One major result of the Homestead Act of 1862 was the rapid settlement and development of the western frontier in the United States. The act offered 160 acres of public land to any individual who would cultivate and improve the land for a period of five years. This encouraged thousands of people, including immigrants, to move westward and claim their own plot of land. The Homestead Act led to the establishment of new towns, the expansion of agriculture, the building of railroads, and an overall increase in population and economic activity in the western territories. It also contributed to the gradual displacement and dispossession of Native American tribes from their ancestral lands.
