Figure 1.- This tin-type shows an unidentified farmer and his three sons who helped him work the farm. Thanks to the Northwest Ordinance (1787) and the Homestead Act (1862), American farming was primarily conducted by the men who actually owned the land. This does no sound unusual, but actually was one of the most revolutionary concepts in all of history. And it was a process that began with the American Revolution. Notice how the farmer has brough out his most prized possession--his horse. This represented the power at his dispposal--one horse power. Te tin-type is not dated, but we would guess was taken in the 1890s.

Congress passed The Homestead Act in the middle of the Civil War crisis (1862). It essentially extended the Northwest Ordinance to the land west of the Mississippi obtained through the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and the Mexican War (1846-48). The Act enabled any adult citizen or intended citizen to claim 160 acres of surveyed government land for a minimal filing fee, provided they lived on it, improved it by cultivating the land, and resided there for a period of at least 5 years. It did not specify men, but because of the manual labor farming required, almost all the individuals who acquired a homestead were men, mostly married men. This opened up massive westward expansion by distributing public land to settlers who had limited accumulated assets. At the time of the Civil War, European emigration has been sizeable, but after the War it would turn into an migration torrent. And the the lure of virtually free land was a powerful, but not the only draw. The Act was signed into law by President Andrew Lincoln (May 20, 1862). While the land was essentially free, he homesteaders need some money to purchase farm equipment, probably a horse and wagon, seed, and other essentials. The Homestead Act of 1862 is certainly one of the most important pieces of Legislation ever passed by Congress. Like the Northwest Ordinance (1787), the Homestead Act was revolutionary, distributing public land in small parcels to create family farms. American historiography is today fixated on slavery. Slavery throughout history has played a minor role in history and even in the United States, the impact of slavery while important has not been massive. Contrary to popular thought, slavery was no a major institution. (Greece and Rome were exceptions.) Most of humanity were never slaves, but rather landless peasants. Land ownership was the dominant question in human society. And throughout most of history, the people who worked the land, did not own the land and thus reap the fruits of his labor. This did not change until the American Revolution (1776-83). The Continental Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance which designated western land for small family farms. This began the process of distributing land to the people who worked it -- part of the magic elixir that made the United States the world's most powerful country. The Homestead Act extended this revolutionary process to the lands west of the Mississippi. This would eventually amount to 270 millions acres, or 10 percent of the area of the United States, claimed and settled under the Act. And of course a much larger percentage of the land suitable for cultivation.

Created: 4:33 PM 2/20/2025
Last updated: 4:33 PM 2/20/2025