Question

The Homestead Act of 1862 was designed to _____________________.

• A. Open up land in the West to be acquired by independent farmers.
• B. Sell farmland in the West in order to fund the Civil War.
• C. Open up land in the West for railroad building.
• D. Grant land to people who were willing to either grow trees or do other work to make otherwise poor land suitable for farming.
• E. Build housing out in the West to create cooperative farm communities.

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

Open up land in the West to be acquired by independent farmers.

The Homestead Act of 1862 made it possible for an individual to acquire ownership of public land. This enabled the individual farmers to own their own land for carrying out their own farming activities as opposed to the southern states where the slave owners wanted the slaves to work on the farms.