Susie, It was the Homestead Movement, which was a mid-19th century drive for free land in the Midwest, Great Plains, and West. It began in the 1830s as laborers and reformers joined farmers in calling for public land in the Midwest, Great Plains and the West to be given free to settlers. The Pre-Emption Act of 1841 allowed the first settlers or squatters on public land the right to buy 160 acres of public land at $1.25 per acre provided they actually lived on the land a certain number of years and made certain timely improvements on the land. In 1848 the Free Soil Party advocated the homestead proposal. Before the Civil War, the southern states regularly voted against homestead legislation because they correctly foresaw that the law would hasten the settlement of the western territory, ultimately adding to the number and political influence of the free states. This opposition to the homestead bill, as well as to other internal improvements that could hasten western settlement, exacerbated sectional conflicts. A homestead bill passed the House in 1858 but was defeated by one vote in the Senate; the next year, a similar bill passed both houses but was vetoed by President James Buchanan. In 1860, the Republican platform included a plank advocating homestead legislation.After the southern states seceded, homestead legislation was high on the Republican agenda. The Homestead Act, passed May 2,1862, provided that any adult citizen (or person intending to become a citizen) who headed a family could qualify for a grant of 160 acres of public land by paying a small registration fee and living on the land continuously for five years. If the settler was willing to pay $1.25 an acre, he could obtain the land after only six months' residence. By the end of the Civil War, fifteen thousand homestead claims had been established, and more followed in the postwar years. By 1900, 600,000 homesteaders had claimed 80 million acres. This is how the West was settled. My 2nd great-grandparents pre-empted land in Nicollet County, Mn. in 1860 and I have a copy of their pre-emption papers, which list the improvements they made to the land. Nancy Downey ----- Original Message ----- From: <SusiCP@aol.com> To: <VTBENNIN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, November 13, 2004 1:17 AM Subject: [VTBENNIN] Migration ?? > > Does anyone know why there was such an exodus to ILL /IA in the 1850 - 1860 > time frame? WAS it fear of war and they came west to hopefully escape it.? I > can not find any major event to cause such a move. These people served > bravely in the new states but I can for the life of me yet figure what created > such a move. > > Blessings and appreciate any thoughts on subject. > > > SusiCP > Family Historian > It's the Indian in me.....:>) > > > ==== VTBENNIN Mailing List ==== > VTBENNIN is a forum for the discussion of genealogical and historical > research in Bennington County, Vermont > > ============================== > Search our Immigration Records and view names from multiple ports > ranging from 1500s - 1900s. Over 23 million records to view. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13967/rd.ashx > >