Introduction to History of Nebraska
The original inhabitants of Nebraska were Indians who arrived there more than 10,000 years ago and probably were part of a group known collectively as Folsom man. Through the centuries, a succession of peoples of various other cultures inhabited the area. When European explorers entered the region, they found a number of Indian tribes, speaking different languages and following various ways of life. Among them were the warlike Pawnees and the Omahas, Poncas, Otos, and Missouris.
Important dates in Nebraska1682 Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, claimed the region drained by the Mississippi River, including present-day Nebraska, for France.1714 Etienne Veniard de Bourgmont traveled up the Missouri River to the mouth of the Platte River.1720 The Pawnee Indians defeated Spanish forces under Pedro de Villasur along the Platte River.1739 Pierre and Paul Mallet were probably the first Europeans to cross Nebraska.1762 France gave the Louisiana Territory to Spain.1800 Spain returned Louisiana to France.1803 The United States bought the Louisiana Territory, including Nebraska, from France.1804 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark traveled up the Missouri River and explored eastern Nebraska.1806 Zebulon M. Pike explored south-central Nebraska.1813 Robert Stuart and his party followed the North Platte and Platte rivers across Nebraska.1819 The U.S. Army established Fort Atkinson.1843 The "Great Migration" began through Nebraska along the Oregon Trail to the West.1854 Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, creating the Nebraska Territory.1863 One of the first free homesteads was claimed by Daniel Freeman near Beatrice.1865 The Union Pacific Railroad began building its line west from Omaha.1867 Nebraska became the 37th state on March 1.1874-1877 Vast swarms of grasshoppers invaded the Nebraska farmlands and severely damaged crops.1905 The North Platte River Project was begun to irrigate 165,000 acres (66,770 hectares) in western Nebraska.1934 Nebraskans voted to adopt a unicameral legislature.1937 The unicameral legislature held its first session.1939 Petroleum was discovered in southeastern Nebraska.1944 Congress authorized the Missouri River Basin Project (now the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program).1960-1964 Nebraskans approved a series of constitutional amendments that strengthened the state government by raising salaries and increasing terms of government officials.1967 Nebraska adopted both a sales and an income tax. It also celebrated its statehood centennial.1982 Nebraska adopted Initiative 300, which prohibits corporations from buying farms or ranches in the state.1992 Nebraska voters approved a state lottery.1997 The Legislature passed a measure giving aid to public schools based on an average cost per pupil, forcing many small school districts to reorganize.2005 Governor Mike Johanns resigned from office after being appointed U.S. secretary of agriculture.European Exploration
A Spanish expedition, sent to the northern plains in 1541–42 to seek gold, may have entered what is now Nebraska. The expedition found nothing it considered of value, and the Spanish virtually ignored the region for the next two centuries. The French, who were developing the fur trade of the Missouri River basin, were the first Europeans to explore the area, which they claimed as part of Louisiana. Etienne Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont, reached the Platte River about 1714. His report contained the first recorded mention of the name Nebraska—the Indian name for the river.
The Spanish became alarmed at French activity in the area. To make their influence felt, they sent expeditions into the region. The massacre of a party headed by Pedro de Villasur by Pawnee Indians in 1720, however, all but halted these efforts. The French, meanwhile, were establishing themselves in the northern Plains. Pierre and Paul Mallet, French-Canadian trappers, opened a trade route through Nebraska to the southwest.
In 1762 the Franco-Spanish rivalry came to an end when France relinquished its claims to the land west of the Mississippi to Spain. The Spanish retained control until 1800, when they returned the area to France. In 1803, Nebraska was acquired by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase.
Fur Trade and Overland Routes
The Lewis and Clark expedition, exploring the newly acquired Louisiana territory for the federal government, traveled up and down the Missouri River, 1804–06. In 1807 Manuel Lisa set up a fur-trading post on the west bank of the Missouri, north of the Platte, but it was abandoned in 1812. The army arrived in 1819, establishing what became Fort Atkinson, north of where Omaha now stands. (It was abandoned in 1827.) The first permanent settlement grew up around a trading post at Bellevue, founded about 1820 south of the fort.
