How we cite our quotes: (Section)
Quote #4
[…] That no person who has served, or may hereafter serve, for a period of not less than fourteen days in the army or navy of the United States, either regular or volunteer, under the laws thereof, during the existence of an actual war, domestic or foreign, shall be deprived of the benefits of this act on account of not having attained the age of twenty-one years. (Section 6)
Ageism is a prejudice, too. If they’re old enough to serve their country, they’re old enough to go cut a life out of the wilderness. The Homestead Act was quite progressive all the way around. Of course, letting the young soldiers have a glimpse of the future in the midst of war was pretty savvy. Also, once the war was over, this had the added benefit of taking young soldiers without jobs back out of the city and keeping unemployment and homelessness down. Never let it be said the government can’t multi-task.
Quote #5
That nothing in this act shall be construed as to prevent any person who has availed him or herself of the benefits of the first section of this act, from paying the minimum price, or the price to which the same may have graduated, for the quantity of land so entered at any time before the expiration of the five years[…] (Section 8)
Of course, being the government during an expensive war, they certainly weren’t going to exclude anybody who happened to have the cash to pay for the land and just got bored with playing farmer. Equal rights for all…especially if they’ve got the cash to hand to buy their homestead and support the war effort. Not the typical type of equality, but boy, does the Homestead Act have it all.