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3

Settling In

The Fifties in Douglas County

The first decade of the Nebraska Territory and of Douglas County [including Sarpy County which was split off in 1857] was populated with a chaotic mix of entrepreneurs, gamblers, farmers, builders, and politicians, all of whom lived in poorly-heated housing, made of logs or sod or hay and infested with bugs. They enjoyed unbelievable opportunity and natural resources as they faced drought, financial depression, lack of services, and no amenities resembling “The Good Life.”

There was no water except from rivers and a few private wells. Following the first flurry of building no wood was left for miles around. Cattle and pigs roamed the streets. Stories were told of families shoveling snow out of their bedrooms. A prairie town was a home for the hardy.

Speculation was encouraged by land-scam peddlers, some of whom promised vast beds of coal ~ or granite ~ or almost pure copper ~ or quantities of salt. “Buy it now before it is proven to be true!”

The year 1854 saw big changes. Bellevue was organized on February 19 and Florence and Omaha began settlement. Florence even gained a bank ~ now the oldest bank building in Nebraska.

By the end of 1854, Omaha City had 20 houses, several saloons and stores, and two shacks which served as hotels. The “more pretentious of the two had no floor in the dining room. The table was made by driving poles into the ground for legs, with rough cottonwood used for the top. Sleeping arrangements were not so luxurious.” Many merchants slept in their hastily-constructed businesses.

The first Omaha newspaper, appearing as by magic in the first months, touted the new city, its resources, people and future. News sections were lifted from eastern sources. The paper of course was written and printed in Council Bluffs, with costs paid by land

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investors. The business manager was a Mormon, living in Council Bluffs with three wives.

The census for Douglas County showed 645 residents at the end of 1854 [100 in Omaha, Bellevue about 50], 1,028 a year later [200 in Omaha, Bellevue about 100], and 3,465 two years later [800 in Omaha]. Florence grew fast from 1856 to 58, then slipped in numbers. The first half of 1857 gave Omaha fast growth, to over 4,000, before the collapse of the economy in September. We can see evidence of the crushing effect of that crisis as we note that three years later, in 1860, the Omaha population was 1861.

Omaha

“Omaha promoters eagerly watched for the rush of settlers [in 1855] who undoubtedly would come as a result of [the decision to locate the capitol here].

“No rush came. Prospective buyers arrived, took one look at the ‘town,’ and decided to invest their money elsewhere. Young Byron Reed, one such prospective customer, stayed about a week and took a boat to Kansas. [He later returned in boom times to open a real estate office.]

“[Another venturer] thought that what there was of the town was ‘too tough,’ and he seemed a little uneasy when a large group of Indians followed him up from the landing. He commiserated with a fellow passenger who had paid $400 for a lot he described as ‘nothing more than a hole in the ground.’ [The grumbling investor sold it one year later for $800.]” 18-22

Members of the legislature chartered wild-cat banks and paper towns, then hurried home to sell stock in them.

Banks issued $50,000 in paper, called “script,” without any hard cash. The script was supposed to be redeemed later, when the project or city succeeded. All of these “paper” banks in Douglas County collapsed in the fall of 1857. Worthless bank notes, flooding the countryside, were disastrous to the church and its people, destroying the confidence people had in the frontier enterprise. 52-94

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“The territory’s whole financial structure collapsed with the banks. Town lots tumbled in value, businesses failed and hard money became practically nonexistent.” Interest rates went as high as 120%. Land was the best investment, but without money how could farmers buy it? Some speculators actually began to farm their land ~ a novel idea! 52-95

Dr. Miller reflected later in the Herald: “Omaha was practically extinguished under the financial avalanche of 1857, and did not fully emerge from its effects until the advent of the railroads.” 72-257 Early in 1857, Omaha had to borrow ‘real’ money, gold, to pay its $500 fee to charter as a city. Bank notes were not accepted.

main street scene

§However, if we could drop in by magic carpet to witness the

newborn Omaha, we would discover plenty of activity. Dr. Miller painted one of the better pictures of the scene.

