Homestead Act and
population of Plains
States Assignment:
Plains States are defined as the following:
Kansas
South Dakota
Colorado
North Dakota
Oklahoma
New Mexico
Montana
Texas
Nebraska
Wyoming
 Using the population charts determine the population of the Plains
states in 1860, 1870, and 1880 and create a graph with the data.
 Using the immigration chart provided - Determine how many
immigrants came to the United States from 1820 - 1900. Create graph
with the data.
 Investigate the miles of railroad tracks built in the United States from
1850 - 1890. Create a bar graph with the data
Railroad mileage increase by groups of states
Source: Chauncey Depew (ed.), One Hundred Years of American Commerce 17951895 p 111
1850
1860
1870
1880
New England
2,507 3,660
4,494
Middle States
3,202 6,705
10,964 15,872 21,536
Southern States
2,036 8,838
11,192 14,778 29,209
Western States and
Territories
1,276 11,400 24,587 52,589 62,394
Pacific States and
Territories
Totals
23
1,677
5,982
1890
4,080
6,831
9,804
9,021 30,626 52,914 93,301 129,774
The Morrill Land Grant Act
Megan McKinney
Washington School, Peoria
The University of Illinois was not built overnight. The Morrill Land Grant Act allowed
many states to receive land to build colleges. Without this grant, many states would not
have been able to afford the land needed. Therefore, the Morrill Land Grant Act was a
gigantic accomplishment for the nation and for Illinois.
Imagine a nation without any public colleges, but rather hundreds of small private colleges
intended to only teach men. Furthermore, these colleges educated people primarily to
become preachers, teachers, lawyers, and physicians. This was impractical and kept many
people from receiving a full education. Most people only went to school to learn to read and
write. In addition, some children only went to school if they lived near one or did not have
too many chores at home. Many new states in what is now the Midwest had very few
schools; hence, some children taught themselves, like Abraham Lincoln did as a child.
On November 18, 1851, an idea that has influenced our nation's educational system was
first presented at the Putman County Farmers Convention. At that convention Jonathan
Baldwin Turner delivered a speech on developing many public colleges. Turner argued that
colleges did not teach practical subjects for a growing nation. A college graduate and a
professor at the one Illinois college himself, Turner believed that teaching agriculture and
mechanics would better serve America. Turner also believed that the government should
help pay for these colleges. After the convention Turner continued to spread this new idea.
In addition, he lobbied Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas while they were running for
Congress. Both men agreed that the idea was excellent. When Turner and his idea reached
the national level, he met a Vermont congressman named Justin Smith Morrill, who also
wanted to improve education in the nation. He believed they could change the government's
mind on how to run the country's educational system.
Morrill decided to introduce a bill on his and Turner's idea. The bill passed Congress, but
President Buchanan vetoed the bill on February 26, 1859. Buchanan said that the colleges
would be unsuccessful and that agriculture and mechanics were not college degree fields.
Although disappointed, Morrill did not stop. He changed the bill only slightly and presented
it to Congress for a second time. Finally, on July 2, 1862, President Lincoln, who had been
influenced by Turner while still in Springfield, signed the legislation. It declared that states
would receive special land paid for by the federal government to construct a state college.
This college was mainly to teach agriculture and mechanics. As the years went by many
colleges went on to develop many other fields, which in the long run have helped our
country grow and prosper.
Today the effects of the Morrill Act are still present
through the sixty-nine colleges it established. Some of
the land grant colleges consist of universities in
Wisconsin, North and South Dakota, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, and Illinois. These colleges have
grown into some of the highest quality and most
prestigious schools in the world. These institutions have
developed fields of study in agriculture, veterinary
medicine, engineering, home economics, and many
public services. The University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign has one of the best engineering schools in
the nation and was the last of the great midwestern state
universities to be established by the Morrill Act. It was
opened in March of 1868 and today has over 32,000
students and 3,000 faculty on the Urbana campus.
