USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 9
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the committee on territories of which Mr. Douglas was chairman, and on Janu- ary 4, 1854, that committee reported back a substitute bill, including part of the present State of Minnesota and most of the two Dakotas.
On the very day that the Dodge Bill was introduced in the Senate, Hadley D. Johnson started for Washington, where he arrived early in January. There he met the other Johnson, and although neither of them had any official standing as a delegate, both were freely consulted. Hadley D. Johnson presented the desires of his constituents so ably, and his arguments were so logical, that Mr. Douglas asked the Senate to resubmit the bill of January 4th to the committee on terri- tories for further consideration, which was done. On January 23, 1854, Mr. Douglas reported a bill for the organization of two territories-Nebraska on the north and Kansas on the south. This was the famous "Kansas-Nebraska Bill," which, after a long and acrimonious debate, passed the Senate on the night of March 3, 1854, by a vote of thirty-seven to fourteen.
In the House the Richardson Bill, introduced by Mr. Richardson of Illinois, was practically a duplicate of the Senate bill offered and championed by Mr. Douglas. When final action was taken on the measure in the Senate, Mr. Rich- ardson promptly substituted the Senate bill for his own and under the operation of the previous question it passed the House by a vote of 113 to 100. The bill was signed by President Pierce on May 30, 1854 .The boundaries of the Terri- tory of Nebraska, as defined by the bill, were as follows:
"Section I. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled: That all that part of the territory of the United States included within the following limits, except such portions as are hereinafter expressly exempted from the operations of this act, to wit : Beginning at a point on the Missouri River where the fortieth parallel of north latitude crosses the same; thence west on said parallel to the east boundary of the Territory of Utah, on the summit of the Rocky Mountains : thence on said summit northward to the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude; thence east on said parallel to the western boundary of the Territory of Min- nesota; thence southward on said boundary to the Missouri River ; thence down the main channel of said river to the place of beginning, be, and the same is. hereby created into a temporary Government, by the name of the Territory of Nebraska; and when admitted as a state or states, the said territory, or any portion of the same, shall be received into the Union with or without slavery, as their constitution may prescribe at the time of their admission: Provided, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to inhibit the Government of the United States from dividing said territory into two or more territories. in such manner and at such time as Congress shall deem convenient and proper."
The motive for the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, creating two territories west of the Missouri, instead of one as originally proposed, is found in the efforts of the advocates of slavery to maintain their balance of power in the United States Senate. Almost from the very beginning of the American Republic, the slavery question became a "bone of contention" in political affairs. By 1819 seven of the original thirteen states had abolished slavery within their horders. Ken- tucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama had been admitted as slave states and Vermont, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois as free states, making eleven of each at the time Missouri sought admission into the Union in 1820.
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After a great deal of discussion that state was admitted under the provisions of the act known as the "Missouri Compromise," which admitted Missouri without any restrictions as to slavery, but expressly stipulated that in all the remaining portion of the Louisiana Purchase north of the line marking the latitude of 36° 30' slavery should be forever prohibited.
From that time forward the friends of slavery opposed the admission of a free state, unless a slave state was also admitted. Maine was admitted in 1820 and Missouri in 1821, so that the Senate of the United States was composed of forty-eight members, half representing free states and half from slave states. The admission of Arkansas in 1836 was balanced by the admission of Michigan in 1837. Florida and Texas, both slave states, were admitted in 1845, giving the slave power a majority of four in the Senate. But Iowa was admitted as a free state in 1846 and the equilibrium was again restored by the admission of Wis- consin in 1848. California came into the Union as a free state under the pro- visions of the "Omnibus Bill," or Compromise of 1850, and when the bill for the organization of Nebraska Territory, north of the line of 36° 30', came up in Congress, the senators from the slave states saw the balance of power was about to be lost. They therefore insisted upon the creation of two territories, in the hope of making Kansas a slave state. Section one of the bill, above quoted, was a direct repeal of the Missouri Compromise, in that it provided that "when admitted as a state or states, the said territory, or any portion of the same, shall be received into the Union with or without slavery, as their constitution may prescribe at the time of their admission."
