Homestead and Kinkaid Act - Abraham Lincoln and Moses Kinkaid

[Matt Macoubrie]

Throughout Lincoln’s political career, he talked of the real American dream and what it entailed. Lincoln claimed that the American dream was open to all who worked hard and followed the law, and he would show that possibility of an American dream once passing the Homestead Act of 1862.

The reason why most people left to Homestead in territories such as Nebraska was because prior to the Homestead Act of 1862, title to lands in the public domain could be acquired by purchase under the Pre-Emption Law of 1841, by which a settler could file a claim to 160 acres of the public domain or government land and acquire title by paying $1.25 per acre.

Following the Homestead Act, vast amounts of the public domain were given to private citizens. Following the implementation of the act, 270 million acres or 10% of the land of the United States was claimed and settled under the act. To obtain the 160 acres of land, the only qualifications were that one was to be the head of the household or at least 21 years of age. In fact, many settlers walked from hundreds of miles away, leaving their land in the East to obtain “free land” in the west. In addition, tens of thousands of British, Irish, German, and even Scandinavian immigrants moved to the United States following the Homestead Act, jubilant that the United States was giving away farms.

Due to the Homestead Act, railroads were built in the Midwest, which brought nearly 2 million Europeans to the plains between 1870 and 1900. Lincoln was never able to see the outcomes of what he had done for the country not only following the Civil War, but because of the Homestead Act. On April 14, 1865, on a cold spring night . . . Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater, which would change history forever. Eventually, Congress tried to improve farming with the Morrill Land Act later in 1862 and eventually the Kinkaid Act in 1904.

In 1904, Moses Kinkaid a Republican Congressional Representative from the Sixth District in Nebraska, which contained the majority of the Sandhills in Nebraska, proposed a bill that allowed 37 counties in western Nebraska to obtain up to 640 acres of land instead of the 160 acres that the Homestead Act provided. Even though there was poor soil quality and a harsh arid climate, Kinkaid believed that in the end, the settlers would be able to “complete all of the government’s requirements and eventually taking title to the property.” Many could not understand the significance of the bill because the government was giving millions of acres of land to farmers that were not likely to succeed due to the dry land. However, Moses Kinkaid believed in them.

Though geographically the Homestead and Kinkaid Act were different, they had similar provisions. Claimants had to be at least 21 years old (or 18 if the head of a family); be either a U.S. citizen or eligible to become one; and stay on and improve the land for five years. Lands that were deemed irrigable, however, were exempted from the law since the government believed that settlers would willingly pay for them.

After careful consideration by the United States government, President Teddy Roosevelt signed the Kinkaid Act into law on April 28, 1904, and “Kinkaiders” began taking up claims in western Nebraska soon after. Though the success rate was not up to par to what the government and state legislators such as Kinkaid had hoped for, around 14,000 claims were made under the Kinkaid Act, and over 9 million acres of land were distributed to settlers in the Sandhills. That 9 million makes up for nearly 1/6 of the total acreage in Nebraska.

Some historians like to think that the Kinkaid Act was a failure, but it not only brought the cattle and ranch culture to Western Nebraska, but it also brought money to the seemingly inexistent Sandhills of Nebraska. Even today, there are families still living on land that either was given to their ancestors through the Homestead or the Kinkaid Act. Without the Homestead Act, the population of Nebraska would not have spurred as it did. In fact, between 1860 and 1910, the population of Nebraska per square mile increased from 29 in 1860 to 1,192 in 1910.

Without the population increase, Nebraska could certainly not have supported institutions developed from the Morrill Land-Grant Act such as the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. In addition, without the Homestead Act, other acts such as the Kinkaid Act might have not been proposed. Concisely, the Homestead Act brought prosperity and hope to Nebraskans not only during the late 19th century, but for generations to come.


***I know this is a review for most of you but I just wanted to refresh everyones memory and bring up a part of my state's history. Thanks to Abraham Lincoln and his cabinent passing the Homestead Act of 1862, other acts such as the Kinkaid Act were able to be brought to the public forefront!! Thanks again AL!!!