Homestead National Historical Park

Located near the town of Beatrice, Nebraska the Homestead National Historical Park commemorates passage of the Homestead Act of 1862, which allowed any qualified person to claim up to 160 acres of federally owned land in exchange for five years of residence and the cultivation and improvement of the property. The information and display of artifacts from that period were quite interesting.

Also available was a 20 minute film that was exceptional in it's handling of the removal of the native Americans and taking of their lands. One of the key points that stuck with me was that France sold the Louisiana Purchase to the United States in 1803. The native American's already living here for centuries pointed out that France had no legitimate ownership of the lands and the sale of those lands was illegitimate.

Its easy to see how Americans were sold the Manifest Destiny ideology which held that the United States was divinely ordained by God to expand its democratic institutions and civilization across the entire North American continent.

BTW - fortunately the site wasn't very busy yesterday and we were able to get quite a few of our rigs in the parking lot!Read more