Nebraska has been called the "Mother of States." As originally created by the act of 1854, the territory contained the present states of North and South Dakota; all that part of Montana east of the Rocky Mountains; about three- fourths of Wyoming, and parts of Colorado and Idaho. The area of the present State of Nebraska is 75,995 square miles.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, President Franklin Pierce appointed the following territorial officials for Nebraska: Francis Burt, of South Carolina, governor ; Thomas B. Cuming, of Iowa, secretary; Fenner Ferguson, of Michigan, chief justice ; James Bradley, of Indiana, and Edward R. Hardin, of Georgia. associate justices; Mark W. Izard, of Arkansas, marshal ; Experience Estabrook, of Wisconsin, United States attorney. Governor Burt arrived at Bellevue on October 7, 1854. He was in bad health at the time, and on the 16th he took the oath of office and died two days later.
Secretary Cuming assumed the duties of acting governor and served until February 20, 1855, when he was succeeded by Mark W. Izard. His first official act was to order a census of the territory, which was completed on November 20, 1854. and showed a population of 2,732. He then divided the territory into eight counties-Burt, Cass, Dodge. Douglas, Forney, Pierce, Richardson and Washington-ordered an election for members of the Territorial Legislature on December 12, 1854, and issued a proclamation calling the Legislature to meet at Omaha on Tuesday, January 16. 1855. The territorial government thus established lasted until 1867.
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NEBRASKA ADMITTED AS A STATE
On April 19, 1864, President Lincoln approved an act of Congress authoriz- ing the people of Nebraska to elect delegates to a constitutional convention in May and take the necessary steps for admission into the Union as a state. The act did not provide any means for the people to express their views on the ques- tion of statehood. During the Civil war, which was not yet ended, the growth of the territory had been slow, and conditions were aggravated by the hostile attitude of the Indians on the plains west of the white settlements. Under these circumstances, many of the inhabitants of the territory felt that the movement for statehood was somewhat premature, and that it would be better to remain a territory, the expenses of which would be largely defrayed by the Federal Gov- ernment, than to become a state, with the prospects of burdensome taxes. James M. Woolworth, in a paper published in Volume V, "Transactions of the Nebraska Historical Society," says :
"In the election for members of the convention, party lines were not drawn. On one side, candidates favorable to state organization were nominated: on the other, candidates who were pledged to vote for an adjournment, sine die, as soon as the convention was organized, and before it proceeded to business. The result was, two-thirds of the members elected were favorable to adjourning, and they were elected by a large majority. For instance, in Douglas, one of the most populous and wealthy counties in the territory, but forty-five votes were cast for state organization."
No record of the election was preserved, probably for the reason that the project for state organization received such a meager support and the authorities attached but little importance to the results of the election. The convention met in July, 1864, elected officers and immediately afterward voted to adjourn sine die, according to the program.
In 1865 the Civil war came to an end, the Indians were pacified, and there was a heavy tide of immigration to Nebraska. Prosperity returned and early in the winter of 1865-66 the subject of statehood was revived. A plan was set on foot to have the Legislature draft a constitution and organize a state govern- ment. Petitions to this end were sent to every settlement in the territory, but the response was not as enthusiastic as the advocates of statehood hoped for, only about six hundred signatures being received. At the beginning of the session a majority of the legislators were opposed to the proposition. Through the influence of Chief Justice Kellogg, Governor Saunders, Secretary Paddock, Hadley D. Johnson, William A. Little, Experience Estabrook, O. P. Mason, and perhaps two or three others, a majority was finally won over to the idea of having a constitution made by a self-constituted committee and submitted to the people. Says Woolworth :
"In the calm and undisturbed retirement of private rooms, and under pro- tection, from interruption, of locks and keys, these gentlemen pursued their work. They produced an instrument suited to their purposes, which the Legis- lature was to adopt at their discretion. Its chief merit was that it provided a cheap government. According to their estimates, its annual expenses would not exceed $12,000."
