8. The passage of the Homestead and Pacific Railway Acts of 1862 promote western migration and settlement
Victory over the Confederacy allowed the government to press on with its policy of developing the economy of the western half of the United States. The process had already begun during the Civil War with the passage of a couple of crucial acts. On May 2, 1862, Congress passed the Homestead Act to encourage western migration and settlement. Homesteaders could purchase 160 acres of land for $1.25 an acre after six months residence or for just a $30 registration fee if they were willing to make a five-year commitment.
To facilitate this migration Congress passed the Pacific Railway Act on July 1, 1862. It made huge cash subsidies and grants available to private companies to lay train tracks to connect the western states to the rest of the country. This process was completed on May 10, 1869, when the Union Pacific railroad company who had started at Omaha, Nebraska, and the Central Pacific railroad company, which had begun construction at Sacramento, California, joined their tracks in Promontory, Utah.