The Homestead Act for Women
The Homestead Act, which provided free land to settlers, almost didn't happen. The Free Soil party attempted to pass it through Congress in 1854, but President Buchanan vetoed it. They tried again and in 1862, President Lincoln signed the bill.
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Significance for Women
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The Homestead Act of 1862 was significant for women because, at a time with much discrimination toward the sex, it allowed women to have and retain the same land ownership rights as men. Former slaves, as well as single, divorced or widowed women could claim their own homesteads.
Shaping of the American West
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Allowing women to own land at a time when few middle and lower-class people did helped shape the personality of the American West. For instance, women helped push the rapid development of schools, churches and civic organizations.
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Girls and Inheritance
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The Homestead Act ensured the children of homesteaders--girls or boys--could inherit the land if both parents died.
Women and Danger
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Women were particularly vulnerable to the dangers of the "wild West"--where Homestead Act land was located. The Homestead Act did not provide guarantees of safety or help from threats such as disease, wildfires and attacks from claim jumpers.
Native American Women
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While the Homestead Act placed many white American women on land, much of those women were settled on acreage from which Native American tribes had already been forcibly removed.
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References
- Photo Credit pioneer homestead image by mavrick from Fotolia.com
