Why Did the Homestead Act Fail in Its Purpose of Peopling

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Terms of the Homestead Act: any household head who could live on the land for at least five years and improve it received 160 acres of public domain at no cost or could buy the land for $1.25 an acre after six months' residence

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Limitations to a growing population: few Easterners had the financial resources or experience to go west and become farmers; only 10 percent of all farmers got their start under the Homestead Act, and nearly half lost their claims

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Climate and geography of the West: advertisements were usually deceptive; homesteaders instead found themselves in a struggle between the harsh climate and the soil; soil would not yield a livelihood, and farmers went into debt; some farmers lost their land and became tenants; foreclosures resulted after dips in commodity prices or natural disasters wiped out small landowners

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Government land policy and corporate interests: state governments and land companies usually held the most valuable lands near transportation and markets, setting high prices for their sale; speculators got best choices at bargain prices and sold high; railroads received federal land grants and sold off holdings near their routes at high rates

Why Did the Homestead Act Fail in Its Purpose of Peopling

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