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At the same time that homesteaders were getting free land from the government, large tracts of land were granted to railroads by both the states and the federal government. The goal was to encourage the railroads to build their tracks where few people lived, and to help settle the country. The federal government was especially interested in creating a transportation system that would link the eastern and western coasts. Not only would a transcontinental railroad help populate the Great Plains, ... Read more
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In the later years of the nineteenth century, the number of homesteaders who mostly were farmers (also called "grangers") grew. This put pressure on the ranchers who were using large areas of public lands to graze their cattle. Not only were homesteaders taking the land, but they were taking the land with access to water, which the ranchers’ cattle needed.
This conflict between homesteaders and cattlemen was rooted deeply in two very different traditions of land use. The ranchers were mostly ... Read more
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In other western states like Wyoming, the collision of the visions of land use between cattle barons and grangers erupted into range wars. In Nebraska, these wars were waged in the legislature and courtrooms.
In 1885, the federal government passed legislation outlawing the enclosure of public lands. That law, without enforcement, was toothless and widely ignored until the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt ordered that fences around public lands had to be removed, and took particular aim at Read more
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From May through September 1919, over 25 race riots rocked cities from Texas to Illinois, Nebraska to Georgia. In Omaha, the trouble began on September 25, when a white woman, Agnes Loebeck, reported that she was assaulted by a black man.
The next morning, the Bee reached new lows reporting the event. The headline was: "Black Beast First Stick-up Couple."
"The most daring attack on a white woman ever perpetrated in Omaha occurred one block south of Bancroft street near Scenic Avenue ... Read more
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In the early days of World War II there was eagerness and dedication to the war effort. Thousands of young men answered the call to join the military. But the services found that sometimes their recruits needed a lot of training. The young recruits were needed badly so the military would not refuse to accept them. If the new recruits could not read well enough to understand training materials and instructions, other servicemen had to teach them. But if those ... Read more
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The idea of women in uniform was new during World War II. Approximately 1,800 Nebraska women joined the special military organizations created for women.
A multitude of female military units were created, each with acronyms that were remarkably similar:
The American Women’s Voluntary Services (AWVS) was also ... Read more
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The personal beliefs of some healthy men kept them from using weapons. Some men objected on religious and moral grounds to participating in violence. Some belonged to churches that have historically objected to war. In World War I, these conscientious objectors (COs) were jailed.
But as ... Read more
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During World War II, there were shortages of many items across the U.S. because certain supplies were needed for the war. Civilians (people who were not in the military) had to do without some products.
Nebraska’s greatest contribution to winning the war was in food production. Even Nebraska families who did not live in rural areas got involved with the nationwide "Victory Garden" program. Nebraskans were encouraged to plant gardens to help ease the food shortage. Almost half of all vegetables ... Read more
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Recent historical studies indicate that the scrap drives were more important as morale boosters than in providing essential products for the war effort. But, the general public did get caught up in the patriotic enthusiasm — some saved tin foil from gum wrappers, making a tin foil ball until it reached a size large enough to be accepted by the collection site. Scrap paper was more easily collected and was used to package armaments. Grease was saved and recycled to ... Read more
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"What a time to be alive! What a glorious time!"
—Jeanette Meyer Davis, Omaha, NE
Army Nurse Corps at 187th General Hospital in England
At the end of World War II, Nebraskans looked forward to the return of their loved ones and to a world at peace. In North Platte and all over Nebraska, both V-E (Victory in Europe) and V-J (Victory in Japan) ... Read more
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Life in Nebraska during the 1950s and 60s was determined, in large part, by what happened here during World War II. Life in the atomic age was really a legacy of the war.
For instance, nuclear scientists from Nebraska helped create the Atomic Age as part of the secret "Manhattan Project" that built the first A-bombs during World War II. The planes that dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were built in Omaha. The air base ... Read more
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In October, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first satellite — named Sputnik — to be hurled into orbit around the Earth. Sputnik was actually no larger than a beach ball and sent meaningless signals back to earth, but it had a profound effect on the thinking of citizens and governments around the globe. It was a shiny steel sphere about 23 inches across with four antennas trailing behind it. Russian engineers wanted to make sure that people around the ... Read more
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There are very few people who have seen an atomic bomb explode — or who would want to. But in 1955, there were several Nebraskans who were among the 5,800 civilian and military witnesses to an atomic test blast. The civilians were there by choice, while most of the military observers had been ordered there. The experiment was known as Operation Cue.
Operation Cue was not the first attempt to test the effects an atomic explosion would have on buildings and ... Read more
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Human beings weren’t the only species selected to survive a nuclear attack in Nebraska. In 1963, Roberts Dairy Company, outside of Omaha, conducted a two-week survival test for 35 cows, one bull, and two student cowhands. They built a concrete shelter under the dairy at Elkhorn that was big enough to house over 200 Golden Guernsey cows and a couple of bulls. Milk is especially susceptible to contamination by radioactive elements, and so Roberts and the Office of Civil Defense ... Read more
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In 1992, Offutt Air Base faced massive changes. Tensions around the world quieted down, and it was a good time for the United States to reorganize its Air Force. After 46 years, SAC was deactivated on June 1, 1992. A new, united command, STRATCOM was activated. STRATCOM controlled the U.S. nuclear arsenal in case of another war. Offutt’s 55th Air Wing flew reconnaissance (observation) missions throughout the world. At the end of the 20th century, the 55th remained the largest ... Read more
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Scientist believe the earth was formed somewhere around 4.5 billion years ago. That’s a long time ago. Suppose you created one long piece of paper, stretched it out over 10 miles, and started recording what we now know about the earth. To begin with the easy tasks, you would record what we know from a study of recent historical records. Then, as you worked ... Read more
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"Which came first — the chicken or the egg?"
This is an age-old question that may not have a good answer. Neither may this question:
"Which came first — farming or a major increase in the Native American population during the Plains Woodland period?"
On the one hand, farming gave the native peoples a better way to feed themselves. On the other hand, more people were needed to maintain the ... Read more
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1600 CE was a pivotal time in the history of Nebraska,and there are at least two compelling stories to tell.
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The Spanish offered many wonderful things that Native Americans found useful or beautiful — iron for tools, weapons, glass beads, mass-produced pottery — but the most prized possession of many Indians was the horse.
In ancient North America, horses had become extinct, probably around 10,000 years ago. Meanwhile across the sea, horses were becoming common in many ancient civilizations and were establishing their place in human history. Around 3,000 years ago, horses were tamed in Europe for ... Read more
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Major Stephen Long coined the phrase during his expedition to the Great Plains in 1819-20. His journey was only the third major exploration of the Louisiana Purchase since the U.S. bought it from France in ... Read more
