offering 160 acres of land to settlers who agreed to live on and improve the land for a period of five years. The Act was passed by Congress in order to encourage settlement of the western territories and promote economic growth in the region. By providing land to settlers at a low cost, the Homestead Act aimed to make it easier for people to establish themselves in the West and help develop the frontier. The Act was instrumental in the settlement of the Great Plains, as thousands of homesteaders took advantage of the opportunity to claim land and start new lives in the West.
