This 1862 act gave 160 acres of free land to anyone who had lived on it & improved it for 5 years
[DOC] [TLE] Homestead Acts - Wikipedia [PAR] The Homestead Acts were several United States federal laws that gave an 
applicant ownership of land, typically called a "homestead" ... Land-grant laws 
similar to the Homestead Acts had been proposed by northern ... Settlers were 
able to claim 320 or 640 acres of land for free between 1850 and 1854, and then 
at a cost of... [DOC] [TLE] Homestead Act - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com [PAR] Signed into law in May 1862, the Homestead Act opened up settlement in the 
western ... including freed slaves, to put in a claim for up to 160 free acres of 
federal land.