“Tents and wagons occupied every available space. Sod shanties and dugouts multiplied, but so did frame houses, usually small and one story, but substantial and attractive. At 18th and Cass George Bovey built a row of rental houses, that, because they were ‘far out on the prairie,’ had extra-thick walls and were arranged so that Indian attacks [!] could be fought off easily. A number of imposing mansions were being constructed in two fashionable residential districts: one between Dodge and

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Davenport, 15th to 18th; one on Harney between 13th and 17th.

“[One who remembers staying at the Douglas House, the first ‘real’ hotel] said it was ‘always full of residents, speculators, lot owners, lawyers, and adolescent statement,’ all fired with enthusiasm for the future of the county, all believing that ‘all you had to do was buy today and sell tomorrow.’ [He discovered] that squatters’ claims were no assurance of permanent ownership, that ‘the best title was shotgun well loaded, and that even this was not effectual unless you stood guard night and day.’

“[However, he found able and brilliant citizens] ~ students, scholars, lawyers, surveyors. I doubt that their equal could be found anywhere in the U. S.’ ” 18-26

While a steamer unloaded, as many as 1500 residents came to watch. A dance would often be held in the public room of the steamer, which was the most luxurious and spacious room in town for that night. The steamboat “Washington City” could sleep 250 “discriminating guests” and was purchased in 1857 by local investors to be left at dock as a floating hotel. Its accommodations far exceeded all that was on shore. 72-253

The rumor of gold in California generated an unforgettable gold rush in 1859 and produced astonishing activity in Omaha. It was a welcome addition to Omaha’s speculative and shaky start.

§A river steamship could deliver enough supplies to stock a major

store. On one occasion, when most of the steamer cargo was delivered to stock a large grocery outlet for its grand opening, the demand for the precious supplies was so great that the entire shipment was sold as workers attempted to carry the supplies from the steamer to the store. Stores often had times of little stock on hand.

The Mormons had crossed back over to the Iowa side of the river in a dispute with the Indians, who had given a five-year lease. The following simplifies the issues in the tension.

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The Indians said they did not know the Mormons would plow and plant in their hunting grounds. The Mormons replied that the Indians seemed willing to share the corn. The Mormons said they did not know the Indians would be killing some of their cattle. The Indians said it was a hunting ground.

The Indians burned the 800 houses vacated by the Mormons and the area was unoccupied until the new settlement in ’54. The new Florence soon became a bustling economy, largely due to Megeath and Co., who did a very large trade in outfitting Mormons who were headed for Utah.

The first public school in Omaha was not provided until 1859. Then only 1310 of the territory’s 4767 children were known to be in school. 52-99 One of the first 23 colleges chartered by the Nebraska Legislature survived: Peru, established by the Methodists.

The Territory had a strict prohibition law, making illegal the manufacture, sale or consumption of alcohol. It was designed to protect the Indians. Certainly members of the legislature and citizens of Omaha paid no attention to it. One official got in big trouble for his method of enforcing the law. He dumped a large quantity of the illegal brew.

Another curious note of the time: the territorial legislature almost passed a bill giving women the right to vote ~ sixty years before the state legislature passed a similar bill!

“The town’s second Fourth of July was made notable by an uninvited guest. Standing in the street outside the Douglas House, Amelia Bloomer, then a resident of Council Bluffs, gave an impassioned speech. Her audience was at first antagonistic toward her arguments for women’s suffrage, but it warmed up to the point of applause and even an invitation to address the next legislature.” 18-22

She did and they almost did. The house voted approval by 14 to 11. The council did not vote. Imagine how our history would have changed if they had passed it.

History of Slavery

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Slavery was the divisive subject of a critical national debate and a major factor in the location and development of Omaha. From our psychological distance we almost forget the antagonism which was experienced in a setting like Kansas and Nebraska. Slavery was a highly emotional issue, which divided families and split early churches. The route of the transcontinental railroad, the arrival of settlers and the attitude of local residents were greatly affected by passionate slavery arguments far beyond Omaha.

