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Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

The Homestead Act of 1862

Posted by: Jim Martin

Today marks the 157th anniversary of the Homestead Act becoming law.  For a number of years before the Civil War, there had been interest in allocating public lands in the trans-Mississippi west to individual settlers, but for a variety of reasons, including arguments over the status of slavery in the territories and concerns by Northern …