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Beef Moves To Nebraska

Lesson Plans: 1850-1874: Beef Moves to Nebraska - Grade Level [4-8]

Introduction

Cattle are so much a part of Nebraska life today that it may seem strange to think of a time when there were none in our area.

We think "west" when we think about beef in America, but its story is really about going north. Cattle are not native to the American continents. The Spanish brought them to the Americas in the 16th Century.

In Mexico, strays from Spanish herds, especially ... Read more

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The Trial of Standing Bear

Introduction

Activities: 1875-1899: Trial of Standing Bear - Grade Level [4-12]

Imagine yourself living in 1875. You’re living on a small, but beautiful part of the country between the Niobrara and Missouri Rivers. Just to the south, the new state of Nebraska is less than 10 years old.

For years, you have moved and been moved from one place to another. Then a United State government Indian inspector informs you that you have to move again — and you have to move ... Read more

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The Dawes Act

Lesson Plans: 1875-1899: The Dawes Act - Grade Level [8-12]

Congressman Henry Dawes of Massachusetts sponsored a historic piece of legislation, the General Allotment Act (The Dawes Severalty Act) in 1887. Its purpose was to encourage the breakup of the tribes and for Indians to blend in with American society. It would be the major Indian policy until the 1930s. Dawes’ goal was to create independent farmers out of Indians — give them land and the tools for citizenship.

While Senator ... Read more

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Roots of Progressivism

Activities: 1875-1899: Roots of Progressivism - Grade Level [8-12]

1870-1900

The beginnings of the Progressive Movement in the 20th Century can be found in the 1870s, ’80s, and ’90s. Even as new settlers were still moving into the state, others were beginning to organize around political and social issues.

Whether women should be allowed to vote became a big issue during the last part of the 1800s. In 1871, voters — who, of course, were all men at the time — were ... Read more

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Votes for Women

Lesson Plan & Activities: 1900-1924: Votes for Women - Grade Level [4-12]

The battle over rights for women has a long history. In America, supporters of equal rights took a huge step when a small group of women met in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. Leaders such as Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton came together and adopted a document that listed the rights women felt were being denied to them. High on their list of priorities was the ... Read more

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Nebraskans on the Front Lines - Uncle Sam Wants You!

Activities: 1925-1949: Nebraskans On The Front Lines - Grade Level [4-12]

The Selective Training and Service Act — the draft — became law on September 16, 1940. Men between the ages of 24 and 35 first signed up on October 16, 1940. One hundred and thirty-five boards were organized across the state of Nebraska to decide how to select men to serve in the military. The first national lottery to determine which men would be drafted into the military and ... Read more

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A Cold War & a Hot Bomb

After World War II, the Soviet Union propped up Communist governments in eastern Europe. The Iron Curtain had descended, and the U.S. responded with a policy of deterring further expansion.
An excerpt from Cold Warriors Never Die.
Courtesy 1990 NET Foundation for Television

In 1950, the U.S. government adopted a new cornerstone of its foreign policy based on the finding that the Soviet Union was likely to launch a surprise attack on us "once it has sufficient atomic capacity." That assessment was included ... Read more

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Crisis in Agriculture

Lesson Plan & Activities: 1975-1999: Crisis In Agriculture - Grade Level [4-12]

Throughout the history of the central Great Plains region, there have been cycles and factors that affect the lives of those who live here. These factors have always produced results that we can see later.

