1862 – Homestead Act of 1862 Passed to Encourage Westward Migration

“In 1862, the U.S. Congress offered to sell public lands to citizens and
to immigrants at the cost of $1.25 per acre, or less. The law was
designed to attract people to settle vast stretches of territory in the
Midwest and West, and it was highly effective. The promise of land at a
low price attracted hundreds of thousands of people from the East and
from Europe. The offer greatly increased the numbers of people migrating
westward.”