George Henry Evans
Encyclopedia
Born in England, George H Evans (born March 25, 1805, Bromyard, Herefordshire, Eng. died Feb. 2, 1856, Granville, N.J., U.S.) was a radical reformer
, with experience in the Working Men's movement of 1829 and the trade union movements of the 1830s. In 1844, Evans, trade unionist John Windt, former Chartist Thomas Devyr and others founded the National Reform Association, which lobbied Congress and sought political supporters with the slogan "Vote Yourself a Farm." Between 1844 and 1862, Congress received petitions signed by 55,000 Americans calling for free public lands for homesteaders.
Free land was depicted as a means of attracting the excessive eastern population westward, and, as a result, bringing about higher wages and better working conditions for the laboring man in the eastern industrial areas. For many years the public domain had been regarded as the safety valve
of the American political and economic order. (Bronstein, 1999).
The efforts of Evans and his allies—notably Horace Greeley
—led to the Homestead Act
of 1862. Evans, thus, deserves the title of "Father of the Homestead Act."
Evans was a publisher, and the editor of a series of radical newspapers including: Workingman's Advocate (1829-36, 1844-45), The Man (1834), The Radical (1841-43), The People's Rights (1844), and Young America (1845-49). He also spent the period 1837-41, and the period after 1848, on his farm in New Jersey (Lause, 2005). George Henry Evans died in 1855.
Reformism
Reformism is the belief that gradual democratic changes in a society can ultimately change a society's fundamental economic relations and political structures...
, with experience in the Working Men's movement of 1829 and the trade union movements of the 1830s. In 1844, Evans, trade unionist John Windt, former Chartist Thomas Devyr and others founded the National Reform Association, which lobbied Congress and sought political supporters with the slogan "Vote Yourself a Farm." Between 1844 and 1862, Congress received petitions signed by 55,000 Americans calling for free public lands for homesteaders.
Free land was depicted as a means of attracting the excessive eastern population westward, and, as a result, bringing about higher wages and better working conditions for the laboring man in the eastern industrial areas. For many years the public domain had been regarded as the safety valve
Safety valve theory
The safety valve theory was a theory about how to deal with unemployment which gave rise to the Homestead Act of 1862 in the United States. Given the concentration of immigrants on the Eastern coast, it was hypothesized that making free land available in the West, would relieve the pressure for...
of the American political and economic order. (Bronstein, 1999).
The efforts of Evans and his allies—notably Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley was an American newspaper editor, a founder of the Liberal Republican Party, a reformer, a politician, and an outspoken opponent of slavery...
—led to the Homestead Act
Homestead Act
A homestead act is one of three United States federal laws that gave an applicant freehold title to an area called a "homestead" – typically 160 acres of undeveloped federal land west of the Mississippi River....
of 1862. Evans, thus, deserves the title of "Father of the Homestead Act."
Evans was a publisher, and the editor of a series of radical newspapers including: Workingman's Advocate (1829-36, 1844-45), The Man (1834), The Radical (1841-43), The People's Rights (1844), and Young America (1845-49). He also spent the period 1837-41, and the period after 1848, on his farm in New Jersey (Lause, 2005). George Henry Evans died in 1855.