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The intent of the Homestead Act of 1862 [24] [25] was to reduce the cost of homesteading under the Preemption Act; after the South seceded and their delegates left Congress in 1861, the Republicans and supporters from the upper South passed a homestead act signed by Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862, which went into effect on Jan. 1st, 1863.
After 1800, cotton became the chief crop in southern plantations, and the chief American export. After 1840, industrialization and urbanization opened up lucrative domestic markets. The number of farms grew from 1.4 million in 1850, to 4.0 million in 1880, and 6.4 million in 1910; then started to fall, dropping to 5.6 million in 1950 and 2.2 ...
Thus, the black homesteader movement foreshadowed the Great Migration of the mid-twentieth century during which 6 million blacks fled the South to work in northern or western states. In addition to the attraction of free land and the opportunities provided by land ownership, black homesteaders “also had in their consciousness the bitter agony ...
For a period after the Civil War, black ownership of land increased and was primarily used for farming. At one point blacks had gained ownership over about 15 million acres, which meant that they were also in control of 14% of the farms located in the United States (that is 925,000 farms owned by black people).
A factor that contributed to the price volatility of farm products was related to supply-demand.Farm output increased as more people settled in the west. Part of this settlement can be attributed to: the influx of immigrants, the Homestead Act, and railroad construction.
The high birth rate, and the availability of cheap land caused the rapid expansion of population. The average age was under 20, with children everywhere. The population grew from 5.3 million people in 1800, living on 865,000 square miles of land to 9.6 million in 1820 on 1,749,000 square miles.
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A homesteader turning up beans in Pie Town, New Mexico, 1940. Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craft work for household use or sale. Homesteading has been pursued in various ways ...