{"product_id":"homesteading-the-plains-toward-a-new-history-9780803296794","title":"Homesteading the Plains: Toward a New History","description":"\u003cp\u003e 2018 Nebraska Book Award \u003cbr\u003e 2018 Outstanding Academic Title, selected by \u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eHomesteading the Plains\u003c\/i\u003e offers a bold new look at the history of homesteading, overturning what for decades has been the orthodox scholarly view. The authors begin by noting the striking disparity between the public's perception of homesteading as a cherished part of our national narrative and most scholars' harshly negative and dismissive treatment. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eHomesteading the Plains\u003c\/i\u003e reexamines old data and draws from newly available digitized records to reassess the current interpretation's four principal tenets: homesteading was a minor factor in farm formation, with most Western farmers purchasing their land; most homesteaders failed to prove up their claims; the homesteading process was rife with corruption and fraud; and homesteading caused Indian land dispossession. Using data instead of anecdotes and focusing mainly on the nineteenth century, \u003ci\u003eHomesteading the Plains\u003c\/i\u003e demonstrates that the first three tenets are wrong and the fourth only partially true. In short, the public's perception of homesteading is perhaps more accurate than the one scholars have constructed. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eHomesteading the Plains\u003c\/i\u003e provides the basis for an understanding of homesteading that is startlingly different from current scholarly orthodoxy. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRichard Edwards\u003c\/b\u003e is the director of the Center for Great Plains Studies and professor of economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is the author of numerous books including \u003ci\u003eNatives of a Dry Place: Stories of Dakota before the Oil Boom\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cb\u003eJacob K. Friefeld\u003c\/b\u003e has a PhD in history from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he is also an instructor. \u003cb\u003eRebecca S. Wingo\u003c\/b\u003e is a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in digital liberal arts at Macalester College.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of Nebraska Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50845330374930,"sku":"9780803296794","price":44.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_1b3e609c-5056-4c98-bd63-6fd354a31d83.jpg?v=1737348364","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/homesteading-the-plains-toward-a-new-history-9780803296794","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}