The West Needs Government

The West Needs the Government

In the 1860s Americans began to inhabit the land west of the Mississippi river on the promise of free land and the hope to improve their economic situations. Large investments began to pour into the west based on the economic prospects one of these investments includes the large projects by railway companies. Many settlers who went west did encounter economic success, which painted a portrait of the west inductive to believe that the successes were based on individual motivation and grand old American ingenuity. Still any success experienced in the west would not have been possible without the help of Congress and the United States army.

In 1862 Congress Passed the Pacific Railroad Act to establish railroad lines across the U.S. The act provided for large land grants and funding to two of the major railroad companies in the Union Pacific and Central Railroad companies. This helped the development of the transcontinental railroad, which would stretch across the Great Plains to the west coast. The act ultimately awarded over 170 million acres of land to railroad companies to help move along the settlement of the west by improving the means of shipment and transportation. As a result in the large investment railroad companies made in developing the transportation of the west they promoted the land by often helping relocate immigrants and eastern Americans to the plains. Once there German and Irish immigrants often got job’s laying track or were sometimes persuaded by the railroad companies to farm and produce cash crops to help repay the debts owed to them for transportation. Many Americans went west in search of land to farm. It is in the land that these settlers came in search of that Congress once again helped contribute to the economic advancement of the west.

Congress also in 1862 passed the Homestead Act, which provided 160 acres of free land to any person willing to pay a $10 registration fee and improve the land over at least fiver years. This helped attract many settlers out to the west who hoped for a better life. Many pioneers brought their wives and families and set out in a carriage and settled on the first lot of land they could find. Problems however did arise for settlers who went west promised 160 acres of land and that was simply that there wasn’t 160 acres of land to give. Many business owners haggled large plots of land unfairly and state governments and railroad companies took large plots of land. In addition to the lack of land provided to the citizens the act encountered other problems as the 160 acres land limit put settlers in regions with poor land quality in bad positions as unfertile land required much more to cultivate and grow successful crops on. To combat such problems Congress passed two more acts, the Desert Land Act, which made land available for a $1.25 an acre for up to 640 acres with the stipulation that farmers had to irrigate the land within 3 years of settling. Congress also passed the Timber and Stone act which sold up to 160 acres of land at $2.50 an acre. Acts such as these relinquished the disappointment of settlers faced upon not receiving the amount of land expected as well unfertile land and kept the idea that west was full of opportunity alive and well helping to draw more people and further the advancement of the west.

In order to develop the west congress