Final answer:
The Homestead Act allowed individuals to receive 160 acres of land for a nominal fee by improving the land within five years.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Homestead Act allowed any head of household, or individual over the age of twenty-one-including unmarried women-to receive a parcel of 160 acres for only a nominal filing fee. All that recipients were required to do in exchange was to "improve the land" within a period of five years of taking possession. The standards for improvement were minimal: Owners could clear a few acres, build small houses or barns, or maintain livestock. Under this act, the government transferred over 270 million acres of public domain land to private citizens.