Two Important Laws That Changed America

• The Homestead Act of 1862
• The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

stories.washingtonhistory.org

 

perlmortgage.com 

The Homestead act was a law that was passed by Congress in 1862 and signed by Abraham Lincoln. The law stated that it was promising ownership of a 160-acre of public land to citizens. It was also promised to the head of a family who had resided on and cultivated the land for five years after the initial claim. The homestead act's terms proved the undoing of many settlers. Some claimants didn't even own equipment or didn't know anything about farming. Even the smallest sections such as the quarter sections (barely sufficient land in humid places) couldn't even support plain settlers in the west. By 1800, the least amount of a "lot" was divided into 320 acres and settlers were allowed to pay in 4 installments but prices remained the same at $125 an acre until 1854.

The Chinese Exclusion act was a law that stopped Chinese immigrants from immigrating to the U.S. for 10 years. The Chinese exclusion act was passes in 1882. In 1848 there has been a huge flow of Chinese laborers that were coming to the pacific coast. They had to emigrate because they were looking for cheap labor and were enrolled to have a job in building of transcontinental railroads. By 1867 there were 50,000 Chinese immigrants in California. Most of the Chinese immigrants that were there were mostly manual laborers. The numbers of Chinese people increased by the end of the conclusion of 1868 because of the Burlington treaty with China.That treaty guaranteed the right of Chinese immigration but it did not however guarantee the right of naturalization.

Overall, these two laws were very compatible. Homestead act addressed economic problems. Chinese exclusion act addressed economic problems also. Homestead addressed that problem because it had to do with buying land and the land costs to much. Most people back then couldn't even afford to pay for it. Chinese exclusion act addressed that problem also because it had to do with Chinese not being able to have jobs and how would they be able to pay bills in their homes, also that Chinese people couldn't be able to go to the U.S. 

Three Sources:

• www.archives.gov 
• www.digitalhistory.uh.edu 
• www.mtholyoke.edu