Poster Advertising Land
Homestead Act was created by Congress in 1862. Any person over the age of 21 or who was the head of a family could procure 160 acres of public land. He/she had to be willing to live on it for five years and to make improvements on it. The act enticed between 400,000 and 600,000 families to the West. Children could learn more at: Homestead Act.