Homestead Acts
It was far from a given that the railroads operating in the thinly-settled west would make enough money to repay their construction and operation. If the railroad companies failed to sell the land granted them within three years, they were required to sell it at prevailing government price for homesteads: . If they failed to repay the bonds, all remaining railroad property, including trains and tracks, would revert to the U.S. government. To encourage settlement in the west, [[37th United States Congress|Congress]] (1861–1863) passed the [[Homestead Acts]] which granted an applicant of land with the requirement that the applicant improve the land. This incentive encouraged thousands of settlers to move west.