Free Homesteads For All Americans

"Homesteading the Plains offers a bold new look at the history of homesteading, overturning what for decades has been the orthodox scholarly view. The authors begin by noting the striking disparity between the public's perception of homesteading as a cherished part of our national narrative and most scholars' harshly negative and dismissive treatment. Homesteading the Plains reexamines old data and draws from newly available digitized records to reassess the current interpretation's four principal tenets: homesteading was a minor factor in farm formation, with most Western farmers purchasing their land; most homesteaders failed to prove up their claims; the homesteading process was rife with corruption and fraud; and homesteading caused Indian land dispossession. Using data instead of anecdotes and focusing mainly on the nineteenth century, Homesteading the Plainsdemonstrates that the first three tenets are wrong and the fourth only partially true. In short, the public's perception of homesteading is perhaps more accurate than the one scholars have constructed. Homesteading the Plainsprovides the basis for an understanding of homesteading that is startlingly different from current scholarly orthodoxy. "--

This comprehensive treatment of the environmental history of northern North America offers a compelling account of the complex encounters of people, technology, culture, and ecology that shaped modern-day Canada and Alaska. From the arrival of the earliest humans to the very latest scientific controversies, the environmental history of Canada and Arctic North America is dramatic, diverse, and crucial for the very survival of the human race. Packed with key facts and analysis, this expert guide explores the complex interplay between human societies and the environment from the Aleutian Islands to the Grand Banks and from the Great Lakes to the Arctic Islands How has the challenging environment of America's most northerly regions—with some areas still dominated by native peoples—helped shape politics and trade? What have been the consequences of European contact with this region and its indigenous inhabitants? How did natives and newcomers cope with, and change this vast and forbidding territory? Can a perspective on the past help us in grappling with the conflict between oil exploration and wilderness preservation on the North Slope of Alaska? Part of ABC-CLIO's Nature and Human Societies series, this unique work charts the region's environmental history from prehistory to modern times and is essential reading for students and experts alike.