What was the primary reason the Homestead Act did not pass until 1862?
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Correct answer: Southern legislators opposed it because it would create more 'free' states
Southern politicians consistently blocked homestead legislation because they feared the West would be settled by small-scale farmers who opposed the expansion of slavery. It only passed after the Southern states seceded from the Union.
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More Homestead Act questions
- The 'Exodusters' were a specific group of homesteaders who moved to Kansas in the late 1870s consisting primarily of:
- Due to the lack of timber on the Great Plains, many homesteaders built their first homes out of:
- Which technological innovation was most essential for homesteaders to fence their land on the treeless plains?
- The Timber Culture Act of 1873 was an amendment to the Homestead Act that allowed settlers to claim more land if they:
- A major criticism of the Homestead Act's effectiveness was that much of the best land was actually acquired by:
- In the context of the Homestead Act, what was a 'land run'?