NEBRASKA TERRITORY

The 'Nebraska Territory' was a historic organized territory of the United States from May 30, 1854 until March 1, 1867 when Nebraska became the 37th U.S. state. It was established by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. The territorial capital was Omaha.

Contents

History

Fight for the State Capitol

Early settlement

Early military posts

Boundaries

Subsequent territory creation

See also

References

External links

History

An enabling act was passed by Congress in 1864. Delegates for a constitutional convention were elected; this convention did not produce a constitution. Two years later, in 1866, a constitution was drafted and voted upon; it was approved by 100 votes. However, a clause in this constitution limiting suffrage to "free white males" held Nebraska's entry into the Union for almost a year; the 1866 enabling act for the state was subject to a pocket veto by President Andrew Johnson. When Congress reconvened in 1867, another bill creating Nebraska as a state was passed, this time on the condition that Nebraska's constitution be amended to remove the suffrage clause. This bill was also vetoed by President Johnson; Congress then overrode his veto.

Fight for the State Capitol

Omaha City desperately wanted to be the capital of the new state. Starting in 1854 local businessmen formed the Omaha Claim Club as part of a scheme to persuade Territorial legislators to keep the capitol in Omaha. Their aggressive efforts to secure land to give away to legislators, called Scriptown, was later determined to be illegal in ''Baker v. Morton''.
In January, 1858 a group of representatives illegally moved the Nebraska Territorial Legislature to Florence following a violent outburst at the capitol building. After repeatedly being dogged out of voting on the removal of the Capitol from Omaha, a skirmish pitted representatives from Nebraska City, Florence, and other communities to convene outside of Omaha. Despite having a majority of members present for the vote to remove the Capitol and all agreeing, the "Florence Legislature" did not succeed in swaying the Nebraska Territory governor, and the Capitol remained in Omaha until 1867 when Nebraska gained statehood.^[1]

Early settlement

Several towns, forts and trading posts were established in the Nebraska Territory from the early 1800s through 1867, including Fontenelle's Post founded in 1806; Fort Lisa founded in 1806; Fort Atkinson founded in 1819; Cabanne's Trading Post founded in 1822; Cutler's Park founded in 1846; Omaha City founded in 1853; Bellevue founded in 1853; Nebraska City and Kearney City were incorporated in 1855; Saratoga, South Nebraska City and Florence were each founded in 1856.

Early military posts

With a variety of early fur trading posts, Fort Atkinson, founded in 1819, was the location of the first military post in what became the Nebraska Territory, as well as its first school.(n.d.) World Almanac for Kids: Nebraska: Education. Other posts in the Nebraska Territory included Fort Kearny near present-day Kearney; Fort McPherson near present-day Maxwell, Nebr.; Fort Mitchell near present-day Mitchell, Nebr.; Fort Randall, in what is now South Dakota; and Fort Caspar, Fort Halleck, Fort Laramie, and Fort Sanders, in what is now Wyoming.

Boundaries

The Nebraska Territory's original boundaries (as specifed by its Organic Act) included much of the original Louisiana Purchase; the territory's boundaries were:

★ Southern – 40° N (the current Kansas-Nebraska border);

★ Western – the Continental Divide between the Pacific and the Atlantic/Arctic Oceans;

★ Northern – 49° N (the U.S.-Canada border);

★ Eastern – the White Earth and Missouri rivers.

Subsequent territory creation

Upon creation, the territory encompassed most of the northern Great Plains, much of the upper Missouri River basin and the eastern portions of the northern Rocky Mountains. The Nebraska Territory gradually reduced in size as new territories were created in the 1860s.
The Colorado Territory was formed February 28, 1861 from portions of the territory south of 41° N and west of 102°03' W (25° W of Washington, DC) (an area that includes present-day Fort Collins, Greeley and the portions of Boulder north of Baseline Road.
March 2, 1861 saw the creation of the Dakota Territory. It was made of all of the portions of Nebraska Territory north of 43° N (the present-day Nebraska-South Dakota border), along with the portion of present-day Nebraska between 43° N and the Keya Paha and Niobrara rivers (this land would be returned to Nebraska in 1882). The act creating the Dakota Territory also included provisions granting Nebraska small portions of Utah Territory and Washington Territory — present-day southwestern Wyoming bounded by 41° N, 110°03' W (33° W of Washington, DC), 43° N and the Continental Divide. These portions had not been part of the Louisiana Purchase; rather, they has part of Oregon Country and became part of the United States in 1846.
On March 3, 1863, the Idaho Territory was formed of all the territory west of 104°03' W (27° W of Washington, DC).

See also

★ Landmarks of the Nebraska Territory

★ Historic regions of the United States

★ Governors of Nebraska Territory

★ Timeline of Racial Tension in Omaha, Nebraska

★ Oregon Trail

★ Mormon Trail

★ California Trail

References

1. Bristow, D. (1997) ''A Dirty, Wicked Town: Tale of 19th Century Omaha.'' Caxton Press.

External links

★ "Nebraska as a Territory," ''History of the State of Nebraska,'' Chicago: A. T. Andreas, 1882

★ History of Nebraska

★ History of Nebraska State Government Organization (PDF)