The Homestead Act of 1862 was formally repealed with the passage of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, which stated “public lands be retained in Federal ownership.” The act authorized the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to manage federal lands. Homesteading was still allowed for another decade in Alaska, until 1986.
In 1974, a Vietnam War veteran and native of California named Kenneth Deardorff filed a homestead claim on 80 acres of land on the Stony River in southwestern Alaska. After fulfilling all the requirements of the act and living and working on the land for over a decade, Deardorff received his patent in May 1988. He was the last person to receive the title to land claimed under the Civil War-era act.
However, many individuals have successfully reclaimed homesteads/land patents/land grants that were established prior to the formal repeal of the Homestead Act. Unfortunately, state and local governments, and other taxing authorities have ignored the sanctity of homesteads. In doing so they have violated federal law and the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Banks, with assistance from sate courts, have also violated federal law by refusing to recognize the protections afforded by the Homestead Act.
Reinstate the Homestead Act and remove the federal government’s hold on public lands. Allow individuals to homestead grazing land.
Also, amend the Homestead Act to grandfather in land that was bought from Native Americans and their Nations, or granted to colonists by the King of Great Britain prior to October 15, 1775, excepting those whose lands were confiscated for treason prior to the Treaty of Paris. Doing so would give effect to the Contract Clause and Treaty Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Finally, just as the Department of Labor is charged with enforcing USERRA and assisting servicemen, so too should an enforcement/advisory arm be created within the Bureau of Land Management under the new and amended Homestead Act. The purpose of the enforcement/advisory arm would be to assist individuals in homesteading new lands, reclaiming land patents/land grants that were already recognized by the federal government, and protect established land patents and land grants from encroachment by state and local authorities. State and local governments violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution when they encroach on federal land patents or land grants.