History

• Even before the Civil War, many members of Congress from non-Southern states desired the passage of a similar law to the Homestead Act. Beginning in the 1840s and continuing into the 1850s, members of Congress from non-Southern states began to idealize the creation of the quintessential yeoman farmer, which was a farmer who developed his own crops and land. Advocates for the growth of the yeoman farmer encouraged the passage of a law that granted farmers a specific amount of land.
  
  

Features

• According to President Lincoln's Homestead Act law, any individual who had never taken up arms or rebelled against the United States government, such as those in Southern states, qualified to file an application and receive a title for up to 160 acres of land. The Homestead Act even extended to include freed slaves.
  
  

Procedures

• The procedures to qualify for the Homestead Act were to file an application, file for deed of title and vow to improve the undeveloped land. Applicants either had to be citizens or intended citizens of the U.S. In addition, applicants vowed to cultivate the land. If an applicant was approved, he would be allowed to begin receiving title rights after six months of residency. The applicant was required to pay the government $1.25 per acre.
  
  

Opposition by Southern Congressmen

• Since the idea of the yeoman farmer threatened the economic stability of the Southern plantation slavery system, Congressmen from Southern states strongly opposed the passage of any bills that resembled what ultimately became the Homestead Act.
  
  

Passage of Homestead Act

• In 1852, 1854 and 1859 the Senate vetoed homestead legislation measures. Finally, in 1860, Congress passed a homestead-type legislation that would provide Western settlers with federal land grants, which were later vetoed by President James Buchanan. After the Civil War began and the Southern states seceded from the Union, the Homestead Act was passed and signed into law by both Congress and President Lincoln. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 overturned the Homestead Act, except Alaska, which repealed the Homestead Act in 1986.