4 ms·

One part of me asks "Would a similar proportion of the population today take the same risks today?" Another asks "Were homesteaders the ones being farmed? By t

by adolph 4y ago

One part of me asks "Would a similar proportion of the population today take the same risks today?" Another asks "Were homesteaders the ones being farmed? By the railroads? By a government?"

swayvil 4y ago
The pro-homesteader propaganda of the day might reveal a lot. Also we might look at the alternatives to homesteading. Today's crazy is yesterday's contextually-appropriate levelheadedness.
- fmajid 4y ago
  Opportunity costs were lower back then.
- duxup 4y ago
  Yeah hop off a boat (or not) and have nothing…. Trying your hand at a homestead might be a very good choice among other choices.
morelisp 4y ago
> Were homesteaders the ones being farmed? It wasn't the only political or economic goal, but a pretty explicit purpose of the Homestead Acts was to make it impossible for Native Americans to return to their historical territories.
le-mark 4y ago
Some of those small towns in Kansas will give you a house if you agree to live there for a few years. Homesteading is still a thing in that small way at least.
drewcoo 4y ago
https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/homestead-act https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/homestead-... Presumably part of the reason was to create more states without a history of slavery, to avoid another Civil War. And also at the same time, to have more settlements to control the natives. Lincoln said the Homestead Act was to "elevate the condition of men." By which the ex-Indian warrior meant "except Indians." Not surprisingly, it also included freed slaves, because moving west would be less uncomfortable than moving north, Lincoln having a history of that racism, too. And the railroads didn't want to give away land. They were busy reclaiming it via eminent domain for their own profits. The abuses of railroads and banks who could not properly insure savings turned folks like Jesse and Frank James into folk heroes.
- bequanna 4y ago
  I think you might be projecting your modern politics onto the problems of the past. I don’t think that everything bad in the 1800’s was caused by racism and greedy corporations.

by adolph 4y ago

One part of me asks "Would a similar proportion of the population today take the same risks today?" Another asks "Were homesteaders the ones being farmed? By the railroads? By a government?"

swayvil 4y ago

The pro-homesteader propaganda of the day might reveal a lot. Also we might look at the alternatives to homesteading. Today's crazy is yesterday's contextually-appropriate levelheadedness.

fmajid 4y ago
Opportunity costs were lower back then.
duxup 4y ago
Yeah hop off a boat (or not) and have nothing…. Trying your hand at a homestead might be a very good choice among other choices.

morelisp 4y ago

> Were homesteaders the ones being farmed? It wasn't the only political or economic goal, but a pretty explicit purpose of the Homestead Acts was to make it impossible for Native Americans to return to their historical territories.

le-mark 4y ago

Some of those small towns in Kansas will give you a house if you agree to live there for a few years. Homesteading is still a thing in that small way at least.

drewcoo 4y ago

https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/homestead-act https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/homestead-... Presumably part of the reason was to create more states without a history of slavery, to avoid another Civil War. And also at the same time, to have more settlements to control the natives. Lincoln said the Homestead Act was to "elevate the condition of men." By which the ex-Indian warrior meant "except Indians." Not surprisingly, it also included freed slaves, because moving west would be less uncomfortable than moving north, Lincoln having a history of that racism, too. And the railroads didn't want to give away land. They were busy reclaiming it via eminent domain for their own profits. The abuses of railroads and banks who could not properly insure savings turned folks like Jesse and Frank James into folk heroes.

bequanna 4y ago
I think you might be projecting your modern politics onto the problems of the past. I don’t think that everything bad in the 1800’s was caused by racism and greedy corporations.