Final answer:
The Newlands Act of 1902 led to increased migration and cultivation of land in the Southwestern United States, following federal irrigation initiatives. This act, similar to others like the Dawes Act and Homestead Act, affected settlement patterns and land ownership by incentivizing American citizens to move and use new lands, often at the expense of Native American ways of life and land rights.
Step-by-step explanation:
The result of the Newlands Act of 1902 was a significant increase in migration and development, particularly in the Southwestern United States. The act facilitated federal irrigation projects that brought millions of acres under cultivation, attracting a wave of Anglo land speculators and family farms. Concurrently, nearby developments, such as the completion of a railroad connecting Brownsville to Corpus Christi in 1904, further encouraged settlement and economic growth in regions that were previously dominated by Mexican haciendas and the vaqueros.
The legislation also paralleled other land reforms such as the Dawes Act, which aimed at assimilating Native Americans by dividing communal reservation lands into individual plots for farming and redistributing "surplus" lands to Anglo settlers. This effectively dismantled communal living and traditional ways of life for many Native American tribes, while opening up new opportunities for American settlers. The Dawes Act was criticised for its inhumanity and the greed behind the appropriation of Native American lands. Similarly, historic acts like the Homestead Act encouraged settlement by offering land to settlers willing to improve it, reflecting the various ways the federal government influenced migration and land ownership in the American West.