Homestead Act, Farms, the Pioneer Flood & Shuffling Cards
Honoring the Salmon & other lost Flora and Fauna
The Homestead Act, signed by President Lincoln in 1862, promised citizens or intended citizens 160 acres of almost free land (a small registration fee plus 2 years of hard work to improve and live on that land). Immigrants from across the world included: Hispanics,
Japanese, Chinese, Italians, Armenians, Irish, Welsh, Romani, Hawaiians, Scots, African Americans, French Canadians, Norwegians, English, Swedes, Danes, Dutch, Ukrainians, Polish, Icelandic, Finnish, Germans, and English Remittancemen responded bringing heretofore unknown plants to be grown and used for food. For a world based on inheritance and favoritism, it was a shuffling of the cards in the favor of the industrious. In turn, it was Heaven to pioneer immigrants who believed in hard work and individual salvation as sons and daughters of Abraham, lived under Biblical and English law where an individual was sovereign – a concept enhanced by America’s equal rights and opportunities granted in the U.S. and State/Provencial Constitutions. This was contrary to individual rights bestowed by tribal affiliations that reflect origin, race, gender, religion and/or other group favoritisms. These ancestors came here to be freeborn as common brothers and sisters, adopting English as their common language, and trusting in their young to change laws via democratic voting as conditions required. One hundred years ago, the concept of melding of cultures suggested Americans would become like today’s western mountain slopes, homogeneous stands of very alike clones. Instead, both America and Canada have become biodiverse, allowing for cultural diversity and celebrating each other’s uniqueness.
When 10 highlighted lesson sections for Homestead Act, Farms, & the Flood have been reviewed and answered, select the State or Province below for a Record of Completion.
Alberta British Columbia
Alaska California Colorado Idaho Montana
New Mexico Oregon Utah Washington Wyoming
Copyright © 2024
Ethnobotanicals and native animals also mentioned: Jam Berries: Salal, Oregon Grape and Blackcaps; Cervids: Black-tailed Deer & Mule Deer, Moose and Elk; Junipers: Seaside, Rocky Mountain and Common; Preserving Food: Pearly Everlasting, Piggy-back Plant and Self-Heal.