From our distance, we can not begin to feel the emotions of that era without looking at the facts and expressions of slavery. Slavery and resulting racial issues so dominate the 150 years of history of Metro Omaha we must give thought to it ~ and, hopefully, more study, conversation and commitment.

Slavery was an unimaginably horrible system and we are not likely to understand how it actually came to be a defended system in a ‘free new’ world, founded through a revolution in which patriots fought for rights and independence of its people. The motives of the revolutionists were a strange mix.

Imagine owning another person’s body. Imagine insisting that owning someone is your God-given right. Imagine dividing someone else’s family, like the selling of a herd of cattle. Imagine a culture which asserted owning bodies is the proper claim of the families which had the most resources.

The blind arrogance of the system is beyond words. Many in the slave system “woke up” to the horror of the attitudes required. In Pennsylvania, the Quakers were slave-holders who realized the contradictions and freed their slaves. A favorite Christian hymn, “Amazing Grace,” was written by John Newton, who was converted to a new understanding on a slave ship and ordered the ship to turn around. “I once was blind, but now I see.”

§Slavery appears to have been with us since the beginning of

recorded history. Biblical heroes owned slaves; the Hebrew people lift as a centering experience of faith their ancestors’ escape from slavery in Egypt; the building of the pyramids and massive Aztec temples built with slave labor challenge the imagination. In countless cultures, neighboring hostile tribes have captured as well as tortured and killed their enemies.

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Slavery in the United States

The slave trade in the colonies had help from British attitudes and shipping. The slave-owner mentality developed slowly. American colonies were the first colonial outposts to adopt slavery. The practice in the colonies started with indentured servants, persons of any race who had broken British law and who could pay off their debts to society by providing labor for a period of time in the colonies. Having served their time, indentured servants were allowed to stay on in the new land and hold property. The critical change came when a series of laws in the colonies declared that, for Negroes [who had broken a law], their “service” would be for life.

The Native Americans were also enslaved, especially in southeastern sections of the country. The native peoples grew restless and went to war in 1715 in the Carolinas, seeking to drive the white invaders and slave-owners back into the sea. They lost, and most natives moved west to avoid the slave climate. However, we find an example of this experience in the western territory. An Omaha Indian who was captured by French fur traders in Nebraska was treated as a slave.

Slavery in the colonies did not come all at once. Laws adopted in the colonies slowly but consistently put the squeeze on ‘servants’ who had a darker skin color. An example of the incremental manner by which slavery was embraced came as early as 1640.

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“Introduction of Slavery”

An etching from 1870s

Three escaped indentured servants were caught. The two English young men had time added to their duty. The African, John Punch, was sentenced to a lifetime of servitude.

The major shift came with the declaration that for all persons of color the servitude had no time limit. Rights to own property were denied. Right to vote was denied slaves.

Many laws affecting slavery simply added to the status of “owner” and “property.” Limit of entrance to stores, restaurants and theaters, seating in public places and buses, and on and on ~ all came later.

Massachusetts was the first colony to recognize slavery, this in 1641. Virginia, in 1643, declared that a slave’s children could also be slaves. Add these types of laws to the plantation system, which was becoming a way of life for the wealthy, and we find that slavery became an early part of the very foundation of the social order in certain states. 94

Slaves were prohibited from owning land, as ‘aliens.’ They were designated as “non-Christian,” which helped ease the mind of slave traders who were trading humanity for gold. Owners who shared Christian teaching with Negroes in the first years of slavery were severely criticized. Africans were not “persons for whom Christ died.” A theological concept basic to conservative Christian faith is the critical importance of the sacrifice of Christ. Therefore, in the

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eyes of some masters, slaves could not qualify for salvation. Such heavy-minded pre-judgment quickly reinforced prejudice.

§Even northern New York had a law limiting Negroes at funerals

to a total of twelve, in order to prevent them from coming together in a large enough number to plot a riot.

