This is a tricky one, because the Homestead Act actually lived longer than most humans. The thing lasted a hundred and twenty-three years…beginning in a time when showing your ankles was considered scan-da-lous and ending when Aqua Net and shoulder-pads were high fashion.

But we'll break it down.

Then (a.k.a. 1863-1986)

People were finally able to strike out toward the promise of a new life in the West. Sure, they probably weren’t prepared and didn’t have the ability to buy tools or supplies if they didn’t already have them, but the Homestead Act was generally regarded as a great opportunity. The equality was cherished, especially by people looking to start over, like divorced women, immigrants, and former slaves.

And yeah, not a lot of people took the government up on the deal right away. The biggest years for homesteading claims weren’t until the turn of the 20th century. There was a war on right from the start, so the average person took awhile to notice the free land at their fingertips. (Source)

Now

So, we can’t homestead anymore and all that lovely government land has been reclaimed, but hey, at least we got the whole fifty states out of it. (Well, not Hawaii. That would have been a long trip in a covered wagon.)

Sure, the document itself hasn’t changed—and there really is only one way of interpreting the text—but today, the Homestead Act is pretty much regarded as one of the crucial steps in making the United States, you know, the United States.