"A House Divided Cannot Stand" - Lincoln

The Homestead Acts of 1863 [New-York Daily Tribune 9]

In this last quarter of 1863, President Hamlin has put forth a set of laws called The Homestead Acts , which would enable the settling and homesteading of previously unsettled land in the Midwest and American West. The steps for a citizen to own fresh, unclaimed land is rather simple; basically free steps.

Postat inițial de Homestead Acts of 1863:

1. An applicant must file an application for a plot of land, and upon being accepted will be given a plot of land out west.
   
   • Despite not officially being citizens, it has been decided that Freedmen can purchase land under this act.
2. The applicant will receive 160 Acres of farmland. The applicant shall then live on the land for at least five years.
   
3. After seven years, if the land assigned shows visible improvement from it's assigned state, the land then officially falls under the ownership of the applicant.
   
4. All applicants must have never taken up arms against the Federal Government, and must be either 21 Years/Older or the Head of a Household.
   
   • Women are eligible under the Head of Household requirement

This land must be developed, one way or another after seven years. At this point, a federal agent will award the applicant and his family an official deed to the acreage.
To employ and coordinate agents, an Agency officially titled The Federal Homestead Agency shall be created to oversee and enforce decisions. These are not policemen, and therefore not armed nor allowed to carry out legal enforcement. Their job is just to hand out land deeds.

With a much smaller congress with the secession of the Southern States, it's hoped that this bill shall be an easy pass. However, with the legislative elections of 1864 around the corner, who knows...