Got a late start because I was having so much fun hanging out with Jacob. Enjoyed one of my mom's homemade granola bars for breakfast.
Only site I saw today was Homestead National Monument. Homesteading was much more widespread than I thought- most states had some form of it, including Illinois. And it lasted into the 1980's.
I was glad they had displays about the whole Manifest Destiny philosophy and showed how the Native Americans got totally screwed. But the other side of the story is interesting, too. Many people in cities saw it as a solution to poverty; it gave poor people/immigrants/minorities a chance to own land and be successful. The problem was, the city people showed up and had no idea how to farm. You only got to keep the land if you started a successful farm, so only about 40% of people made it.
There wasn't much to see here, but it was still interesting. And I got four stamps for my book!
I always thought Nebraska was incredibly dull, and most of it is. However, as it became evening, the landscape suddenly changed. It reminds me of northern New Mexico, but greener. Ranch land and bluffs everywhere. It felt so good to see something I've never seen before, and I was in a state of bliss as I drove into the sunset, listening to Bon Iver. I spent the night in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.
Only site I saw today was Homestead National Monument. Homesteading was much more widespread than I thought- most states had some form of it, including Illinois. And it lasted into the 1980's.
I was glad they had displays about the whole Manifest Destiny philosophy and showed how the Native Americans got totally screwed. But the other side of the story is interesting, too. Many people in cities saw it as a solution to poverty; it gave poor people/immigrants/minorities a chance to own land and be successful. The problem was, the city people showed up and had no idea how to farm. You only got to keep the land if you started a successful farm, so only about 40% of people made it.
There wasn't much to see here, but it was still interesting. And I got four stamps for my book!
I always thought Nebraska was incredibly dull, and most of it is. However, as it became evening, the landscape suddenly changed. It reminds me of northern New Mexico, but greener. Ranch land and bluffs everywhere. It felt so good to see something I've never seen before, and I was in a state of bliss as I drove into the sunset, listening to Bon Iver. I spent the night in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.
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