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Opening Up the American West

In: Agricultural Policy of the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Stephanie A. Mercier

    (Farm Journal Foundation)

  • Steve A. Halbrook

    (University of Arkansas at Fayetteville)

Abstract

At the start of the Civil War, 84 percent of Americans still lived east of the Mississippi River. There were two seminal pieces of agricultural legislation signed by President Abraham Lincoln in a six-week period in 1862 which helped to open up the western half of the country. The Homestead Act provided the opportunity for any American over the age of 21 to obtain land for farming in the Midwest or West. The Pacific Railroad Act created the financial mechanisms for the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads to build railroad lines which joined the East with the West seven years later.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephanie A. Mercier & Steve A. Halbrook, 2020. "Opening Up the American West," Palgrave Studies in Agricultural Economics and Food Policy, in: Agricultural Policy of the United States, chapter 0, pages 37-48, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:psachp:978-3-030-36452-6_4
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-36452-6_4
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