Meanwhile, the Platte Valley was becoming the main overland route west. The Oregon Trail was first traced by fur traders in 1811–12, and was later used by Rocky Mountain trappers and by wagon trains. By the 1840's, an almost continuous stream of pioneers was passing through Nebraska on the way west. Fort Kearny was built in 1848 where the trail from Missouri reached the Platte. Additional trails crossing Nebraska were the Mormon Trail (established in 1847) and the Overland Stage Route (about 1859).
Indian Wars and Homesteading
The first whites to settle in Nebraska did so illegally, as the territory was officially reserved for Indians. There soon were demands that the federal government organize Nebraska as a territory in order to legalize the settlements already there, provide a route for a railroad to the Pacific, and open the way for extending settlement westward. In 1854 the U.S. Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act. It created the Territory of Nebraska, which included Nebraska and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and North and South Dakota. New towns were soon established, including Nebraska City, Plattsmouth, and Omaha, which became the territorial capital. Settlement, however, was slow at first.
The coming of settlers to what had been Indian Territory led to conflict. The Battle of Ash Hollow, fought in western Nebraska in 1855, was one of many clashes between the Sioux and whites. The Pawnees ceded most of their land to the government, but they, too, clashed with settlers, and troops were sent to subdue them in 1859.
The Homestead Act in 1862 and construction of the Union Pacific Railroad, completed in 1869, caused rapid population growth. Other territories were carved out of the original Nebraska Territory, and Nebraska itself reached its present size in 1863. (The northern boundary was changed slightly in 1890.) In 1867 Nebraska was admitted to the Union as the 37th state. The capital was moved from Omaha to Lincoln, and David Butler was elected the first state governor. Scandals in Butler's administration led to his impeachment and removal in 1871 and the adoption of a new constitution in 1875.
Modern Development
From the beginning, the state's economic life was dominated by agriculture, as Nebraska farmland was well suited to raising wheat and corn. The farmers, however, often found themselves beset by high costs (particularly freight and grain-elevator rates), low prices for their commodities, and drought. Seeking to strengthen themselves economically, they formed local farmers' cooperatives and joined the Grange.
Despite difficulties, Nebraska generally prospered during the first two decades of statehood. The railroads brought a steady stream of immigrants to the state (mainly from the British Isles and northern and eastern Europe). Cattle ranching began in the western region, and industrial development, paced by the meat-packing industry, started.
Around 1890 a period of drought began. This, combined with low agricultural prices, brought hard times to Nebraska farmers. Many left the state. Others voiced their discontent by joining the Farmers' Alliance and supporting formation of the People's party. It was during this period of ferment that William Jennings Bryan, later a three- time nominee for President, began his political career in Lincoln.
In 1904, to aid Nebraska's troubled farm economy, the U.S. Congress passed the Kinkaid Act. This law enlarged the size of homestead units offered in sparsely populated western Nebraska. Although lack of water was still a problem, a large number of homesteaders were attracted to the state.
Prosperity returned during World War I with the demand for food for the armed forces and the Allies. After the war's end, however, the farm economy again declined sharply. The financial stress of the Great Depression of the 1930's was intensified by drought. The mortgages on many farms were foreclosed during this period. Agriculture recovered with improved weather, construction of dams to aid irrigation (proposed by Nebraska's U.S. Senator George W. Norris), and the heavy food demands of World War II. In the 1950's, lack of rain again proved to be a problem. An extensive water- and soil-conservation program was then begun.
In the late 1960's, there was serious rioting in the black ghettos of the state's largest city, Omaha. In the early 1970's, the people of the panhandle (the ranchlands of the northwest corner of Nebraska), feeling ignored by the state government, voiced discontent. (Several times since statehood, panhandle residents have called for secession.) The worst natural disaster in Nebraska history occurred in 1975 when devastating tornadoes struck the eastern part of the state.
During much of the 1980's, crop yields were reduced by prolonged drought and heat, seriously affecting the economy. In 1986 Kay Orr, a Republican, became the first woman to be elected governor of Nebraska; she held office until 1991. In the early 2000's, severe drought again affected the state.
Public education financing was improved by a tax increase in the early 1990's, but by 1996 those property tax increases were restricted. This was balanced the following year by greater state aid to the public education system, but the distribution was uneven throughout the state.
In 2005, Nebraska's governor Mike Johanns resigned after six years in office to become the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under President George W. Bush.