America Post Civil War Growing Pains
Americas Post Civil War Growing Pains
HIS 105
Tracie Douglass
Assignment 1
Professor James Allen
4/28/13
Once Industrialization began in the West a lot of things began to change. There were much different problems occurring in the West than in the South. One major turning point for the West is, the expansion of farming by the American settlers. The American settlers were farmers by trade for many years before the Civil War had even began. For the most part all Americans were a part of the farming industry. In the West, most of the population lived in the land that they farmed on. During the period of the Civil War, congressmen from the North began to cheat and take advantage of the fact that they were not too many congress men from the South. They encouraged the rapid growth of free labor in the West by passing what is known as the Homestead Act.
The Homestead act was a federal act passed by law in 1862, by President Abraham Lincoln. Many people in the West thought that this act was one of the most important laws passed into Legislation in the whole history of the United States. this Act turned over vast amounts of the public free land to private citizens. There is an estimated 270 million acres of land that was claimed under this one act. The only requirement that was put in place was that in order to claim your piece of land you had to be head of a household or at least 21 old.
The Homestead Act ultimately lead to the creation of 400,000 farms. Settlers, newly arrived immigrants, farmers without their own farm, single women and even previous slaves came to live on this now free land. There is an estimated 2 million people from all walks of life that eventually settled in the West. The Industrial Revolution had improved farming life tremendously, and this was great in addition to the expansion of railroad systems.
A second major turning point for the West would be, the Populist Movement. Everybody originally saw the
HIS 105
Tracie Douglass
Assignment 1
Professor James Allen
4/28/13
Once Industrialization began in the West a lot of things began to change. There were much different problems occurring in the West than in the South. One major turning point for the West is, the expansion of farming by the American settlers. The American settlers were farmers by trade for many years before the Civil War had even began. For the most part all Americans were a part of the farming industry. In the West, most of the population lived in the land that they farmed on. During the period of the Civil War, congressmen from the North began to cheat and take advantage of the fact that they were not too many congress men from the South. They encouraged the rapid growth of free labor in the West by passing what is known as the Homestead Act.
The Homestead act was a federal act passed by law in 1862, by President Abraham Lincoln. Many people in the West thought that this act was one of the most important laws passed into Legislation in the whole history of the United States. this Act turned over vast amounts of the public free land to private citizens. There is an estimated 270 million acres of land that was claimed under this one act. The only requirement that was put in place was that in order to claim your piece of land you had to be head of a household or at least 21 old.
The Homestead Act ultimately lead to the creation of 400,000 farms. Settlers, newly arrived immigrants, farmers without their own farm, single women and even previous slaves came to live on this now free land. There is an estimated 2 million people from all walks of life that eventually settled in the West. The Industrial Revolution had improved farming life tremendously, and this was great in addition to the expansion of railroad systems.
A second major turning point for the West would be, the Populist Movement. Everybody originally saw the
References: Shultz, Kevin. Hist Volume 2: Cengage Learning 2012 Corbin, Carole L. The Right to Vote: Issues in American History. New York: Franklin Watts, 1985. Book, W. African American and Native American discrimination from 1864 to 1954 Top of Form Bottom of Form