The break in this discouraging front line came with the Revolutionary War, when more of the citizens began to examine their proclamations and what they were really saying. A good number of the soldiers on the revolutionary side were African. As their descendants found when they returned from fighting for freedom [for the next 200 years!], they were not given freedom at home.

The “Great Awakening” was a religious revival in our early national history and was bi-racial.

There was hypocrisy everywhere ~ on the plantations, between family members, between neighbors, in the community and businesses, in the churches, in the legislature, in high-vaulted rooms where the Constitution was signed and in the offices and homes of presidents.

Slave Trade

African and Native American slaves were usually captured by neighboring tribes or their enemies and were sold to the traders for good profit. In the colonies, an adult Indian could be traded for 160 animal pelts, a child for half that. In Africa, typical payment was 15 to 20 pieces of cloth, about two yards each, for one healthy adult. African slaves were much more valuable than Indian slaves, as they were more likely to remain healthy. 4-136

Slavery was practiced in Africa, supported especially by raids of tribal enemies. However, that system had a major difference: the slave in Africa maintained rights in the community, with some personal respect and with consideration of working conditions.

Once taken to the coast and sold to traders who operated out of large fortresses, the newly-captured African was subject to a totally different world of torture and neglect. Typically one third to one half of the slaves on ships from Africa were dead when the ship

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docked in the colonies. Often the bodies were still on board, plus all the putrid remains of a crowded ship hold with no toilet facilities, little food, and no medical provisions for those who became ill. We have records of mayors along the colonies’ coastlines complaining about the bodies that were washed ashore and which thereby polluted their beaches.

A portion of the slaves were treated humanely, but all were thrust into a system which was totally degrading. They were stripped of rights and were subject to increasingly punitive laws and regulations. They had no input on those laws and no voice on their own future. They were not considered to be people and were even rated as only 3/5 of a person in the U. S. constitution. They were property, a tool, a thing to be used or neglected. A body claimed by an owner.

Treatment of Slaves

Families were separated, like cattle at an auction barn. Persons worked until they dropped ~ literally. Slaves were whipped, branded, castrated and otherwise humiliated, for punishment. Laborers who died in the heat were ‘mourned’ by the owner as an economic loss. Children were not taught to read, lest they get ‘uppity’.

For slaves who got too uppity, communities sometimes provided a ‘Work House.’ Here, for a 25 cent fee, a civil employee provided a beating of the noncompliant slave. Hiring someone else to do the beating was a way for the owner to avoid being splattered by the slave’s blood. Severe beating was the rule, cutting deeply enough that flesh would putrefy and create an odor so strong and pervasive that no one could stand to be near the person.

Slave-holding is a horrible part of our nation’s history and that piece of history continues to be one face of racism.

The ratio of African to European population in southern colonies was often three Africans to one European. Owners had a great fear that they could be overcome by an uprising of the slaves. Several rebellions were

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attempted. The bloodiest slave revolt in the colonies was in 1739, in the Carolinas.

At its strongest, the band of Negroes moving through the countryside was about 100 men. They killed all the whites they could find, sometimes beheading their victims and leaving the heads on the front steps of the plantation home.

The militia was called and planters organized an impromptu army while most of their families moved to town for protection. When the white forces were able to overcome the revolt, some of the Negroes were beheaded and their heads placed on fence posts along the road, for all to see.

The Negro Act of South Carolina was one governmental response. It raised the stakes on rebellion and set up a system of passes which were required of all slaves who traveled away from the plantation. If a master sent slaves to town for supplies he had to give them passes authorizing them to be off of his property. 4-140

§Perhaps the most shocking aspect to slavery was how “good”

citizens accepted it. One would expect more colonists to have been like the Quakers or John Newton. Quakers were so repelled by all that went with it, even when slaves were treated with respect, they turned away from the practice, freed their slaves, and legislated against the system which other owners felt was necessary for them to be successful in business.

How could a ‘Christian’ gentleman include slaves in a will which read “Including a worldly estate wherewith it has pleased God to bless me”?