Justin Morrill lobbied the
federal government to grant
land to colleges that would be
devoted to teaching practical
subjects. President Lincoln
signed the Morrill Land Grant
Act in 1862.
Illinois has played a great part in the Morrill Land Grant
Act. Education has changed and improved over the
years because of the grant. In addition, students today
can choose from over a thousand colleges nationwide.
The Morrill Land Grant Act is truly a great national
accomplishment. �[From John A. Brubachen and Willis Rudy, Higher Education in
Transition; Louis G. Geiger, Higher Education in a Maturing Democracy; Ann Lathrop,
Illinois People and Culture; John L. Loos and Frank N. Magill, Great Events from History;
David R. Wrone, "The Movement Behind the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1850," Illinois
History Teacher (1998).]
40 ILLINOIS HISTORY / FEBRUARY 2001
RAILROADS, FEDERAL LAND GRANTS TO (ISSUE)
Between 1850 and 1871 the United States government used a portion of the public
domain (federally owned land) to assist and encourage the building of railroads. In
all, during that twenty-one year period approximately 1.31 million acres of land
were transferred to private ownership. This represented 9.5 percent of the public
domain as it stood in 1850 (1.39 billion acres). The land was located in twentyseven states, but the largest grants were made in California (11.5 million acres),
Kansas (8.2 million acres), Minnesota (9.9 million acres), Montana (14.7 million
acres), North Dakota (10.6 million acres), and Washington (9.5 million acres).
Although the program began in 1850, most of the grants were made under the
terms of the Pacific Railway Act of 1862. This law was in effect from 1862 to 1871
and its purpose was to encourage the construction of the transcontinental railroads.
The law provided that companies agreeing to undertake the construction of
transcontinental railroad lines would be eligible for loans ranging from $16,000 to
$48,000 per mile of track laid. The precise amount of the loan was determined by
the difficulty of the terrain through which the construction passed. The government
loaned a total of $64,623,512 to the transcontinental companies. These loans were
for the most part paid back at six percent interest. The law also provided that a
company could be given up to twenty sections (a section is a square mile) of land
for every mile of track put down. This land would be granted in alternate sections (a
kind of checkerboard pattern) within an area lying forty miles on either side of the
proposed right of way. To qualify for the subsidies a company had to agree to
actually build track or forfeit the grant, and carry mail, government passengers, and
freight at reduced rates.
Most of the loans and land grants distributed under the Pacific Railway Act went to
the first five companies that built transcontinental lines. These were: the Union
Pacific, the Central Pacific, the Northern Pacific, the Southern Pacific, and the
Santa Fe. They received a total of 130 million acres of land, with the largest single
grant (of 44 million acres) going to the Northern Pacific line. The states added
another 50 million acres of land grants. Local communities also subsidized railroad
companies by giving them land for depots and rights of way and tax exemptions.
The state governments granted a total of around 50 million acres of land. Whereas
the federal and state land grant programs were designed to promote the building of
trunk lines, these local subsidies were designed to facilitate the building of
connecting lines. Even though not all lines were built in this way, the effect was to
stimulate railroad building in general. Hence the national railroad system expanded
from 9,000 miles in 1850 to 87,000 in 1885.
The total of public land grants given to the railroads by states and the federal
government was about 180 million acres. At the time, the value of this land was
about one dollar per acre, which was the average price realized by the government
for sales in the land grant states during that period. Hence the total value of the
land granted to these companies was approximately $180 million. Later, much of
the land was sold by the railroad companies at an average price of $2.81 per acre.
(Proximity to the rails increased the value of the land.) These sales offset a portion
of the construction costs, which have been estimated at approximately $168
million.
Although these figures are immense and would appear to suggest that the
American railroad system was built largely on the basis of government aid, this is
actually not the case. In fact, only 18,738 miles of railroad line were built as a direct
result of these land grants and loans. This figure represents only eight percent of
the total railroad mileage built in the United States between 1860 and 1920. The
government program was important because the building of these lines opened up
the trans-Mississippi West and stimulated settlement, but most of the railroads
were built by private enterprise—in some cases with state and local support.
