Impact of Federal Laws on the Great West
Lesson 4.5 - Federal Laws Impact the Great West
Name
Research each of the laws listed in the following chart in order to complete the following chart.
Law
Date established
Description of law
Impact of Law on West and/or on US
Homestead Act
May 20,1862 Any adult citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne any arms against the US could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land.
This act encouraged people to expand or move out of where they were and go west and explore the land.
Morrill Land Grant Act
1862
Establish institutions is each state that would educate people in agriculture, home economics, mechanical arts, and other professions that were practical at the time.
This act impacted the US because it gave small famers and prospective farmers to get a higher education, which they wouldn’t have been able to get without this act.
Pacific Railway Act
July 1, 1862
An effort to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean and to secure the use of that line to the Government.
The Pacific Railway Act impacted the west because it was the beginning of the industrialization of the west, it also added a means of transportation to connect the country.
Dawes Severalty Act
February 8,1887
The policy focused mainly on breaking up reservations by granting land allotments to individual Native Americans.
This act showed Indians that there is a great life outside of the reservations. It impacted the US because it allowed the Indians to become US citizens. When the government gave the families land they took the land, even though they might not have known where the land was.
Oklahoma Land Rush
1889
Around noon on a spring day 50,000 people lined up to get their piece of the 2 million acres up for grabs.
This was the first land rush for unassigned land. This land rush allowed people to choose where they started their life, within a month of the rush Oklahoma City
Name
Research each of the laws listed in the following chart in order to complete the following chart.
Law
Date established
Description of law
Impact of Law on West and/or on US
Homestead Act
May 20,1862 Any adult citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne any arms against the US could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land.
This act encouraged people to expand or move out of where they were and go west and explore the land.
Morrill Land Grant Act
1862
Establish institutions is each state that would educate people in agriculture, home economics, mechanical arts, and other professions that were practical at the time.
This act impacted the US because it gave small famers and prospective farmers to get a higher education, which they wouldn’t have been able to get without this act.
Pacific Railway Act
July 1, 1862
An effort to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean and to secure the use of that line to the Government.
The Pacific Railway Act impacted the west because it was the beginning of the industrialization of the west, it also added a means of transportation to connect the country.
Dawes Severalty Act
February 8,1887
The policy focused mainly on breaking up reservations by granting land allotments to individual Native Americans.
This act showed Indians that there is a great life outside of the reservations. It impacted the US because it allowed the Indians to become US citizens. When the government gave the families land they took the land, even though they might not have known where the land was.
Oklahoma Land Rush
1889
Around noon on a spring day 50,000 people lined up to get their piece of the 2 million acres up for grabs.
This was the first land rush for unassigned land. This land rush allowed people to choose where they started their life, within a month of the rush Oklahoma City