Why Did The Homestead Act Fail

Homestead Act of 1862

The Homestead Act was passed on May 20, 1862; this act accelerated the settlement of the western territory by granting the head of families 160 acres of surveyed public land for a fee of $30 and 5 years of continuous residence on that land. During the forty years after its passing about half a million families took advantage of the act by purchasing land trying to make a home for themselves in the vast open lands. Though the act held good intentions it was truly a hoax, making it seem better than it actually was through all the loopholes and fine print the public did not see. The Homestead Act was considered to a significant failure by examining how land was sold, attitude toward Indian reservations, and corporate greed

The Homestead Act was considered a success by some historians; they have come to their own conclusions about the purpose of the Act. Some historians have said the Homestead Act encouraged settlers to leave their previous homes and move into areas of the United States. In The American Pageant it states, “Shattering the myth of the Great American Desert opened the gateways to the agricultural West” (Kennedy 646). Areas like the “Great American Desert” that was said to be barren and had previously not been settled this was an amazing way to expand the country and use more of the land, bringing it new hope. The Homestead Act also held hope for those who wanted a chance to start over. Before the Act, most farmers living in the east were renters who only borrowed land from larger owners, they had to pay taxes and split their gains. After the Act, there was a hope and realistic chance that small farmers could be counted among the landowners. Stated in The American Pageant, “rapid filling of empty spaces and to provide a stimulus to the family farm” (Kennedy 645), this quote refers to how the land was now for the common man not the businesses, the central focus is for the farmers and their benefits. The Homestead Act and a few other land policies were important in the encouragement of the settlement in areas like current day

Not only were the land sales out in the west was a major problem but also the physical land held major problems for farmers. Many people bought land from the government like they were supposed to while many did not purchase the legitimate way, in The American Pageant it states, “about half a million families took advantage of the Homestead Act … Yet five times that many families purchased their lands from railroads” (Kennedy 645), the people were cheating the system. This quote is showing how the railroads were wrongfully benefiting from the West lands and how people could get around the requirements the Act stated, for example the five year limit and in those years the lands must be improved. Another problem with the land sales was that naked fraud occurred; this meant that the public lands were owned by “land-grabbing promoters” than regular farmers this was cheating the farmers and the government of proper land development. On the topic of land development a large problem with the farming life in the west was that the lands were unfit for farming. Much of the land was too hard and broke plows. The American Pageant quotes, “the tough sod had been pounded solid by millions of buffalo hooves” (Kennedy 646). This refers to how hard and compacted the ground had become. When ground is very tightly packed no moisture can enter drying out the land making it unfertile. A method of farming