Ball’s book is recent, the result of extensive investigation of his white slave-owning ancestors, their African slaves, and the descendants of both. As one might expect by accepted sexual practices of that day, he is a distant relative of the present generation descended from one family of slaves.

He visited with a young black woman whom he met in this process, a ‘cousin’ who was also interested in exploring the strange relationship, She said: “Maybe you can tell me. I mean, the plantations. Who thought this thing up? Who said, ‘Okay, we’re

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going to go to this continent, take a bunch of people, chain them up, bring them over to this place, and make them work’? Who was standing around and said, ‘Hey! That’s a great idea!’ ” 4-133

Kansas-Nebraska Act and Slavery

The Missouri Compromise [1820] had declared the area that became the Kansas and Nebraska Territories to be “free”. [The area stretched to the Rockies and north to Canada.] The Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 set up those two territories as “sovereign” governmental units, free to choose for themselves whether to be slave or free.

Those who study American history find this to be one of the most fascinating and intense federal fights ever. Senator Stephen Douglas [Illinois], for whom Douglas County, Nebraska was named, led the fight. It was lengthy and bruising. Later he said “I could travel from Boston to Chicago by the light of my own [burning] effigy.” 26-29

Stephen Douglas defended slavery. The Lincoln-Douglas debates in the presidential campaign of 1860 centered on the system of slavery. Lincoln was adamant in his opposition to slavery but, in order to hold the union together, promised not to change the system ~ “right away” ~ an implied addition understood by all. The rebel states knew what was coming if they did not secede.

However, Lincoln acknowledged the confusion of the times about whether Negroes were “inferior” and felt a segregated society was the solution. The Emancipation Proclamation, two years later, freed only the slaves of the rebel states.

Again, it was clear, especially in the rebel states, where Lincoln was headed. He intended to hold the union together and end slave-holding. The K-N Act had weakened the Democrats in the north, giving Lincoln an advantage in the 1859 debate and the election.

Thomas Johnson, a Methodist minister from Iowa, and Hadley D. Johnson, a resident of Missouri, were the two men who were informally elected to represent the unorganized territory in Washington. The two men agreed to split the territory into what became Kansas and Nebraska, and after extended negotiation both consented to the 40th parallel as the dividing border. The tension and debate was on how far north to push the border between the new

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territories. Some argued for the Platte River, to give more room for slavery. This point was aided by the nature of the Platte itself, which was so broad and unstable it was exceedingly difficult to cross and therefore was a natural barrier. The Iowa man protested to the Platte choice, threatened a stalemate if the land across from Iowa was ‘slave.’ He won. The border went south.

The assumption of the compromise was that Kansas would vote “Yes” to slave-holding, with a large number of new citizens from Missouri, and Nebraska would vote “No” because new settlers would have a northern orientation. The admission of California as a free state in 1850 had upset the equal count thought to be assured in the Missouri Compromise. Until the votes in Kansas and Nebraska came, years later, the tension and friction was unrelenting. The President had to send troops to quell the uproar in “Bleeding Kansas.” At least it drew attention away from lesser conflicts in Nebraska.

Senator Douglas wanted the Nebraska territory opened to enhance the prospects of a northern route for a transcontinental rail line [through Chicago]. Southern routes had been favored, largely for climate reasons, until the Civil War. Then Council Bluffs strategists and Douglas saw the opportunity to move the road out of the rebellious south. Senator Douglas was leading a divided party and sought a compromise “acceptable to all.”

§Powerful cross purposes, expansionist politics and local ambition

combined to pass the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Douglas accepted the sovereignty argument to appease Missouri, a slave state, and to get southern support for the bill. Northern congressmen heatedly and bitterly attacked the bill as “a gross violation of a sacred pledge .... a criminal betrayal of precious rights .... an atrocious plot [to make Nebraska] a ‘dreary region of despotism, inhabited by masters and slaves.’ ” 26-26

Slavery sympathizers opposed Omaha as the Capitol. They and others were eventually successful in removing the capitol from Omaha, to a location south of the Platte ~ an area which had even tried to merge with Kansas after the K-N Act, in the hopes of avoiding the stubborn anti-slavery mindset of Whig and [later] Republican legislators north of the Platte.

