What did settlers receive under the Homestead Act and what did they have to do?

The first of the acts, the Homestead Act of 1862, was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862. Anyone who had never taken up arms against the U. S. government (including freed slaves and women), was 21 years or older, or the head of a family, could file an application to claim a federal land grant.