Final answer:
Former slaves left the South for Western territories due to economic opportunities and the prospect of land ownership, as provided by the Homestead Act of 1862 and facilitated by a desire for political and economic freedom after Emancipation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Former slaves left the South and homesteaded in the Western territories and states primarily due to economic opportunities and the prospect of land ownership, which represents Option 1. With the passage of the Homestead Act of 1862, settlers, including African American "exodusters", were given the chance to claim 160 acres of federal land. The act was an incentive not just for free-labor farmers but also as a means to increase agricultural output for the Civil War effort. Moreover, many Southern blacks were seeking homesteads on Western lands or work in Northern cities to escape the oppression and lack of opportunities in the post-Reconstruction South.
Following the Emancipation Proclamation, freed slaves saw the move as a path to independence through landownership, similar to how emancipation suggested an escape from bondage and hope for economic independence. However, the reality was filled with challenges, such as expensive railroad freight costs and the difficulty of securing productive farms, particularly because access to capital via loans was primarily available to white settlers.
The Exodusters and other groups were motivated by the desire for political, legal, and economic freedom, though their migration was met with resistance from Southern whites, who feared the loss of their labor force, and Northern whites, who opposed black migration to their communities.