 Show
The Homestead Act granted land to individuals who were jonesing for getting a slice of the American West pie. The Pacific Railway Act granted land to the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads to build a transcontinental railway along the 32nd parallel. (Source) That sounds easy enough, right? Well, actually not. Land became as valuable as gold, and competing interests fought like dogs over scraps of available or not so available pieces of earth. Not content with the nearly 128 million acres of land granted by the government between 1862 and 1872, the railroads and the doctrine of Eminent Domain—or the power vested in the railroads to co-opt land because they were working on a federal improvement project—ripped even more land from homesteaders. Even if they weren’t on the track per se, the railroads still had the power to set bumpers to the track (ten square miles per mile of track) and take more land than strictly necessary. (And then turn around and sell it, because they were greedy dirtbags.) Of course, if the land was already occupied, owners were meant to be compensated…but whether that was fairly or not is another story. (See what we mean about the greedy dirtbag part?) How could this happen when there were meant to be records of these things, you ask? Well, not only did it take until 1869 for the railroad to be finished, but also homesteaders popped up all over the place and there was poor communication between Land Office outposts. (The railroad was also working on bringing the telegraph to the West.) The Union Pacific was working west while the Central Pacific was working east, so progress varied, making it difficult to keep track (pun totally intended) of where things were or were going. Basically, 1863 onward was a free-for-all in trying to nail down land. IntroductionThe Pacific Railway Act was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on July 1, 1862. This act provided Federal government support for the building of the first transcontinental railroad, which was completed on May 10, 1869. The first transcontinental railroad connected the nation from coast to coast and reduced a journey of four months or more to just one week.
What was the primary purpose of the 1862 Homestead Act and the Pacific Railway Act?The Pacific Railway Act was signed into law by President Lincoln on July 1, 1862. This act provided federal government support for the building of transcontinental rail lines through the distribution of land grants along the lines.
What was the purpose of the 1862 Homestead Act quizlet?US Congress made the Homestead act in 1862. The purpose was to encourage settlement in the west. It offered migrators free title to public land if they built a home and improved the property for 5 years.
What were three major goals of the Homestead Act?The new law established a three-fold homestead acquisition process: file an application, improve the land, and file for deed of title. Any U.S. citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. Government could file an application and lay claim to 160 acres of surveyed Government land.
|
What was the primary purpose of the homestead and Pacific Railway Acts passed in 1862?
zusammenhängende Posts
Urheberrechte © © 2024 toptenid.com Inc.
