Land Grants

• By far the most important provision of the Homestead Act of 1839 was the granting of land to any immigrant to Texas before the year 1840. Citizens of the Republic of Texas were granted up to 50 acres of land almost anywhere in the state on a first come basis. This land was free and required no previous license or writ to be obtained. This became the basic template for all western settlement going forward.
  
  

Debt Protection

• The Homestead Act of 1839 included an important provision protecting homesteads from debt that still informs the legal system in Texas and the rest of the U.S. today. Under this law it became illegal for creditors to reposes a person's homestead as repayment of debt. This was important to many of the first immigrants to Texas as the state had become something of a sanctuary for those fleeing the debt they had accrued elsewhere.
  
  

Capital

• Another important provision of the Homestead Act of 1839 that was important in Texas at the time was a section dealing with the establishment of a permanent capital to house the new state government. A commission of five was established, which was instructed to find land located in the farthest western part of the state. The name of Austin for the capital, for Sam Austin, was decided. The area eventually selected was known as Waterloo.
  
  

Education

• Though it was not directly part of the Homestead Act of 1839, also passed by the Texas legislature in that year, and a part of the same land program, was a law devoted to education. This law likewise influenced future western settlement in the U.S. Three leagues were to be surveyed in each county and set aside for the creation of primary schools and academies. Also, land for two state colleges was set aside.