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The Homestead Act is often described as a way for settlers to claim land in the American West, but I’m trying to understand how that promise worked on the ground. Who could realistically meet the requirements, and what happened to people already living on or using those lands?
I’d like to learn more about the effects of Homestead Act land claims beyond the basic account of families moving west. Did the law mainly create opportunities for small farmers, or did access to land and the costs of establishing a farm make the outcome more complicated?
