the Homestead Act
/ðə ˈhəʊmsted ækt/
/ðə ˈhəʊmsted ækt/
- a law passed by the US Congress in 1862. It gave 160 acres /65 hectares of government land in the west to anyone who would agree to live on it for five years. A small payment was required. A person who received this land was called a homesteader.
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the Homestead Act