Goals

This project provides visual maps showing federal land boundaries, homestead patent hotspots, and a timeline with yearly activity among Indian Reservations throughout the 1862 American Homestead Act.

Goal 1: To visualize the geographic and temporal patterns of U.S. homesteading through an interactive, data-driven map.
Audience: Digital humanities scholars, historians, and teachers.
Purpose: Provide a clear data visualization of how public land was built up using the Homestead Act, showing the dynamics of settlement at the time.
Connection to DH Values: Embodies digital humanities commitments to spatial analysis and interdisciplinary collaboration. Historical data comprehended using visualization and mapping technologies.

Goal 2: To show Indigenous land loss through interactive maps and data visualizations.

• Audience: Data geeks, historical researchers, history buffs.
• Connection to DH Goals: This goal reflects core DH values—making historical data accessible and using digital storytelling to challenge simplified historical ideas.