Homestead Act and Settlement of the American West (1862–1900)

1. Homestead Act signed into law

   May 20, 1862Labels: Abraham Lincoln, Homestead Act

   • National Archives
   • NARA Milestone

2. Pacific Railway Act subsidizes transcontinental railroad

   Jul 1, 1862Labels: Pacific Railway, Transcontinental Railroad

   • National Archives
   • Britannica

3. Morrill Act creates land-grant college system

   Jul 2, 1862Labels: Morrill Act, Land-grant colleges

   • National Archives

4. Homestead Act takes effect; Daniel Freeman claim

   Jan 1, 1863Labels: Daniel Freeman, Homestead Act

   • National Archives
   • NPS

5. Southern Homestead Act opens postwar public lands

   Jun 21, 1866Labels: Southern Homestead, Freedpeople

   • Britannica
   • US Senate

6. Timber Culture Act encourages Plains tree-planting claims

   Mar 3, 1873Labels: Timber Culture, Great Plains

   • Harvard Arboretum

7. Battle of the Little Bighorn intensifies Plains Wars

   Jun 25, 1876Labels: Battle of, Lakota

   • Britannica

8. Desert Land Act promotes irrigation-based western settlement

   Mar 3, 1877Labels: Desert Land, Irrigation

   • CSUMB Digital

9. Exoduster migration expands Black settlement on homesteads

   Jan 1, 1879Labels: Exodusters, Kansas

   • National Archives
   • Kansas Hist

10. Dawes Act advances allotment and “surplus” land openings

    Feb 8, 1887Labels: Dawes Act, Native American

    • National Archives
    • Britannica

11. Oklahoma Land Rush opens Unassigned Lands

    Apr 22, 1889Labels: Oklahoma Land, Unassigned Lands

    • US Census
    • Cowboy Museum

12. Homestead Strike highlights industrial-labor conflict

    Jul 6, 1892Labels: Homestead Strike, Steelworkers

    • Britannica

13. Cherokee Outlet opening triggers major land run

    Sep 16, 1893Labels: Cherokee Outlet, Land Run

    • AP News
    • Cherokee Museum