May 22, 2012

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Simple bill, profound effect…celebrating the Homestead Act of 1862

May 21, 2012 By

Homestead National Monument celebrates 150th anniversary of Homestead Act/National Park Service photo

A simple bill that had a profound effect on the country sparked a day-long celebration in Nebraska.

The Homestead National Monument in Beatrice celebrated the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Homestead Act Sunday. President Lincoln signed the act in 1862, as the Civil War raged.

University of Nebraska history professor Kenneth Winkle moderated a panel discussion about the act, stating Lincoln had several goals in signing the law as the Civil War raged.

“Lincoln’s plan was to settle the Great Plains as quickly as possible to help win the Civil War, bring freedom and equality to the West, attract family farms and contribute to America’s unity and prosperity,” Winkle stated.

The Homestead Act became wildly successful. Approximately 1.6 million people took the federal government up on its offer of free land, settling 270 million acres of land. The migration of people west led to the creation of 30 additional states.

Someone did not have to be a United States citizen to take advantage of the offer. A person only needed to pledge their intent to become a citizen. Homestead National Monument Superintendent Mark Engler said that became a powerful incentive to move to America.

“And to promote this, the railroad agents were working countries around the globe, mainly Europe, saying, ‘Hey, if you move to the United States, they’ll give you free land.’ What incentive is that? And, yes indeed, as we all know, the people came.”

Sen. Mike Johanns, a member of the panel, said the Homestead Act disclosed a bit of President Lincoln’s vision for the country, often overshadowed due to the Civil Way. Johanns said Lincoln envisioned a much larger United States as public land moved into private hands.

“That’s the vision and the power of what happened with the Homestead Act,” according to Johanns. “It’s not just that it settled a state like Nebraska, it established an entrepreneurship in our country that survives even to today.”

Five years after the act’s signing, the Nebraska Territory gained enough population to apply for statehood.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vice Chancellor John Owens teased Sen. Johanns by noting

the simplicity of such a significant law.

“Four pages, hand-written and the Morrill Land-grant Act was three pages, hand-written,” Owens stated, turning to Sen. Johanns. “I kind of think, Sen. Johanns, that if you guys would go back to three or four pages…”

Laughter interrupted Owens as Johanns suggested that would be a great idea.

Doug Kennedy, KWBE contributed to this report.

Filed Under: Human Interest, News

Nebraska to celebrate 150th anniversary of Homestead Act Sunday

May 18, 2012 By

Homestead Act document

It opened western land to settlement in America and paved the way for Nebraska to become a state.

This Sunday, the National Park Service celebrates the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Homestead Act in 1862 by President Lincoln at the Homestead National Monument of America in Beatrice.

Sen. Mike Johanns will participate in the celebration of the act that encouraged Americans to move west and take up farming.

“Needless to say, that effort can be called very successful,” Johanns says. “So successful, in fact, that in just five years, the territory of Nebraska’s population was large enough to earn statehood. So, it really brought about the statehood for Nebraska.”

Americans seemed eager to take the country up on its offer. After President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law, the nation began to move. More than 1.6 million people took advantage of the offer to claim government land. In all, they settled 270 million acres in 30 states.

Though many states maintain sites to commemorate homesteading, Congress designated the Homestead National Monument of America to preserve the national history.

Events begin early Sunday. The Homestead Education Center opens at 9am as does the Homestead Heritage Center and Homestead Act Exhibit. A panel presentation will begin at 4pm on the Homestead Act, the Morrill Act and the creation of the United States Department of Agriculture. At 6pm, the signing of the act will be commemorated.

Click here for more details on events in Beatrice.

Johanns says it’s hard to overstate the impact the act had not just on the nation, but on Nebraska.

“I don’t believe it’s a stretch at all to say that we became a state at the time we did, because of the Homestead Act,” according to Johanns. “It had such a profound impact on moving people from the eastern part of the country all across the country, including to what became the state of Nebraska.”

The first homestead ever claimed was claimed in Nebraska. Homesteaders claimed nearly half of the total acreage of the state, the largest percentage of a state’s land given to homesteaders.

The actual Homestead Act document will be on display, on loan from the National Archives in Washington, D.C. which considers it one of the 100 most important documents it holds.

