African Americans and the Southern Homestead Act

Edwards, Richard

doi:10.1353/gpq.2019.0018

Cited by 16 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…However, recognizing the geographical divide between the predominantly southern Black population and western lands, Indiana Republican Congressman George W. Julian championed the Southern Homestead Act in 1866 (Riddleberger, 1955). This legislation eased concerns about private property rights by allocating 46 million acres of public land in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi through the same homesteading framework established in 1862 (Edwards, 2019). Former slaves were given priority in settling these lands.…”

Section: Political Economy Of Federal Land Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Political Economy Of Federal Land Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Republicans envisioned that the public lands under the Southern Homestead would accommodate the nearly 4 million freed slaves through 80-acre plots for each family (Edwards, 2019). Unfortunately, the Southern Homestead Act found limited realization on the ground (Edwards, 2019). Prior attempts to subdivide Confederate plantations, such as General Sherman's Field Order, stirred controversy due to their infringement upon private property and because they redistributed prime, fertile, and productive farmland to freed slaves.…”

Section: Political Economy Of Federal Land Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Southern Homestead Act remained for only a decade and probably exerted little impact on African Americans-the group it aimed to assist (Shanks, 2005). Its shortcomings shaped African American history, setting the stage for sharecropping, tenant farming, and the Great Migration (Edwards, 2019). Sharecropping, specifically, perpetuated a system wherein many African Americans remained reliant and landless, with limited prospects for improving their social and economic status (Hunte, 1992).…”

Section: Political Economy Of Federal Land Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The migration of African Americans to the Great Plains was, in part, motivated by deadly violence in the South (Wolters, 2015). However, many African Americans were so destitute that they had no resources to establish farms (Edwards, 2019). For those who could establish farms, they faced similar difficulties as other homesteaders.…”

Section: African Americans and The Homestead Actsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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African Americans and federal land policy: Exploring the Homestead Acts of 1862 and 1866

Muhammad,

Sichko,

Olsson

2023

Applied Eco Perspectives Pol

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We examine the history of US land policy, with a focus on the Homestead Acts, underscoring the precarious position of African Americans during the homesteading period. We discuss the historical context and the shifting political landscape of the Civil War and Reconstruction era, providing the context for research on federal land policies and problems of race. Past research is almost entirely outside of the agricultural and applied economics profession. We believe that the applied economics discipline is especially suited for empirically examining the influence of federal land policies on past and present disparities and racial makeup of American agriculture.

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Section: Political Economy Of Federal Land Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Political Economy Of Federal Land Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Political Economy Of Federal Land Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Political Economy Of Federal Land Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: African Americans and The Homestead Actsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

African Americans and federal land policy: Exploring the Homestead Acts of 1862 and 1866

Muhammad,

Sichko,

Olsson

2023

Applied Eco Perspectives Pol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Promoting equity in the Conservation Reserve Program across the southeastern US

Hitchner,

Kadam,

Bolques

et al. 2024

Frontiers in Ecol & Environ

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Black and female landowners, two of the largest groups of underserved landowners in the southeastern US, have considerably less land enrolled in the US Department of Agriculture's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) than White and male landowners. The reasons for this discrepancy are complex and interrelated. Previous studies approached different facets of this problem using a variety of methods and analyses. Here, we conducted a synthetic literature review that demonstrates how the intertwined ecological, economic, and cultural concerns of underserved landowners influence their decisions about potential land conversion in the context of CRP requirements. Other studies have rarely considered such relevant factors as the sociocultural importance of land to underserved populations or the links between the limited participation of these groups in the CRP and historical racism and sexism in land management industries and agencies. Explicitly addressing these issues will help promote conservation equity in the CRP and other conservation programs.

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