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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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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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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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Notable Nebraskan, Mildred Brown was born in Bessemer, Alabama in 1915 to a prominent black family. Her father was a respected minister. Later, Mildred would become a well-known and admired civil rights activist and leader of the African American community in Omaha.
At the age of only 16 in 1931, Mildred graduated from Miles Memorial Teachers College in Birmingham, Alabama. She became an English teacher. After marrying S. Edward Gilbert ... Read more
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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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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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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.
Some factors are natural — like the cycle of wet years and dry years. This "drought cycle" ... Read more
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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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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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Plains Indians exhibited great skill and ingenuity in turning the natural materials they found around them into tools and materials to help them survive. They used stones, bones, shells, clay, hides, hair, and wood to make tools and implements. But, one of their greatest natural resources was the bison.
The Native Americans of eastern Nebraska in the late 1600s and early 1700s developed a system of seasonal travel carefully planned to put them at the right place at the right time ... Read more
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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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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. ...
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There are inherent conflicts in the stories of the missionaries and the tribes they were trying convert. On the one hand, the missionaries generally had good intentions, and they reflected the philosophies of the country’s leaders. On the other hand, the Native Americans generally didn’t feel that they needed to be saved. The experiences of Dunbar and Allis are a good example of this conflict.
One of the fathers of the country, Thomas Jefferson wrote at length about the problems involved ... Read more
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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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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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Before Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the "New World," Native Americans living in Nebraska lived in villages made up of small numbers of earth lodges, usually square in shape. Large wooden posts were placed upright in the ground and supported a framework of smaller logs. Then this was covered with grass and earth which provided shelter from the weather.
Nebraska Indian tribes, such as the Pawnee, Oto, Ponca, and Omaha, also lived in earth lodges that were round in shape and made ... Read more
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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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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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So, what was it like to live in a sod house? Some people found life in a sod house unendurable, others felt like they were on top of the world. It is difficult to judge the way of life by today’s standards because each person looked at their life in a slightly different way.
For example, dirt floors were found in the majority of the early sod homes. A family that could afford them might fasten carpets to the dirt floor. ... Read more
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Keeping warm in the winter was a common problem for residents of the plains, and different groups had different solutions to the problem. For instance, John W. Hartman came to eastern Nebraska in 1890 and got to know some of the first generation of settlers. Hartman wrote,
"John Gilbert was a stage-driver working for the government. . . . The Pawnee were great friends to John Gilbert. Many of their tribe would come each fall to make Gilbert a visit. In ... Read more
