+
Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Homestead Act

For Students 9th - 10th
The purpose of the Homestead Act of 1862 was to shape the future of the Western regions of the United States by taming the region by populating the area with farmers. This article provides an overview of this important political incident...
+
Handout
Other

Direct Line Software: The Homestead Act of 1862

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides information on the Homesteaders and how to locate Homestead records. Visit to learn about the Homestead Act of 1862.
+
Handout
Other

Digital Revolution: Homestead National Monument of America

For Students 9th - 10th
This information about the Homestead Act and homesteaders has been garnered from the National Park Service. Use the links at the bottom to find out about the history of the Act, the lives of the homesteaders, and what a tall grass...
+
Website
Ducksters

Ducksters: History for Kids: Homestead Act and Land Rush

For Students 1st - 9th
Kids learn about the Homestead Act and Land Rush of the Old West. On this site learn about facts about Homesteaders and the grabbing land in the Midwest.
+
Website
PBS

Pbs: New Perspectives on the West

For Students 9th - 10th
This in-depth resource presents a history of the American West from pre-Columbian times until World War I with profiles, documents, and images. It encourages visitors to link these into patterns of historical meaning for themselves....
+
Website
Curated OER

National Park Service: Homestead National Monument: Exodusters

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the reasons for the extensive black migration to Kansas, especially in the 1870s. These emigrants were called Exodusters. From the National Park Service.
+
Website
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier Life: Uncle Sam Is Rich Enough to Give Us All a Farm

For Students 9th - 10th
In this companion essay to the PBS series, Frontier House, you can see how the Homestead Act opened up the frontier to ordinary citizens, eager for a chance to own their own property.
+
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Life on the Farm

For Students 5th - 8th
With the passage of the Homestead Act, settlers could own 160 acres for free. Read about the problems that faced the new farmers both economically and from Mother Nature.
+
Unit Plan
Nebraska Studies

Nebraska Studies: Homestead Act: Searching for Water: Windmills

For Students 9th - 10th
A description of how watermills work and how they were used on the Great Plains.
+
Website
New York Public Library

In Motion: African American Migration Experience: Western Migration: To Kansas

For Students 9th - 10th
From the extensive site about African-American migrations, this part of the site focuses on Exodusters and African-Americans who moved to Kansas after the Civil War. Read first-person accounts and see photographs of these hardy...
+
Website
Nebraska Studies

Nebraska Studies

For Students 9th - 10th
A large site that tracks the history of the Nebraska area begins with the formation of the earth, moves through the earliest human activity in Nebraska, and then through proto-historical and historical Nebraska. The Kansas-Nebraska Act,...
+
Website
Curated OER

National Park Service: Curecanti National Recreation Area

For Students 9th - 10th
A fascinating look at the building of the irrigation tunnel that brought water into the arid Uncompahgre Valley in Colorado. President Theodore Roosevelt's interest in conservation and his interest in the National Reclamation Act of 1902...
+
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: African American Mosaic: Western Migration and Homesteading

For Students 9th - 10th
Contains text and photos on the African-American exodus to the West. Includes primary source documents and maps from the era.
+
Handout
Country Studies US

Countyr Studies: United States History: The Last Frontier

For Students 9th - 10th
This site describes the settlement of the West happened quickly with the passage of the Homestead Act of 1862 and the push for the Transcontinental Railroad. With the explosion of the mining and ranching industries, the West was all but...
+
Graphic
Curated OER

Wikipedia: Natl Historic Landmarks in Ne: Homestead Natl Monument of America

For Students 9th - 10th
The first claim made under the Homestead Act of 1862.
+
Lesson Plan
US National Archives

National Archives: Exploring the Western Frontier With the Records of Congress

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students will analyze the impact of the frontier on American life and the role Congress played in settling the frontier. Included are worksheets, Turner's Thesis, and reflection questions. Primary sources provided are petitions for...
+
Primary
US National Archives

Our Documents: A National Initiative on American History, Civics, and Service

For Students 9th - 10th
Our Documents is home to one hundred milestone documents that influenced that course of American history and American democracy. Includes full-page scans of each document, transcriptions, background information on their significance, and...
+
Handout
Nebraska Studies

Nebraska Studies: Reforming Beef

For Students 9th - 10th
The history of the reformation of beef in Nebraska is detailed in this impressive compilation.
+
Website
University of Virginia

Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: Abraham Lincoln: Domestic Affairs

For Students 9th - 10th
A comprehensive look at the domestic policies of the Lincoln Administration. Although the many issues involved with the Civil War were top priority, many decisions about other domestic problems were made that had a lasting effect. From...
+
Unit Plan
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: A History of Us: Whose Land Is This? Webisode 8

For Students 9th - 10th
From Joy Hakim's marvelous set of books, A History of US, this webisode offers narrative, pictures, and teaching guides for the settling of the West after the Civil War.
+
Primary
Calisphere: University of California Libraries

University of California: Calisphere: Californio Society, 1830s 1880s

For Students 9th - 10th
Collection of photos and drawings depicting early California elite and maps of land use from which students can learn about the transformation of the California economy and its political and cultural development in the 1800s.
+
Unit Plan
Other

The Weekly South Dakotan: South Dakota History for 4th Grade

For Students 3rd - 8th
From the very beginning and through the twentieth century, this comprehensive collection of lessons will enrich students studying the history in between and the effects on South Dakota.
+
Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Postal Museum: Moving West

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Postal Museum provides an intimate look at how America's postal service expanded to meet the needs of westward-moving settlers during the nineteenth century. Content includes a selection of letters written at the time, a...
+
Unit Plan
CPALMS

Florida State University Cpalms: Florida Students: Captains of Industry: Second Industrial Revolution

For Students 11th
This tutorial looks at the Second Industrial Revolution in the United States and the most famous and successful industrial entrepreneurs of that time. A PDF file of the tutorial is available.

Other popular searches