Not everyone applauded the subsidies. For example, the land grant–loan system
under the Pacific Railway Act was subjected to harsh criticism by reformers who
argued that it represented a vast give–away of money and public property to assist
businessmen who made vast fortunes. As a result, the program of federal aid was
discontinued in 1871. However, the arguments of the reformers were not entirely
correct. The loans were, for the most part, repaid and the railroad companies did
not reap vast fortunes from the re–sale of their land grants. Moreover, the country
benefited immensely from the rapid construction of the railroads, which produced a
viable transportation system connecting all portions of this vast nation. The
railroads literally bound the states together thus contributing significantly to national
unity.
The Land Grant Act of 1850
To encourage railroad growth and help offset the financial burden construction entailed, the
federal government passed the Land Grant Act of 1850. The Act was intended to promote
construction of a railroad that would run from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Illinois,
Alabama, and Mississippi received the first lands. In return for the land, any railroad that built
lines had to transport government property at a reduced rate. Later all railroads had to offer the
government reduced rates under legislation designed to equalize rail competition. The
government also profited from the land grants by raising the price of land surrounding the grant
land from $1.25 per acre to $2.50 per acre. The promise of rail lines made the once unwanted
land valuable. Railroads received 131,000,000 acres of land from the government grants during
the policy's life between 1850 and 1871.
Resident Population and Apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives
Texas
Texas' Resident Population,
1850 - 2000
20,851,820
16,986,510
14,225,513
11,198,655
9,579,677
7,711,194
6,414,824
5,824,715
4,663,228
3,896,542
3,048,710
2,235,527
1,591,749
818,579
604,215
212,592
-
32
30
27
24
23
22
21
21
18
18
16
13
11
6
4
2
2
...
...
...
...
...
...
25,000,000
20,000,000
15,000,000
10,000,000
5,000,000
18
50
18
60
18
70
18
80
18
90
19
00
19
10
19
20
19
30
19
40
19
50
19
60
19
70
19
80
19
90
20
00
2000
1990
1980
1970
1960
1950
1940
1930
1920
1910
1900
1890
1880
1870
1860
1850
1840
1830
1820
1810
1800
1790
1789
Resident
Number of
Population Representatives
Texas' Congressional Representation,
1840 - 2000
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
18
40
18
50
18
60
18
70
18
80
18
90
19
00
19
10
19
20
19
30
19
40
19
50
19
60
19
70
19
80
19
90
20
00
Year
1. The resident population excludes the overseas population.
2. Congressional apportionment for each state is based upon (1) the resident population and (2) the overseas U.S. military and federal civilian employees (and their
dependents living with them) allocated to their home state, as reported by the employing federal agencies.
Resident Population and Apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives
Wyoming
Year
2000
1990
1980
1970
1960
1950
1940
1930
1920
1910
1900
1890
1880
1870
1860
1850
1840
1830
1820
1810
1800
1790
1789
Resident
Number of
Population Representatives
493,782
453,588
469,557
332,416
330,066
290,529
250,742
225,565
194,402
145,965
92,531
62,555
20,789
9,118
-
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Wyoming's Resident Population,
1870 - 2000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
70 880 890 900 910 920 930 940 950 960 970 980 990 000
18
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
Wyoming's Congressional Representation,
1880 - 2000
2
1
0
80 890 900 910 920 930 940 950 960 970 980 990 000
18
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1. The resident population excludes the overseas population.
2. Congressional apportionment for each state is based upon (1) the resident population and (2) the overseas U.S. military and federal civilian employees (and their
dependents living with them) allocated to their home state, as reported by the employing federal agencies.