Throughout the 1970s and 80s, agriculture was in crisis.
From the 1990 NET Television program, After the Last Harvest

Some factors are natural — like the cycle of wet years and dry years. This "drought cycle" ... Read more

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Clovis & Folsom Cultures

The oldest known Indian tool found in Nebraska is the Clovis point, made about 10,000 B.C.E. It is a spear point with a groove or flute, at its base. Attached to a shaft, this spear point was capable of penetrating an elephant’s hide. The Clovis culture takes its name from the town in New Mexico where the striking stone projectile point characteristic of this culture was first found. The chipped flint points known as Clovis points and a variety of ... Read more

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Dismal River Culture

The archaeological record in western and central Nebraska suggests that Native American people migrated to the region somewhere around 1675 CE. We think they came from further west and north. Archaeologists have found evidence of these people and named the culture after where the sites were discovered in the 1930s — along the Dismal River in the Nebraska sand hills. Dismal River Cultural sites also have been excavated in the Republican River basin. So, the Dismal River cultural complex occupied ... Read more

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Meriwether Lewis and William Clark

Meriwether Lewis was a Virginian and was trained by Thomas Jefferson. Lewis was familiar with western life. He was probably the most fascinating member of the expedition, but also the most complex. He suffered from serious emotional problems and sometimes acted without thinking. Lewis had what Jefferson described as "occasional depressions of the mind." Yet, he enjoyed a close personal relationship with Thomas Jefferson and knew Jefferson’s mind. He was Jefferson’s handpicked man for Jefferson’s pet project — exploration of ... Read more

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John C. Fremont, Pathfinder

Most of us take road maps for granted. It is easy for today’s travelers to get a clear map to guide them on their way. This was not true with early voyagers across Nebraska’s "sea of grass." They had to make their own maps, and one of the most significant chart-making explorers was Captain John C. Fremont.

In 1841 Congress appropriate $30,000 to pay for a survey of the Oregon Trail and named Lt. John C. Fremont to head the expedition. ... Read more

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Platte River Road

The Platte River has been described in folklore as "a mile wide and an inch deep." The writer Washington Irving said it was "the most magnificent and useless of rivers." Still, many tried to use the river to transport cargo even though it was shallow, had many channels, and it looked deeper than it really was.

In spite of the references to the river being worthless, the navigability of the Platte was continually discussed until railroads rendered much of the river ... Read more

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The Oregon Trail

There were many reasons for the westward movement to Oregon and California. Economic problems upset farmers and businessmen. Free land in Oregon and the possibility of finding gold in California lured them westward. At the same time, eastern churches wanted to teach American Indians of the Oregon Country their European ideas of "civilization." Many simply hoped for a chance to start a new life. But it was not until 1841 that the first group with serious plans to emigrate to ... Read more

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Taking Indian Land

Between 1825 and 1892 in Nebraska, there were a series of 18 different treaties between Native American tribes and the U.S. government in which Indians gave up their land. Nationally, there were hundreds of treaties. These treaties were important because each made it legally possible for the United States to make land available to settlers. The treaties of the early 1800s (and later) made the settlements of the 1870s possible.

The map below is linked to the actual text of the ... Read more

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Searching for Water, Wells and Windmills

Each geographic area presented its own challenges and the settlers learned to adapt to the environment. Water was one of the first considerations in selecting a homestead, especially in Nebraska.

Early settlers first established claims near streams and rivers to take advantage of surface water. But these homesteads were quickly claimed, and so later settlers would have to go to new depths to find water.

That meant digging a well. Often a new settler would dig a test well on a potential ... Read more

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USO — Home Away from Home

The national United Service Organization (USO) was organized on April 17, 1941. It was created to serve the religious, spiritual, and educational needs of the men and women in the armed forces. USO clubs were to be financed by the public through voluntary contributions.

During the war, volunteers, mostly women, organized USO clubs throughout Nebraska. USO clubs sponsored a variety of activities for service personnel that included dances, sporting events, and dinners in the homes of local families.

The flag of the ... Read more

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Combat: Over There

"The most important thing on your mind was trying to stay alive."
—Bill Gilgren, Dalton, NE
Third Infantry Division in Europe

"It’s just kind of hard to describe really. You are scared, jumpy, and you prayed. You knew when there was a [kamikaze] raid and the planes were coming in, that somebody was going to get hit because it was just a one-way trip for the pilot."
—John Zimola, Wahoo, NE
Fire Controlman First Class,USS Louisville

What is it like to be under enemy fire or ... Read more