What was the purpose of the Homestead Act of 1862?

Question: What was the purpose of the Homestead Act of 1862!?
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The US government wanted homesteaders to move out to the plains so that they could achieve Manifest Destiny, but land speculators were claimimg land and trying to sell it to homesteaders for high prices that many of them couldn't afford, so not many moved out to the plains!.
The Homestead Act of 1862 stopped the land speculators!. It stated that Americans were entitled to 160 acres of land if they lived on the land for five years!. Land speculators didn't want to have to wait five years before they could cash in on their investment, so it was very effective!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

The purpose was to encourage settlement of the west and to tie the west to the north politically and economically!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

To give people an incentive to move to the unpopulated or sparsely populated areas of our great country!.Www@QuestionHome@Com