Which land distribution method granted free land to heads of households?

• A. Land Lottery
• B. Land Grant
• C. Homestead Act
• D. Headright System

Answer: (D)

The idea being tested is how a government encouraged settlement by giving land to people who would farm and build a household. The policy that fits this description best is the Homestead Act. Enacted in 1862, it offered 160 acres of public land to a head of a household who would live on the land, make improvements, and farm it for five years, with only a small filing fee. This was designed to promote westward expansion and family-based farming by making land ownership affordable for families.

The other methods work differently: the Headright System granted land based on the number of people a person could bring to the colony, not a uniform free grant to households; land lotteries distributed parcels by chance; and land grants are broader gifts of land for specific purposes rather than a general program to provide free land to heads of households.