The
Homestead Acts were several
United States federal laws that gave an applicant ownership of land, typically called a "
homestead", at little or no cost. It gave settlers 160 acres (65 hectares). An extension of the
Homestead Principle in law, the Homestead Acts were an expression of the "
Free Soil" policy of Northerners who wanted individual farmers to own and operate their own farms, as opposed to Southern slave-owners who wanted to buy up large tracts of land and use slave labor, thereby shutting out free white men.