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Earliest
Records
Nebraska's fossil beds and glacial deposits show that it
once was an inland sea bed that later was elevated above
water. The area once had a tropical climate, but during a
later period, glaciers covered the land. Archaeologists
estimate that prehistoric people inhabited the area between
10,000 and 25,000 years ago, based on discoveries of stone
tools and weapons. The earliest inhabitants were nomadic
hunters, but centuries later, others came to the grasslands
to hunt, fish and farm.
Indian Tribes
Through the centuries, people entered and abandoned the
Nebraska area as the climate fluctuated between long periods
of drought and times of plentiful moisture. This constant
movement created a diverse mixture of Indian languages and
cultures.
The Pawnees and their northern relatives, the Arikaras,
lived in the area the longest. They came from the south
about four or five centuries ago and established villages
along the Platte, Loup, Republican and other central
Nebraska waterways. The Pawnees hunted buffalo on the plains
and farmed beans, corn and squash. In the 18th century, the
Omaha, Ponca and Oto tribes entered eastern Nebraska and
lived near the Missouri River. Other tribes, such as the
Teton Sioux (Lakotas), Arapahos and Cheyennes, migrated
westward from forested areas north and east of the Missouri
River. Altogether, the various tribes living in the Nebraska
area may have numbered about 40,000 in 1800.
The Indians understood the world to have a unity or
coherence that was incomprehensible to European Americans.
Unlike the whites, the Indians made no distinction between
practical and religious activities. For example, among the
Pawnees, sacred ceremonies were as essential as hoeing was
to make corn grow.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, plains Indian cultures were
profoundly influenced when Spanish intruders introduced
horses. The Pawnees and Omahas quickly adapted horses for
use on their long seasonal bison hunts into western Nebraska
and central Kansas. Completely nomadic tribes such as the
Lakotas developed cultures centered around horses. These
tribes lived in tepees year-round and became dependent on
bison for food, clothing, tools and other items.
When white explorers and fur traders began to penetrate the
area in the 18th century, the Indians usually welcomed them
and eagerly exchanged furs for guns, blankets, clothing,
alcohol and other items. Such contacts also spread Chief Red
Cloud, Oglala Sioux diseases such as measles. Epidemics
devasted the Indians.
Traditional Indian culture thrived in Nebraska until the
1830s. As white penetration of Nebraska increased, the U.S.
government began negotiating with various tribes for
cessions of Indian lands in Nebraska. These negotiations
were not yet completed in the 1850s when Nebraska became a
territory and land was made available to whites for
ownership.
Spanish and French Explorers
In 1541, Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado led
an expedition across the U.S. Southwest into Kansas. He
claimed the entire territory for Spain, although Spaniards
never established settlements in Nebraska.
French explorer Rene Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle,
traveled down the Mississippi River to its mouth in 1682. He
claimed all the land drained by the Mississippi, as well as
its tributaries, for France. The land, which included
Nebraska, was named "Louisiana" in honor of French King
Louis XIV. During the 1690s and early 1700s, French traders
and trappers moved into the Louisiana region. In 1714,
French explorer Etienne Veniard de Bourgmont traveled up the
Missouri River to the mouth of the Platte River.
Spain objected to France's presence in the regions it
claimed. In 1720, a Spanish expedition of 45 soldiers, led
by Pedro de Villasur, marched into Nebraska, intending to
remove the French. But in a battle by the Platte River,
Pawnee Indians attacked and killed most of the Spaniards.
In 1739, two French explorers, Pierre and Paul Mallet, set
out from Illinois to Santa Fe, N.M., with a party of six
Frenchmen. They named the Platte River and traveled nearly
the entire length of present-day Nebraska.
In 1763, at the close of the Seven Years' War in Europe,
France gave up all its claims east of the Mississippi River
to England and west of the Mississippi to Spain. However,
French fur traders continued to operate in Nebraska. In
1800, French ruler Napoleon Bonaparte forced Spain to return
the Louisiana Territory to France. He then sold the entire
territory, which included Nebraska, to the United States in
1803. This transaction is commonly known as the Louisiana
Purchase.
