Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Homestead Act, Narrated by Todd Arrington
Todd Arrington is a historian, writer, and veteran. He serves as Executive Director of the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation. Arrington examines the Homestead Act of 1862, which offered 160 acres of land—taken from Indigenous tribes—to settlers seeking opportunity in the American West.
In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act.
- The law helped people get land in the American West.
- The U.S. government offered settlers 160 acres of public land.
- Much of this land had been taken from Native American tribes.
- Settlers had to live on and farm the land for five years.
- If they followed the rules, they could own the land.
- Life on a homestead was often very difficult.
- Many farms failed because parts of the West were very dry.
- Single women could claim land in their own names.
- Thousands of formerly enslaved Black Americans also claimed land.
- Homesteaders eventually received more than 270 million acres in 30 states.
- The Homestead Act changed settlement and farming in the American West.
POP Interview and Civics Quiz:
- N-400 Part 4;01. What date did you start to reside (live) t you current physical (home) address?
- USCIS 100:58. What is one reason colonists came to America?
- USCIS 128:73. The colonists came to America for many reasons. Name one.
Family Fun:
- Friends of Homestead: Land of Immigrants | Black Homesteaders and the Story of Nicodemus
- NPS: Homestead National Park, Nebraska | Online Activities | Junior Ranger Activity Booklet
- National Archives: The Homestead Act (primary resources)
- PBS Learning Labs: The Homestead Act and the Populating of the Great Plains | Single Women Homesteaders | African American Settlers
- Postal Museum: Mail and Migration (online exhibit)
- Smithsonain Learning Labs: The Impact of the Homestead Act (primary resources!)
- US Mint: Homestead Quarter (Nebraska)
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