... years (Merk 236). In addition to the Homestead Act, there was the realization on the part of informed people that the era of well-watered, free land was drawing to a close. A warning had been given in 1880 by the Director of the Census that the ... era of free land was closing (Horn 130). The swift expansion across the Great Plains was, in part, a rush of American farmers who ... the colonial period. The Great Plains were advertised with extraordinary enthusiasm. The Northern Pacific Railroad kept eight hundred agents in various European countries distributing literature and assisting ...

• Word Count: 2617
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School