<P> The Homestead Acts were several United States federal laws that gave an applicant ownership of land, typically called a "homestead," at no cost . In all, more than 270 million acres of public land, or nearly 10% of the total area of the U.S., was given away free to 1.6 million homesteaders; most of the homesteads were west of the Mississippi River . </P> <P> 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 . </P>

How did many western settlers get their land
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