The homestead act was part of westward expansion. The free "unclaimed" land (it was Native American land) provided a relief valve for the American system. When the poor became too uppity, the government would provide them with an escape valve of free land and adventure. When we finally reached California, that escape valve disappeared.

What you claim are rights, I dispute. The ability to control other people's living situation and extract rents is not a natural right. If anything, it's an abomination.