How we cite our quotes: (Section)
Quote #1
[…]shall, from and after the first January, eighteen hundred and. sixty-three, be entitled to enter one quarter section or a less quantity of unappropriated public lands[…] (Section 1)
Let’s go forth and get that land settled. Please: come take the wonderful free land the government has to offer. One-quarter section may sound like nothing, but a family of five to ten, with only a portion of those being adults, would have their hands full working 160 acres and making it productive. Not to mention having to build a structure (usually a minimum of 12x14 ft) to house everybody and their animals.
But, hey, where’s that American spirit? Go on out west and try your hand at homesteading.
Quote #2
[…] Provided, That any person owning and residing on land may, under the provisions of this act, enter other land lying contiguous to his or her said land, which shall not, with the land so already owned and occupied, exceed in the aggregate one hundred and sixty acres. (Section 1)
If you work the land for couple of years and decide it isn’t so bad, then go rustle up a few more acres of nearby land! Just make sure nobody else has claimed it and the whole plot isn’t over that magic 160 acres.
The government really wanted that land settled.
This was fairly permissive and probably caused a few problems with inaccurate mapping and surveying. But what’s a game of tug-o-war over a few acres between neighbors, right?
Quote #3
[…] and that such application is made for his or her exclusive use and benefit, and that said entry is made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation […] (Section 2)
This one has a couple of meanings. The obvious is that, hey, the government is graciously granting this land, given to the U.S. by God, so it better be used for the betterment of American lives. The second is private ownership of the land.
Sure, it’ll all be America when it’s settled, but there’s this concept of mine vs. yours throughout property law. This caveat was probably meant to stave off any fraud or transfer of the land before the claim was validated, but it definitely works on multiple levels.
Quote #4
[…] That no person who has served, or may hereafter serve, for a period of not less than fourteen days in the army or navy of the United States, either regular or volunteer, under the laws thereof, during the existence of an actual war, domestic or foreign, shall be deprived of the benefits of this act on account of not having attained the age of twenty-one years. (Section 6)
Manifest Destiny rears its head here, too. There was a domestic war on when the Homestead Act was signed, but the inclusion of foreign wars is highly suggestive of a Congress who felt the U.S. was going to become a major player on the world stage. After all, if they had all that land, what was to stop them from taking over the whole continent?
The Mexican-American War was proof that land could be gained from their neighbors. It was nice of them to look after their younger soldiers and sailors in wars that hadn’t even been conceived of yet. Weren’t they a little busy militarily already?
Quote #5
[… ] That the fifth section of the act entitled 'An act in addition to an act more effectually to provide for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States, and for other purposes,' approved the third of March, in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-seven, shall extend to all oaths, affirmations, and affidavits, required or authorized by this act. (Section 7)
It was jumping the gun a bit to be setting up the penal code and its enactment in the territories (and future states). Congress knew there would be more states to the Union eventually, so they slipped in a bit of a rider clause that didn’t really have much to do with homesteading, but enabled a set treatment of federal crimes within states and territories. They were that sure about Manifest Destiny that they covered the whole of U.S. lands…even before there was a solid Union.