In 1894, eighteen-year-old Rachel Calof journeyed to North Dakota to homestead with her husband. She wrote that her husband "was convinced that our best chance to make something of ourselves was to avail ourselves of the offer of free land" and that homesteading "seemed a godsend to penniless people who otherwise could not hope to buy land." The Homestead Act of 1862 gave 160 acres of land to settlers who were willing to settle and cultivate the land for at least five years. The passing of the Homestead Act settled over eighty years of debate regarding the disbursement of America's public lands. The intentions of the Act were high-minded and it successfully transferred millions of acres into private ownership. However, in implementation the Act failed to live up to many of its designs. In this article, the author discusses the debate and consequences of the Homestead Act of 1862. (Contains 63 notes.)