Resident Population and Apportionment of the U.S. House Representatives
South Dakota
2000
1990
1980
1970
1960
1950
1940
1930
1920
1910
1900
1890
1880
1870
1860
1850
1840
1830
1820
1810
1800
1790
1789
754,844
696,004
690,768
666,257
680,514
652,740
642,961
692,849
636,547
583,888
401,570
348,600
98,268
11,776
4,837
-
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
2
2
2
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
18
60
18
70
18
80
18
90
19
00
19
10
19
20
19
30
19
40
19
50
19
60
19
70
19
80
19
90
20
00
Year
South Dakota's Resident Population,
1860 - 2000
Resident
Number of
Population Representatives
South Dakota's Congressional Representation,
1880 - 2000
4
3
2
1
0
80
18
00
19
20
19
40
19
60
19
80
19
00
20
1. The resident population excludes the overseas population.
2. Congressional apportionment for each state is based upon (1) the resident population and (2) the overseas U.S. military and federal civilian employees (and their
dependents living with them) allocated to their home state, as reported by the employing federal agencies.
Resident Population and Apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives
Oklahoma
Year
2000
1990
1980
1970
1960
1950
1940
1930
1920
1910
1900
1890
1880
1870
1860
1850
1840
1830
1820
1810
1800
1790
1789
Resident
Population
3,450,654
3,145,585
3,025,487
2,559,463
2,328,284
2,233,351
2,336,434
2,396,040
2,028,283
1,657,155
790,391
258,657
-
Number of
Representatives
5
6
6
6
6
6
8
9
8
8
5
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Oklahoma's Resident Population,
1890 - 2000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Oklahoma's Congressional Representation,
1900 - 2000
10
8
6
4
2
0
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
1. The resident population excludes the overseas population.
2. Congressional apportionment for each state is based upon (1) the resident population and (2) the overseas U.S. military and federal civilian employees (and their
dependents living with them) allocated to their home state, as reported by the employing federal agencies.
Resident Population and Apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives
North Dakota
2000
1990
1980
1970
1960
1950
1940
1930
1920
1910
1900
1890
1880
1870
1860
1850
1840
1830
1820
1810
1800
1790
1789
Resident
Number of
Population Representatives
642,200
638,800
652,717
617,792
632,446
619,636
641,935
680,845
646,872
577,056
319,146
190,983
36,909
2,405
-
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
2
1
1
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
18
70
18
80
18
90
19
00
19
10
19
20
19
30
19
40
19
50
19
60
19
70
19
80
19
90
20
00
Year
North Dakota's Resident Population,
1870 - 2000
North Dakota's Congressional Representation,
1880 - 2000
4
3
2
1
0
80
18
00
19
20
19
40
19
60
19
80
19
00
20
1. The resident population excludes the overseas population.
2. Congressional apportionment for each state is based upon (1) the resident population and (2) the overseas U.S. military and federal civilian employees (and their
dependents living with them) allocated to their home state, as reported by the employing federal agencies.
Resident Population and Apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives
Nebraska
Year
2000
1990
1980
1970
1960
1950
1940
1930
1920
1910
1900
1890
1880
1870
1860
1850
1840
1830
1820
1810
1800
1790
1789
Nebraska's Resident Population,
1860 - 2000
Resident
Number of
Population Representatives
1,711,263
1,578,385
1,569,825
1,485,333
1,411,330
1,325,510
1,315,834
1,377,963
1,296,372
1,192,214
1,066,300
1,062,656
452,402
122,993
28,841
-
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
5
6
6
6
6
3
1
1
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
1,800,000
1,600,000
1,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
1860
1880
1900
1920
1940
1960
1980
2000
Nebraska's Congressional Representation,
1860 - 2000
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1860
1880
1900
1920
1940
1960
1980
2000
1. The resident population excludes the overseas population.
2. Congressional apportionment for each state is based upon (1) the resident population and (2) the overseas U.S. military and federal civilian employees (and their
dependents living with them) allocated to their home state, as reported by the employing federal agencies.
