Federal Government Action

Question 1

Chinese Exclusion Act

Answer 1

A law that prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers. The act lowered income for all workers, and caused sharp contraction in manufacturing, mining, and agriculture.

Question 2

Homestead Act price

Answer 2

• Claim 160 acres ($1.25 per acre)
• $10 to claim land
• $30 to prove up after 5 years.

Question 3

Morrill Act

Answer 3

1862
- Morrill Hall at Cornell University or University of Maryland

1866 - 6 colleges offering engineering degrees
1870 - 21 colleges

Land-grant unis

Question 4

‘Sulky plough’

Answer 4

50,000 sold in first year
1875

Question 5

How much land was claimed by Homesteaders by 1867?

Answer 5

6 million

Later 80 million and half of Nebraska

Question 6

Failures of the Homestead Act:

Answer 6

• 80 / 500 million acres actually homesteaded
• 60% of homesteads didn’t prove up.

Question 7

What encouraged the Homestead Act?

Answer 7

Timbre Culture Act 1873 –> another 160 acres if planted 40 acres of trees
Desert Land Act 1877 –> 640 acres if could irrigate in 2 years

Question 8

How many Homesteads repossessed due to drought and bankruptcy?

Answer 8

1889 - 1893 –> 11,000