This proposed inexpensive government was to insure the ratification of the
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constitution by the people, its framers being doubtful about the fate of a con- stitution that would provide for a state government that would necessarily involve any considerable increase in taxes. On February 4, 1866, the constitu- tion was introduced in the council, along with the following joint resolution, which was subsequently adopted by both branches of the Legislature :
"Resolved, by the council and House of Representatives of the Territory of Nebraska, that the foregoing constitution be submitted to the qualified electors of the territory, for their adoption or rejection at an election hereby authorized to be held at the time and in the manner specified in the seventh section of the schedule of said constitution, and that the returns and canvass of the votes cast at said election be made as in said section prescribed."
This resolution passed the council the same day by a vote of seven to six, and on the 8th it passed the House by a vote of twenty-two to sixteen. It was approved by Governor Saunders on the oth and at the election on June 2, 1866, it was ratified by the people by a vote of 3,938 to 3,838. Congress was then in session and on July 28, 1866, a bill was passed providing for the admission of Nebraska. The final adjournment came a few days later, before the bill was signed by President Andrew Jackson, and it failed to become a law.
At the next session of Congress another bill for the admission of the state passed the Senate on January 9, 1867, by a vote of 24 to 15, and just a week later it passed the House, 103 to 55. It was vetoed by President Johnson on the 29th, but on February 9, 1867, it was passed over the veto. the vote standing 31 to 9 in the Senate and 120 to 43 in the House. On February 20, 1867, the state Legislature, elected the year before, met in special session, pursuant to the proclamation of Governor Saunders, and on the Ist of March the President issued his proclamation declaring "the admission of the state into the Union is now complete."
To recapitulate: During a period of 314 centuries the territory now constituting the State of Nebraska was first claimed by Spain in 1541; by France in 1682, ceded to Spain in 1762; receded to France in 1800; sold to the United States in 1803; attached to the Territory of Indiana in 1804; made a part of the District of Louisiana a year later; became a part of the Territory of Missouri in 1812; was without any form of civil government from 1821 to 1854; then became an original territory of the United States by act of Congress, and since March 1, 1867, Nebraska has been one of the sovereign states of the American Union. Its star was added to the flag on July 4, 1867, the thirty-seventh in the constellation.
CHAPTER VII
DOUGLAS COUNTY ESTABLISHED
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES-SURFACE-WATER COURSES-INTRODUCTION OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT-THE FIRST ELECTION-FIRST SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE ---- LOCATING THE CAPITAL-TWELVE YEARS OF STRIFE-PART OF TIIE LEGISLATURE ADJOURNS TO FLORENCE- SEAT OF GOVERNMENT REMOVED TO LINCOLN-ORGAN- IZING THE COUNTY-FIRST OFFICIALS-SUBDIVISIONS-LIST OF PRECINCTS.
Douglas County, of which Omaha is the county seat, is situated on the eastern border of the state. It is bounded on the north by Washington and Dodge coun- ties; on the east by the Missouri River, which separates it from the State of Iowa ; on the south by Sarpy County, and on the west by the Platte River, which separates it from the County of Saunders. The northern boundary is about twenty-eight miles long, the southern about twenty-one, and the average width from the north to south is fourteen miles.
SURFACE
Along the Missouri River what are known as the "second bottoms" are gen- erally from one to two miles wide, rising in gentle undulations to the bluffs. From the northeast corner of the county down to Omaha there are some low "first bottom" lands that overflow in times of high water, but southward from Omaha these bottoms are much narrower, the bluffs approaching nearer to the river. Westward from the bluffs of the Missouri to the west fork of the Papil- lion Creek the surface is rolling, but practically all the land in the central portion of the county is capable of cultivation. In the western part the valleys of the Elkhorn and Platte rivers are from six to twelve miles wide and comprise some of the finest agricultural lands in the state. Along the east bank of the Elkhorn River there is a range of bluffs, rising in places to a height of one hundred feet or more, from the top of which the broad valley to the westward presents to the eye a beautiful panorama. The soil in the valleys is a rich alluvial deposit. On the uplands it is a dark, vegetable mould, from eighteen inches to two feet in depth.
