December 15, 2010

December 15, 2010

Yesterday afternoon we drove east through Kansas before darting north of the border into Nebraska for the evening. Our first stop this morning was nearby Homestead National Monument. This park commemorates the Homestead Act of 1862, a uniquely American law. In most of the world, especially Europe, land was scarce and the source of wealth. In the US, acreage was a dime a dozen, or in the case of this law, 160 for free. Giving land away to poor Americans was promoted early in our history, but blocked by Southern politicians who feared the spread of slave-free states. After the Rebels seceded, Lincoln was able to get the Act passed.

The monument sits on the site of Daniel Freemen’s farm, the first Homesteader. Legend has it he persuaded the land office to open right after midnight so he could file his claim and make it back to his army unit. Despite the allure of free land, most people were unprepared for the hardship of farming on the frontier. Only 40% of homesteaders lasted the five years necessary to gain the land title. Unbeknownst to me, the Homestead Act lasted well into my lifetime. The last Homestead was filed in 1976 in Alaska. Nobody mentioned I had other options when I graduated high school.