U.S. Explorers and Fur Traders
The first U.S. expedition to visit Nebraska in 1804 to 1806
was led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who traveled
up the Missouri River and explored the state's eastern edge.
In 1806, Lt. Zebulon Pike visited southcentral Nebraska as
part of a U.S. government program to explore the Louisiana
Purchase.
The Spanish-American trader Manuel Lisa established trading
posts along the Missouri River between 1807 and 1820. One
established in 1812 was near the site where Lewis and Clark
held council with the Indians, in present-day Washington
County.
In 1811, the Hunt party of Astorians skirted Nebraska on its
way to Oregon. The following year, fur agent Robert Stuart
set out for New York City from the Astoria trading post in
Oregon, entering Nebraska early in 1813. Stuart's seven-man
party followed the North Platte River to its junction with
the South Platte, then along the Platte to the Missouri
River. This route later came to be known as the Oregon
Trail.
In 1819, the U.S. Army established Nebraska's first military
post, Fort Atkinson (near the present town of Fort Calhoun
in Washington County), to protect the frontier. The fort,
with more than 1,000 people, also became the site of
Nebraska's first school, library, grist mill and brickyard
before it was abandoned in 1827. The village of Bellevue,
founded on the Missouri River in 1823, became Nebraska's
first permanent white settlement.
In 1820, Maj. Stephen Long, with a 20-man party, traveled
from the Missouri River up the Platte River to the South
Platte headwaters near Denver. In his reports, Long
described the area including western Nebraska as a "barren
and uncongenial district" and "almost wholly unfit for
cultivation, and of course uninhabitable by a people
depending upon agriculture for their subsistence." A map
drawn by the cartographer of Long's expedition labeled the
region a "Great Desert."
Beginning in 1824 and continuing through the 1840s, fur
traders used the Platte River route heavily. In 1830,
traders took the first wagons to the Rocky Mountains,
showing the way for later emigrant caravans.
Missionaries
The Rev. Moses Merrill and his wife, Eliza Wilcox Merrill,
were the first resident missionaries to the Nebraska
Indians. They arrived in Bellevue in 1833 and continued
their work until Rev. Merrill's death in 1840. Samuel Allis
and the Rev. John Dunbar, who arrived in Bellevue in 1834,
served as missionaries to the Pawnee tribe for 12 years.
Father De Smet, a Catholic missionary, came to Nebraska in
1835, ministering to Indians west of the Missouri River for
35 years.
The "Great Migration"
In the early 1840s, Nebraska's Platte River valley began to
play an important role in the "Great Migration," the
westward movement of thousands of pioneers. They followed
trails crossing Nebraska, including the Oregon and
California trails, which followed the Little Blue and Platte
River valleys, and the Mormon Trail (Council Bluffs Road),
which started from present-day Omaha and traveled along the
north bank of the Platte River.
These trails were traveled extensively until railroad
construction reached the Pacific Coast. Between April 3,
1860, and Oct. 24, 1861, Pony Express riders also followed
the Platte River valley, carrying mail to the west coast.
Fort Kearny was established near the present-day city of
Kearney to protect travelers crossing Nebraska.
In 1832, the steamboat Yellowstone began the first annual
fur-trading voyages up the Missouri River, stopping at
points along the Nebraska border. Steamboats were important
forms of transportation until the construction of railroads
in the 1860s, with 40 to 50 steamboats involved in river
trade.
Until the Nebraska Territory was established in 1854, the
U.S. government designated the area as Indian country,
refusing to allow white families to settle there. Between
1830 and 1854, rugged frontier conditions prevailed there.
The only two white settlements of any size were Fort Kearny
and Bellevue.