WATER COURSES
The principal streams are the Missouri and Platte rivers, which form respect- ively the eastern and western boundaries. The largest stream in the interior is the Elkhorn River, which flows in a sinuous course from north to south across
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the western part of the county. On this stream there are several places where good water power could be developed. Its principal tributary is the Rawhide Creek, in the northwestern part of the county. There is some beautiful scenery along the Rawhide.
Next in importance is the Big Papillion Creek, which rises in Washington County and flows in a general southeasterly direction through Douglas, a few miles east of the center of the county. East of the Big Papillion is the Little Papillion. It rises near the northern boundary and flows southward, uniting its waters with those of the Big Papillion near the south line of the county. Farther to the west is the west fork of the Papillion, which follows a general southeasterly course and crosses the southern boundary almost due south of the Town of Millard.
There are also a few smaller streams, such as Punea Creek, which flows into the Missouri in the northeastern part of the county; Mill Creek, another tribu- tary of the Missouri, near Florence; and Cole Creek, which empties into the Little Papillion southwest of the City of Omaha. By these streams good natural drainage is afforded to all sections of the county.
Originally there were fine groves of timber along the Missouri, Platte, Elk- horn and the three forks of the Papillion, and in the edges of the groves grew wild plums, grapes and various kinds of berries in abundance. The early settlers thought more of their immediate wants than of the preservation of the timber, hence most of the native groves have disappeared, but in many portions of the county artificial groves have been planted, affording protection from the winds.
INTRODUCTION OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT
On June 24, 1854, President Pierce issued a proclamation announcing the ratification of the treaty made with the Omaha chiefs at Washington on the 16th of the preceding March. Five days later he appointed the territorial officials mentioned in a former chapter. The death of Governor Francis Burt at Bellevue, October 18, 1854, made it necessary for Thomas B. Cuming, the territorial secretary, to assume the duties of governor, which he did on the day following the death of Governor Burt. On October 21. 1854, Acting Governor Cuming ordered a census to be taken. While the enumerators were taking the census, Mr. Cuming divided the lands ceded by the Omaha Indians in March into eight counties. As these were the first counties erected in Nebraska, it may be of interest to the reader to know where they were situated.
The boundaries of Burt County, the most northern of the eight, were thus described: "Commencing at a point on the Missouri River two miles above Fort Calhoun; thence westwardly, crossing the Elkhorn River, 120 miles, to the west boundary of the lands ceded to the United States; thence northerly to the Mauvaise River and along the east bank of the same to the Eau Qui Court, or Running Water; thence easterly to the Aaoway River and along the south bank of it to its mouth, and thence along the Missouri River to the place of beginning."
South of Burt County lay Washington, which commenced "at a point on the Missouri River one mile north of Omaha City; thence due west to the dividing
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ridge between the Elkhorn and Missouri rivers; thence northwestwardly twenty miles to the Elkhorn River; thence eastwardly to a point on the Missouri River two miles above Fort Calhoun, and thence southerly along said river to the place of beginning."
Dodge County began "at a point on the Platte River twenty miles west of Bellevue; thence westwardly along said Platte River to the mouth of Shell Creek; thence north twenty-five miles; thence east to the dividing ridge between the Elkhorn and Missouri rivers, and thence southerly to the place of beginning."
Douglas County was bounded: "Commencing at the mouth of the Platte River; thence north along the west bank of the Missouri River to a point one mile north of Omaha City ; thence west along the south boundary of Washington County twenty miles; thence south ten miles, more or less, to the Platte River, and thence eastwardly along the Platte River to the place of beginning."
Cass County began "at the mouth of the Weeping Water River; thence up that stream to its headwaters; thence westwardly to the west boundary of the lands ceded to the United States; thence by said boundary north to he Platte River ; thence down the Platte to its junction with the Missouri, and thence down the Missouri to the place of beginning."
