The Homestead Act....

• Gave 160 acre plots of land to American settlers

• Gave 160 acre plots of land to Native American families

• Gave plots of unassigned land to anyone wanting tribal land in Oklahoma, as long as they were willing to race for it

• Gave reservation land to Native Americans

The ____________________ made it easier to travel, communicate, and trade. 

• Comstock Lode
• Transcontinental Railroad
• Vigilantes
• Chinese Exclusion Act