Nebraska Territory
The word "Nebraska" first began to appear in publications in
1842, when Lt. John C. Fremont explored the plains and
mountains of the western United States. His report mentions
the "Nebraska River," the Oto Indian name for the Platte
River. The term was taken from the Oto word "Nebrathka"
meaning "flat water." U.S. Secretary of War William Wilkins,
in his report of Nov. 30, 1844, stated: "The Platte or
Nebraska River being the central stream would very properly
furnish a name to the (proposed) territory."
The first bill to organize the new Nebraska Territory,
introduced in Congress on Dec. 17, 1844, by Illinois Sen.
Stephen Douglas, failed to pass. Another bill, called the
Kansas-Nebraska Act, was passed after a long, bitter
struggle and signed by President Franklin Pierce on May 30,
1854. The struggle between the slave and free states for
control in the Nebraska region gave rise to the Republican
Party and caused border conflicts before the Civil War.
Slaves were first bought and sold in the 1850s in Nebraska
City and, at one time, the Underground Railroad may have
operated in Nebraska.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act officially created the Kansas and
Nebraska territories, opening the area to settlement west of
the Missouri River. The Nebraska Territory's boundaries
extended from the 40th parallel to the Canadian border and
from the Missouri River to the Continental Divide, including
parts of present-day Montana, North and South Dakota,
Wyoming and Colorado, as well as Nebraska. By 1863, Congress
created several more new territories from this region,
reducing the Nebraska Territory to about the state's present
size.
President Pierce appointed Francis Burt of South Carolina as
the first governor of the Nebraska Territory. When Burt died
two days after taking the oath of office on Oct. 16, 1854,
the territory's secretary, Thomas Cuming, became acting
governor. Cuming organized the territorial government and
took a census so that legislative elections could be held.
A struggle between the new town of Omaha and the old town of
Bellevue to be the territorial capital was decided in favor
of Omaha by Cuming, who called the first session of the
Legislature to meet there. However, the issue was not
settled until Nebraska achieved statehood in 1867, when the
capital was moved to Lancaster, now known as Lincoln.
During Nebraska's early territorial days, settling the
countryside, land and currency laws, the proposed
transcontinental railroad, the capital's location, the
rivalry between north and south regions of the Platte River,
the Republican Party formation, and the defeat of the first
efforts to make Nebraska a state were the prevalent issues
of the time. The territory's population grew from 2,732 in
November 1854 to 28,841 in 1860.
Effect of the Civil War and Railroad Construction
The election of Abraham Lincoln as president and the Civil
War that followed had a definite effect on Nebraska. The
First Nebraska Infantry, under Col. John M. Thayer, was
raised for service in the Union Army. Nebraska's entry into
the Union was delayed until after the Civil War ended.
In 1865, the Union Pacific Railroad began building a line
extending westward from Omaha. This line stretched across
Nebraska two years later. By the mid- 1880s, the Burlington
Railroad lines crisscrossed the state. Many railroads
received land grants from state and federal governments to
offset construction costs. These lands were sold to new
settlers through extensive advertising campaigns. The
railroads sent company representatives and pamphlets, which
included glowing descriptions of Nebraska's farmland, to
people in the eastern United States and even Europe. These
campaigns, plus an influx of discharged Civil War veterans
seeking land, helped swell Nebraska's population to 122,993
by 1870.
Statehood
In early 1867, Congress passed an act admitting Nebraska to
the Union, provided that the Nebraska Legislature remove a
clause in its proposed state constitution that limited the
right to vote to free white males. President Andrew Johnson,
convinced that the imposition of this condition on the state
constitution was a violation of the U.S. Constitution,
vetoed the act, but Congress overrode his veto. Johnson, a
Democrat, also did not want Nebraska admitted to the Union
because the territory had a Republican majority.
Nebraska joined the Union as the 37th state on March 1,
1867. The people elected David Butler as the first governor,
and Lincoln became the state capital on July 29. A state
university and agriculture college were established on Feb.
15, 1869.