Pierce County was described as "commencing at the mouth of the Weeping Water River; thence westwardly along the south bank of the same to its head- waters; thence due west to the west boundary of the lands ceded to the United States (100 miles) ; thence south twenty miles to the north line of Forney County ; thence due east along the north line of said Forney County to Camp Creek ; thence along the north bank of said creek to the Missouri River, and thence northerly along said river to the place of beginning."
Forney County commenced "at the mouth of Camp Creek; thence to the headwaters of the same; thence due west to a point sixty miles west from the Missouri River; thence due south twenty miles; thence east to the headwaters of the Little Nemaha River; thence along the north bank of said river to the Missouri River; thence along the Missouri River northward to the place of beginning."
Richardson County was thus described: "Commencing at the northwest corner of the half breed tract; thence westwardly along the south bank of the Little Nemaha River; thence westwardly to a point sixty miles west of the Missouri River; thence south to the fortieth parallel-the boundary between Kansas and Nebraska; thence east along said parallel to the Missouri River; thence north along the Missouri River and west ten miles to the southwest corner of the half breed tract ; thence northerly along the boundary of said tract to the place of beginning."
If one will take a modern map of Nebraska and trace the boundaries of these first eight counties he will notice numerous changes since 1854. For illustration: Sarpy County, originally a part of Douglas, was created by the act of February 7, 1857, and the northern boundary of Douglas, originally "one mile north of the City of Omaha," has been moved farther northward to its present position.
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THE FIRST ELECTION
The census was completed on November 20, 1854, and showed the popula- tion of the territory to be 2,732. The same day Acting Governor Cuming issued his proclamation ordering an election for members of the Territorial Legislature to be held on December 12, 1854, and apportioning the representation among the eight counties as follows: Burt County, one councilman and two representatives ; Washington, one councilman and two representatives; Dodge, one councilman and two representatives; Douglas, four councilmen and eight representatives ; Cass, one councilman and three representatives; Pierce, three councilmen and five representatives; Forney and Richardson each one councilman and two rep- resentatives, making a Legislature composed of thirteen members of the council and twenty-six members of the House.
At the election on December 12, 1854, the first ever held in Nebraska by legal authority and recognition, the people of Douglas County selected the following named gentlemen to represent them in the first Territorial Legislature: Council- men-Alfred D. Jones, Taylor G. Goodwill, Samuel E. Rogers and Origen D. Richardson. Representatives-William N. Byers, William Clancy, Fleming Davidson, Thomas Davis, Alfred D. Goyer, Andrew J. Hanscom, Andrew J. Poppleton and Robert B. Whitted.
THE FIRST LEGISLATURE
Pursuant to a proclamation of Governor Cuming, the first session of the Legislature convened at Omaha on January 15, 1855. In the organization of the council Joseph L. Sharp, the member from Richardson County, was chosen president, and Dr. George L. Miller, of Omaha, was elected chief clerk. Andrew J. Hanscom, of Douglas, was elected speaker of the House, and J. W. Paddock, one of the pioneer settlers of Omaha, was chosen chief clerk.
In his proclamation calling the members of the Legislature together, the governor designated as the place of meeting "the brick building at Omaha City." This specific reference to "the" brick building would indicate that at that time there was but one building of that description in the town. It was located on the west side of Ninth Street, between Douglas and Farnam. Two sessions of the Legislature were held here before the capitol building was ready for occupancy. In later years it was occupied by the first general offices of the Union Pacific Railroad Company until the fall of 1869. It is thus described in the Bellevue Palladium of January 17, 1855:
"The building in which the session is to be held is a plain, substantial, two- story brick edifice, which we should judge is about thirty by forty-five feet. The entrance to the building is on the east side, into a hall, from which the various state apartments above and below are reached. As you enter the hall below, the representatives' room will be found on the left and the governor's apartment on the right. A winding staircase leads to the hall above, at the head of which, upon the left, you enter the council chamber, while the committee rooms are ou the right. The building is a neat, substantial one, but altogether too small for the purpose intended.
"We were struck with the singularity of taste displayed in the curtain fur-
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