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May 20
This legislation gave authorized unrestricted settlement on public lands to settlers, requiring only residence, cultivation, and some improvement to a tract of 160 acres. Any person who was head of a family or was age 21, a United States citizen, and owned less than 160 acres, was eligible. After living on the land and farming it for 6 months, the individual could buy the homestead at $1.25 an acre. But after 5 continuous years, he or she could apply for and receive a patent or title to the 160 acres for a filing fee of $15. This legislation (among others) permitted White Americans to freely acquire vast amounts of real estate, unavailable to Africans and Indians (who had lost their land to the White Europeans) in America who were, at the time, not considered full citizens of the United States. This law sheds light to the tremendous economic advantage given to future generations of White Americans as land is passed through inheritance. Reference: Historic U.S. Cases 1690-1993: An Encyclopedia New York Copyright 1992 Garland Publishing, New York ISBN 0-8240-4430-4
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The African American Registry®, The African American Registry® Copyright 2005, 2006
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