Hard Times
Beginning in 1873, the state's growth and development were
slowed by a combination of problems. Between 1874 and 1877,
swarms of grasshoppers severely damaged farmers' oat,
barley, corn and wheat crops. Discouraged, many settlers
left their land and returned to the East. However, another
wave of settlers took their place in the 1880s.
Nebraska settlers were tested by falling land prices in the
1890s. Land prices, which had soared during the 1880s,
collapsed in 1890 because of drought, overuse of credit and
low prices for farmers' products.
Farmers blamed the railroads, banks and other business
interests for their problems. Many farmers joined the new
Farmers' Alliance organization, which opposed high freight
costs imposed by the railroads.
Many Nebraska farmers also joined the Populist Party, which
advocated agricultural reforms. The Populists nearly carried
the state in the presidential election of 1892, and from
1895 to 1901, they held the governor's office.
Nebraska also supplied national leadership for the Populist
movement. William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska won election to
Congress and served two terms (1891-95). In 1896, he
unsuccessfully ran for president as a Democrat on an
essentially Populist platform. He was nominated twice more
as the Democratic presidential candidate but was not
elected, although he served as U.S. secretary of state.
Black People in Nebraska after the Civil War
Following the Civil War, black people began to establish
themselves in Nebraska. In 1860, there were an estimated 82
black people in the state. By 1900 that number had risen to
6,269. Most black people moved to Omaha, where chances were
greater of finding work. Most opportunities for employment
were found with the railroads, packing houses or other labor
fields. The 1910 teachers of music, and 14 clergymen of
black descent lived in Nebraska.
History books indicate that black people contributed to the
settlement of Nebraska. In 1870, Robert Anderson was the
first black person to homestead in Box Butte County. Other
homesteaders included L.B. Mattingly, who resided near David
City; David Patrick, who lived in Hamilton County; and the
Speece and Shores families, who settled in Custer County.
Black organizations such as the Women's Club in 1895 began
to emerge in Omaha, as did newspapers such as the Progress,
the Afro-American Sentinel and The Enterprise in the 1880s
and 1890s.
Many black people distinguished themselves in public life:
Dr. Matthew O. Ricketts was the first black person to serve
in the Nebraska Legislature in 1892, Silas Robbins was the
first black person to be admitted to the Nebraska State Bar
Association in 1895, and Clarence W. Wigington was the first
black person to design a home in Nebraska.
Settlement of Western Nebraska
The development of irrigation and new dryland farming
methods during the 1890s and early 1900s greatly contributed
to the settlement of western Nebraska. Congress passed the
Reclamation Act of 1902, which earmarked federal aid for
irrigation projects. New crops, such as winter wheat,
alfalfa and sugar beets, also helped make farming viable in
western Nebraska.
Settlers wishing to farm in western Nebraska were frequently
opposed, often with armed violence, by ranchers who had
preceded them. The farmers rejoiced when Congress passed the
Kinkaid Act, which provided for 640-acre homesteads in
western Nebraska. The act triggered a new population boom in
the Sandhills area. But when the new settlers found much of
the land unsuitable for farming, they sold their homesteads
to cattle ranchers.
World War I and the Great Depression
World War I had a notable effect on life in Nebraska. The
state furnished 47,801 men for the war, and about 1,000
soldiers were killed in the line of duty. The state also
gave about $300 million to war causes and contributed food
to the war effort. Demand for the state's farm products
brought new economic prosperity.
But when the war was over, the economic boom collapsed. The
1929 stock market crash caused farm prices to fall even
further. The Great Depression that followed, together with a
severe drought that hit the Midwest, created economic
disaster for farmers. Many faced bankruptcy and loss of
their land to banks and insurance companies.
However, some farmers refused to give up their land. By
1932, conditions had become so desperate that groups of
farmers began preventing foreclo-sures by threatening
physical violence at public land sales. Sympathetic sheriffs
often refused to carry out court orders for the public sale
of land marked for foreclosure. In 1933, Gov. Charles Bryan
imposed a moratorium on farm foreclosures. Federal aid came
to Nebraska farmers through New Deal long-term, low-interest
loans and other relief programs.
