Settlement In The West Flashcards
When was the homestead act?
1862
What did the homestead act provide?
Incentives for people to take up unclaimed land in the west and build a new life there
Who qualified for homesteads?
Single people over 21
Head of the family
Have $10 for claim
How much land did the homestead act give people?
160 acres
What did people have to do to own the land?
(Homestead act)
Work it for 5 years then pay an extra $30
What were the limitations of the homestead act?
Rich landowners found a way to buy up land using the act
60% of claims were never proved up because of problems farming on the plains
When was the Pacific Railroad Act?
1862
When was the first transcontinental railroad?
1869
What two companies built the first transcontinental railroad?
The Union Pacific
The central Pacific
How did the government support the building of the railroad?
Paid $16,000 for every mile of track laid
Gave the railroad companies 45 million acres of land to sell to settlers
Why did the US government need railroads to connect the east and west?
To promote settlement of the west
To transport goods
To help fulfill manifest destiny
How did railroads promote settlement?
Sold plots of land along the routes and set up towns at railheads
Why was a lack of timber a problem?
How did they solve it?
There was nothing to build houses with —> made sod houses
There was nothing to build fences with—> used barbed wire
Why was hard, arid land a problem?
How did they solve it?
Ploughs broke —> produced stronger machinery
Hard to grow crops—> dry farming, turkey red wheat
When was the timber culture act?
1873