Signatures on the bottom of the Homestead Act document

Filed Under: Agriculture, Human Interest, News

Study: Hunger & poverty hit harder in Midwest’s rural areas

May 17, 2012 By

Despite being the breadbasket of the world, a new report shows poverty and food insecurity are rising faster in rural areas of the Midwest than in urban areas.

The report from the Center for Rural Affairs covers Nebraska and nine other states. Report author Jon Bailey, the center’s research director, says the poverty comes from scarce jobs and paltry salaries.

“The jobs in those communities tend to be low-paying jobs,” Bailey says. “So when you add together low pay for the opportunities that are there and then a lack of opportunities, that’s going to lead to economic challenges like poverty and food insecurity.”

Bailey’s report finds rural people who were food insecure accounted for nearly 13% of the region’s population in 2010. Rural children who were food insecure accounted for almost 24%. He says that issue needs to be addressed.

“Rural communities are going to have to work on the access to food in their community and then create an economic climate that allows people to live there and afford what they need to live on in those communities,” he says.

Bailey says one of the best ways to help rural areas is through the federal Farm Bill, but he says prospects don’t look good right now.

“Unfortunately, in some of the early versions of the Farm Bill, there is literally no funding for initiatives that would help that through the rural development section of the Farm Bill,” Bailey says. “We need to change that. We need to have rural communities help put an emphasis on the need for investment in their futures and in their economies to help create those better and well-paying jobs.”

The Center for Rural Affairs is based in Lyons, Nebraska. The full report can be found at www.cfra.org.

By Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton

Filed Under: Agriculture, Economy, Human Interest, News

Bicycle riders pay respects to those killed/hurt with Ride of Silence

May 16, 2012 By

Bicyclists in at least two Nebraska cities will gather and ride their two-wheelers in a slow line tonight as part of the Ride of Silence. Organizer Scott Sumpter says it’s a solemn tribute.

“The ride exists so we can ride in honor and pay respect to those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways,” Sumpter says.

The Nebraska Office of Highway Safety says two bicyclists were killed in motor vehicle collisions in the state last year, while 279 were reported injured.

Sumpter says it’s an unfortunate fact that cyclists aren’t always respected by careless motorists.

“Every year, we see bicycling grow but we also see a few people get hit and killed,” Sumpter says. “We’re out there to raise awareness that the cyclists have the legal right to ride the roads.”

He says the bike riders will only be rolling along at maybe 10 or 12 miles an hour, often with a police escort.

“Every ride is supposed to start at 7 PM,” Sumpter says. “It’s just a silent procession, a really slow ride. It’s almost like a funeral-like procession.”

Rides are being held in: Lincoln and Bellevue. The rides only go between eight and ten miles in distance.

Learn more at: www.rideofsilence.org

 

Filed Under: Accidents & Disasters, Human Interest, News, Recreation & Entertainment, Transportation

Homestead Monument plans for monumental weekend ahead

May 16, 2012 By

This weekend will likely be the busiest in the history of the Homestead National Monument of America near Beatrice. Sunday marks the 150th anniversary of its namesake, the Homestead Act of 1862.

The actual document, signed by President Lincoln, is on loan and on display. Monument superintendent Mark Engler says special events are planned on Sunday that will feature homesteading descendants from several states.

Engler says, “The majority of all the homestead states are going to be represented with volunteers traveling here to Nebraska and to Beatrice and they’ll be joining us and representing their states by carrying flags from their state.”

A forum at 4 PM on Sunday in the monument’s education center will include Nebraska U-S Senator Mike Johanns as a panelist. Johanns is the former Secretary of the U-S Department of Agriculture and Engler says he’ll speak about that federal agency.

“Interestingly, USDA was established 150 years ago on May 15th so the history of the USDA and homesteading are very close,” Engler says. “Also, within that time frame, the Morrill Act was signed, the law establishing our land grant universities.”

At 6 PM on Sunday, special presentations will be given at the Heritage Center, marking the Homestead Act’s 150th anniversary, followed by a concert given by the United States Air Force Brass in Blue from Offutt Air Force Base.

The evening will conclude with a unique laser light show around the theme of homesteading. Because of the number of people expected to attend, Engler says there will be parking at the Gage County Fairgrounds and visitors will be able to ride shuttle buses to the monument. All events are free.

By Doug Kennedy, KWBE, Beatrice

Filed Under: Human Interest, News, Recreation & Entertainment
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