Push Pull Factors and the Homestead Act Definition

Push Pull Factors and the Homestead Act

Definition of push/pull factor • Push factor, what causes or forces people to leave • Pull factor, what leads or attracts people to a specific place?

Push Factors to the West • Overcrowding • Need for jobs • Ethnic/Religious repression • Refuge for outlaws

Pull Factors to the West • • Land (cheap and plentiful) Riches (gold, silver, oil) Freedom of religion/beliefs Family connections Jobs and new opportunities Adventure Maybe to find love

Moving West • Many people moved out west because they believed in the philosophy of Manifest Destiny, which was the belief that America was destined to expand from coast to coast • The primary method of travel to the west was stagecoach, wagon or horseback, some even walked • Most who traveled out West were hoping for a new life • A lot were given incentives to go by the US Government, like the Homestead Act or the Pacific Railways Act

What is an Immigrant? • An immigrant is a person who moves from one country or region to another in order to make a new home. Picture from: http: //www. hmongstudies. org/Hmong. Cultural. Center. ESLProgram. Photos 05. html

The Homestead Act • Passed by Congress on May 20, 1862 to get people to move to the Great Plains. • Any citizen of the United States could claim 160 acres of government land. • After paying a small fee, homesteaders were to improve their land by living on it, building a dwelling (home), and planting crops. If the settlers fulfilled these requirements, and remained on their homestead for a period of five years, the land became their property. • With the Homestead Act 270 million acres of land was available for people to live on.

Reflect • What was the Homestead Act? • What did settlers have to do to become owners of the land?

What are some problems that could arise from the Homestead Act?

Homestead Problems • Though the requirements of the Homestead Act seemed easy, many people still had problems. • Many who took claims had little or no farming experience. • Much of the land in the Great Plains was not good for farming even if you were a great farmer. It was dry and not good for many crops. *The Homestead Act lasted for 124 years. In this time over 2 million people claimed land. Of that 2 million, less than half lived on the land long enough to become an owner.

Reflect • Why would the following groups of people want to settle in the West? • Single Women • Freed Slaves • Immigrants

Reflect • If you lived in the 1870 s would you want to move to the frontier? Why or why not? • Analyze the push and pull factors that an immigrant coming to America would face during this time. • What do you think life was like once you settled there? Easy? Difficult? Fun? Boring?