Resident Population and Apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives
Montana
Year
2000
1990
1980
1970
1960
1950
1940
1930
1920
1910
1900
1890
1880
1870
1860
1850
1840
1830
1820
1810
1800
1790
1789
Resident
Number of
Population Representatives
902,195
799,065
786,690
694,409
674,767
591,024
559,456
537,606
548,889
376,053
243,329
142,924
39,159
20,595
-
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Montana's Resident Population,
1870 - 2000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
-
1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Montana's Congressional Representation,
1880 - 2000
3
2
1
0
1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
1. The resident population excludes the overseas population.
2. Congressional apportionment for each state is based upon (1) the resident population and (2) the overseas U.S. military and federal civilian employees (and their
dependents living with them) allocated to their home state, as reported by the employing federal agencies.
Resident Population and Apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives
Kansas
Kansas' Resident Population,
1860 - 2000
2000
1990
1980
1970
1960
1950
1940
1930
1920
1910
1900
1890
1880
1870
1860
1850
1840
1830
1820
1810
1800
1790
1789
Resident
Population
2,688,418
2,477,574
2,364,236
2,249,071
2,178,611
1,905,299
1,801,028
1,880,999
1,769,257
1,690,949
1,470,495
1,428,108
996,096
364,399
107,206
-
Number of
Representatives
4
4
5
5
5
6
6
7
8
8
8
8
7
3
1
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
3,000,000
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
18
60
18
70
18
80
18
90
19
00
19
10
19
20
19
30
19
40
19
50
19
60
19
70
19
80
19
90
20
00
Year
Kansas' Congressional Representation,
1860 - 2000
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1860
1880
1900
1920
1940
1960
1980
2000
1. The resident population excludes the overseas population.
2. Congressional apportionment for each state is based upon (1) the resident population and (2) the overseas U.S. military and federal civilian employees (and their
dependents living with them) allocated to their home state, as reported by the employing federal agencies.
Resident Population and Apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives
Colorado
Year
2000
1990
1980
1970
1960
1950
1940
1930
1920
1910
1900
1890
1880
1870
1860
1850
1840
1830
1820
1810
1800
1790
1789
Resident
Population
4,301,261
3,294,394
2,889,735
2,209,596
1,753,947
1,325,089
1,123,296
1,035,791
939,629
799,024
539,700
413,249
194,327
39,864
34,277
-
Number of
Representatives
7
6
6
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
2
1
1
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Colorado's Resident Population,
1860 - 2000
5,000,000
4,500,000
4,000,000
3,500,000
3,000,000
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
60
18
70
18
80
18
90
18
00
19
10
19
20
19
30
19
40
19
50
19
60
19
70
19
80
19
90
19
Colorado's Congressional Representation,
1870 - 2000
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
18
70
18
80
18
90
19
00
19
10
19
20
19
30
19
40
19
50
19
60
19
70
19
80
19
90
20
1. The resident population excludes the overseas population.
2. Congressional apportionment for each state is based upon (1) the resident population and (2) the overseas U.S. military and federal civilian employees (and their
dependents living with them) allocated to their home state, as reported by the employing federal agencies.
00
00
20
Resident Population and Apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives
New Mexico
2000
1990
1980
1970
1960
1950
1940
1930
1920
1910
1900
1890
1880
1870
1860
1850
1840
1830
1820
1810
1800
1790
1789
1,819,046
1,515,069
1,303,302
1,017,055
951,023
681,187
531,818
423,317
360,350
327,301
195,310
160,282
119,565
91,874
93,516
61,547
-
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
New Mexico's Resident Population,
1850 - 2000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
18
50
18
60
18
70
18
80
18
90
19
00
19
10
19
20
19
30
19
40
19
50
19
60
19
70
19
80
19
90
20
00
Year
Resident
Number of
Population Representatives
New Mexico's Congressional Representation,
1910 - 2000
4
3
2
1
0
10
19
20
19
30
19
40
19
50
19
60
19
70
19
80
19
90
19
00
20
1. The resident population excludes the overseas population.
2. Congressional apportionment for each state is based upon (1) the resident population and (2) the overseas U.S. military and federal civilian employees (and their
dependents living with them) allocated to their home state, as reported by the employing federal agencies.