Southern Homestead Act of 1866
E545332
The Southern Homestead Act of 1866 was a Reconstruction-era U.S. law that aimed to provide land in the South to formerly enslaved people and loyal white settlers, though in practice it largely failed to achieve widespread Black landownership.
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Reconstruction-era legislation
ⓘ
United States federal law ⓘ |
| affectedGroup |
freedmen
ⓘ
poor white farmers ⓘ |
| aimedToBenefit |
formerly enslaved people
ⓘ
loyal white settlers ⓘ |
| appliedIn |
Alabama
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Arkansas NERFINISHED ⓘ Florida NERFINISHED ⓘ Louisiana NERFINISHED ⓘ Mississippi NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| appliesToJurisdiction | Southern United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| dateEnacted | 1866-06-21 ⓘ |
| eligibilityRequirement |
citizen or intending citizen of the United States
ⓘ
head of household ⓘ loyalty to the Union ⓘ |
| endTime | 1876 ⓘ |
| federalStatute | 14 Stat. 66 ⓘ |
| followed | American Civil War NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| fullName | An Act to secure Homesteads to actual Settlers on the Public Domain in the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasConsequence |
continued economic dependence of many freedpeople on plantation agriculture
ⓘ
limited transfer of public lands to smallholders in the South ⓘ |
| historicalAssessment |
contributed only modestly to African American landholding in the South
ⓘ
largely failed to create widespread Black landownership ⓘ |
| implementationChallenges |
discriminatory local administration
ⓘ
lack of capital and tools among freedpeople ⓘ poor quality of available land ⓘ pressure from Southern planters ⓘ |
| landAllotmentSize | up to 80 acres of public land ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| legalStatus | repealed ⓘ |
| legislativeBody | United States Congress ⓘ |
| mainSubject |
African American landownership
ⓘ
Reconstruction NERFINISHED ⓘ land distribution ⓘ public lands ⓘ |
| partOf | United States Reconstruction policies NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| policyType | land reform policy ⓘ |
| purpose |
to facilitate landownership for freedpeople
ⓘ
to open public lands in the post–Civil War South to small farmers ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
Forty acres and a mule
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Freedmen's Bureau NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedTo | Homestead Act of 1862 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| shortName | Southern Homestead Act NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| signedBy | Andrew Johnson NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| startTime | 1866-06-21 ⓘ |
| temporalContext | Reconstruction era NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| year | 1866 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.