Progressive Legislation
Many progressive laws were enacted in Nebraska between 1890
and 1940. Among the measures adopted were provisions for the
Australian ballot, direct primary election, and initiative
and referendum. (The Australian ballot is an official
ballot, on which the names of all candidates and proposals
appear, that is distributed only at the polling place and
marked in secret.) The state's educational system was
greatly expanded. High school education was made available
to all students, and a public-ownership-of-textbooks law was
passed. A state highway system was built from money raised
by a new gasoline tax and federal aid. During the 1930s, the
state enacted Social Security legislation and imposed new
liquor and head taxes, along with other gasoline taxes, to
furnish funds for state aid. Another significant development
during this period was the creation of a unicameral
(one-house) legislature, the first of its kind in the
nation.
World War II
With the advent of World War II, which created new demand
for farm products, Nebraska's economy began to improve
significantly. Farmers increased beef cattle production and
produced millions of tons of corn, potatoes, oats and wheat
to help meet food shortages. Besides food, the state sent
some 128,000 soldiers to the war, 3,655 of whom died in the
service. Nebraskans bought more than $1 billion worth of war
supplies and contributed more than $8 million to the Red
Cross and National War Funds. Manufacturing plants in the
state produced more than $1.2 billion worth of war supplies.
Developments Since World War II
The end of World War II ushered in prosperity which has, for
the most part, continued to the present day. In 1944,
Congress passed the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Project, which
authorized the creation of flood control dams, reservoirs
and hydroelectric plants in states drained by the Missouri
River, including Nebraska. Spectacular growth in irrigation
has occurred across the state and, with the invention of the
pivot system, thousands of acres of dry land have been made
productive. However, intensive irrigation and water
pollution have caused concern about the future of the
state's water supply, generating controversy between land
developers and environmentalists.
Since the 1950s, Nebraska farms have become larger in size
and fewer in number. The average farm size has grown from
444 acres in 1950 to 885 acres in 1997, while the total
number of farms has dropped from 109,000 to about 51,500.
Machinery and modern farming methods have made agriculture
more efficient, thereby decreasing the need for farm
workers. This trend has caused many rural residents to move
to larger communities in search of jobs.
This population shift has generated new efforts to increase
industry in Nebraska. During the 1960s, manufacturing
employment increased sharply, partly as a result of
campaigns to attract new businesses to the state. Service
industries also have experienced rapid growth. Expanding and
diversifying Nebraska's economy remains a top priority in
state government today.
Nebraskans experienced some of the racial unrest more
commonly associated with the country's larger urban areas.
Civil rights demonstrations in Omaha in 1963 led to the
creation of the Omaha Human Rights Commission, and in 1968
and 1969, race riots required intervention by the military
and the National Guard.
Many changes in education have occurred in Nebraska since
World War II. The University of Nebraska was reorganized to
include campuses at Lincoln and Omaha, with central
administration at Lincoln. Kearney State College was added
to the university system in 1991. A state-supported system
of community colleges was created in 1971. Following passage
of the Nebraska Educational Television Act in 1963, Nebraska
became one of the first states to broadcast educational
programming to the entire state. At the elementary and
secondary level, many school districts have been
consolidated, reflecting the decline in rural Nebraska's
population.
In the mid-1970s, many Nebraska farmers borrowed heavily to
expand their operations. But with the nationwide recession
of the early 1980s, land values collapsed, and many farmers
were unable to repay their loans in full. Many people have
left farming altogether, thereby weakening the economic base
of many rural communities. As a result, these communities
have stepped up efforts to attract new industries and expand
existing ones. To stimulate economic growth, the 1987
Legislature adopted two measures that authorized tax
incentives for businesses intending to create new jobs in
Nebraska.
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