Free Land

Life in the great, wide-open spaces of the West! Scholars analyze the reasons behind the vast movement to the Great Plains after the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Homestead Act. Using photographic, document, map, video, and...

Students examine how the Homestead Act impacted the economic opportunities of women. They research the Homestead Act, define Manifest Destiny, and prepare an exhibit featuring an outstanding woman living in their community.

Start a whole new life in a land known as the Wild Wild West! Learners analyze maps, personal accounts, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, songs, and video clips to uncover life under the Homestead Act. Using their new skills, class members role...

Did Western settlers receiving free land from the Homestead Act realize it wasn't really free at all? Scholars investigate the impact Western expansion had on Native American culture in the mid-1800s. They use documents, timelines, and...

Go West, young man! Scholars investigate the impact of African American settlers moving to the Nebraska territory, following the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in the mid 1800s. Using primary sources, timelines, maps, and...

Students research, design and advertise a homestead community. This is an extensive activity with a variety of ativities and learning experiences.

"Go West, young man!" is a familiar refrain in American history. But why did people leave their homes in the East to travel westward and what impact did that movement have on people already living in the American West? By examining...

What do Abraham Lincoln and the Transcontinental Railroad have in common? Using a set of primary source documents, including pictures, maps, and treaties, class members link together the common themes of expansion into the American West....

Eighth graders examine basic elements of the Homestead Act, describe gender make-up of the West before and after the Homestead Act, connect the Homestead Act with women's suffrage, and create a modern day business propaganda pamphlet.

Part of an online exhibit on the westward migration of African-Americans, this lesson plan looks at those with agricultural backgrounds who moved west following the Civil War and availed themselves of the opportunity to homestead. Young...