Broadly, homesteading is a lifestyle of agrarian self-sufficiency.
In the United States, the Homestead Act (1862) allowed anyone to claim up to 160 acres of land. After clearing and working the land for five years, the homesteader would receive title to the land from the government. In this sense, homesteading was a means of obtaining land, and was the most important and prevalent means of settlement in the late 19th century.
