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Environmental Disasters in History

Case Study 5: Homestead Fallout

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By Arjun Singh |

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Substack⁠

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“Lincoln’s Homestead Act allowed economic development to prosper in the western states of America as intended, however we must ask ourselves, at what cost?”

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ਹਰਣਾਂ ਬਾਜਾਂ ਤੈ ਸਿਕਦਾਰਾਂ ਏਨੑਾ ਪੜਿੑਆ ਨਾਉ ॥

Deer, falcons and government officials are known to be trained and clever.

ਫਾਂਧੀ ਲਗੀ ਜਾਤਿ ਫਹਾਇਨਿ ਅਗੈ ਨਾਹੀ ਥਾਉ ॥

When the trap is set, they trap their own kind; hereafter they will find no place of rest

ਸੋ ਪੜਿਆ ਸੋ ਪੰਡਿਤੁ ਬੀਨਾ ਜਿਨੑੀ ਕਮਾਣਾ ਨਾਉ ॥

He alone is learned and wise, and he alone is a scholar, who practices the Name.

ਪਹਿਲੋ ਦੇ ਜੜ ਅੰਦਰਿ ਜੰਮੈ ਤਾ ਉਪਰਿ ਹੋਵੈ ਛਾਂਉ ॥

First, the tree puts down its roots, and then it spreads out its shade above.

ਰਾਜੇ ਸੀਹ ਮੁਕਦਮ ਕੁਤੇ ॥

The kings are tigers, and their officials are dogs;

ਜਾਇ ਜਗਾਇਨਿੑ ਬੈਠੇ ਸੁਤੇ ॥

they go out and awaken the sleeping people to harass them.

ਚਾਕਰ ਨਹਦਾ ਪਾਇਨਿੑ ਘਾਉ ॥

The public servants inflict wounds with their nails.

ਰਤੁ ਪਿਤੁ ਕੁਤਿਹੋ ਚਟਿ ਜਾਹੁ ॥

The dogs lick up the blood that is spilled.

ਜਿਥੈ ਜੀਆਂ ਹੋਸੀ ਸਾਰ ॥

But there, in the Court of the Lord, all beings will be judged.

ਨਕਂੀ ਵਢਂੀ ਲਾਇਤਬਾਰ ॥੨॥

Those who have violated the people's trust will be disgraced; their noses will be cut off. ||2||

Raag Malaar - Guru Nanak Dev Ji - Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji -

Ang 1288⁠

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Preliminary Facts

The United States was going through massive growth in the 19th century, however there was a fundamental economic difference between the north and the south. Agriculture was thriving in the north along with manufacturing and industry, but the south was heavily reliant on larger scale farms with the labor of the enslaved¹. During the uproar of the Civil War, the Homestead Act was signed by Abraham Lincoln to expedite settlement to the western states. Although initially focused on increasing economic prosperity in the nation, there were many variables that were unaccounted for in order to succeed with this.

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Centrally Planned Goals & Motivations

The main logistics surrounding the act was to provide settlers with 160 acres of public land for payment of a filing fee and five years of residence on the property. This included freed slaves, giving them an opportunity to have a new start and be the owner of their own lives and properties. Ultimately, the goal was to increase migration in the western states to further economic development across the nation².

The government wanted folks to use the land for homesteading, which involves building homes on the property, farming the land, and ultimately improving the geographical areas. As long as homesteading was practiced according to this, it would meet one of the requirements of the government to get access to the land. There were however some loopholes such as not everybody having the skillset for farming, building the dwelling in inches rather than feet because of non-specified units, and abandoning the territory before the five year mark³. These were only a few logistical setbacks with an increasing amount of problems to arise.

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Detrimental Outcomes

Environmental degradation occurred at a massive scale. As mentioned previously, there were many folks that did not have the skillset of farming, which invited tons of inexperienced farmers to acquire the land⁴. Since farming is an intensive process, it’s crucial to master all of the various components that are involved in this including: harvesting, fertilizing, irrigating, and more. With low-skilled farming, the environment quality began to go down significantly, arguably in a worse state than it was before.

Additionally, there was a significant displacement of native communities and this is said to be one of the darkest chapters in American history where the natives were mistreated. A lot of their land was given to the new settlers as the native’s treaties and agreements were often ignored. This led to immense displacement of the communities as many were unable to fight back in larger groups⁴. This is a prime example of the tragedy of the commons, where the government enacted aggression principles to get rid of any agreements that may have had more value in the past, but were then ignored due to other pursuits.

Lastly, the loss of grasslands and overgrazing was a potential cause for “The Dust Bowl” between 1930-1940 in America. Due to the mass amounts of overgrazed land in a short timeframe, much of the land began to blow away and resulted in extreme clouds of dust. There were dark skies for many days, to the point where there was even dust inside homes that were sealed properly⁵. Many families eventually had to abandon their homes and land due to the unbearable nature of The Dust Bowl, along with its many health and daily life implications.

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Photo by

Irham Setyaki⁠

Unsplash⁠

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Lessons

We can conclude from this case study that ensuring proper assessments of situations and implementing effective incentives is key for a society to thrive, as long as those incentives bring about the actions and change that was originally intended.

Although in this case we can agree that Lincoln and the government may have had good intentions with the Homestead Act, the long term outcomes seem like they were not taken into account here due to a combination of a lack of knowledge and wartime decision making. Allowing a group of central planners to make decisions on behalf of all may not always be the best way to handle the environment.

To conclude, Lincoln’s Homestead Act allowed economic development to prosper in the western states of America as intended, however we must ask ourselves, at what cost?

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