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“Popular sovereignty” was the shouting phrase used by pro-slavery orators and it focused the national debate. The New York Herald editorialized:

“The triumph of popular sovereignty over the usurpation’s of congress .... is a substantial declaration of congress that they have no power over slavery, neither in the states nor in the territories, but that .... it is a subject which belongs entirely to the people. This is the constitutional doctrine and the constitution is a rock upon which the country .... may securely stand.” 72-46

Events Coming Out of Slavery Debate The independent sovereign attitude encouraged free-wheeling

strategies on many other frontier subjects. “Sovereignty” was designed to apply to the slave issue only, but squatters and venturers applied it to all aspects of governance. The new Republican party grew quickly, capitalizing on a curious combination of anti-federal and anti-slavery sentiments. Early delegates to congress spent more time defending their seats from agitators and divisive politicians than working for Nebraska. 52-135

Upon approval of the K-N Act, allowing a state to vote on slavery, anti-Nebraska meetings were held throughout the North. Kansas extremists made it an ugly scene. The political uproar gave additional support to the development of the Republican Party, which became firmly anti-slavery.

“No sooner had the bill passed than population from the North and the South flowed rapidly into the new Territories, each desirous of getting control. The great battlefield of the pro-slavery men and anti-slavery men was Kansas, and here for a few years the storm raged fearfully. Aggressive thugs known as ‘border ruffians’ and ‘Jayhawkers’ reigned triumphant for awhile .

“The scenes that were acted and the outrages committed upon the innocent and helpless during these troubles beggar all description. A Methodist minister, an eye-witness of some of these outrages and atrocious crimes [told me what he saw].

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“The acts are too shameful and harrowing, however, to place upon record. To shoot down, in cold blood, helpless women and children, is an awful crime. But to torture to death by slow and the most infamous and cruel processes that human ingenuity can invent is a thing too monstrous to be described.” 14-133

A bill was introduced in the Nebraska Legislature to allow the killing of “plunderers” [translation: Jayhawkers] without penalty. It did not pass.

Ministers and churches from across the nation sent petitions to Congress opposing the K-N bill. The most dramatic action after the passage of the bill was by 3,050 New England ministers who organized the New England Emigrant Aid Company to help anti-slave advocates ‘emigrate’ to Kansas. Their astonishing objective was accomplished, directly affecting the debate in the Kansas-Nebraska territories. They recruited 1,500 citizens who would relocate to Kansas, with the commitment to vote it a free state!

How did they accomplish such a venture? In July, 1855, the ministers sent a “Circular of the Committee of Clergymen” to all clergy in New England, urging life membership in the Aid Company and support for its work on behalf of freedom and education.

“Religious enthusiasm became a powerful motivating force in raising money for the enterprise. Emotions ran high. To many the divisive war which finally began in 1861 had seemed an irrepressible conflict several years before.” 28-37

“Months before passage of the K-N bill, hundreds of settlers collected along the border to wait until settlement was legalized. The number grew to more than twenty thousand.” 28-37

§The Methodist Episcopal Bishop had to have a troop escort in

1856, to travel from Omaha to Topeka in order to conduct the official business meeting of the Kansas and Nebraska churches. The Methodists had come from a church split on slave holding, so these leaders were unequivocally opposed to slavery. Bishop Osman Baker presided with militia guarding one end of the tent and a federal marshal at the other end, as members of the conference restated their bold stand with plain-spoken words of their own:

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“We declare that we are as much as ever convinced of the great evil of slavery and ..... we do most sincerely deplore its existence amongst us as a Church, even in a limited extent, believing as we do that it is a robbery both of God and Man. ‘All souls are mine,’ saith God [Ezek. xviii2]. Slavery virtually and practically denies this, by stealing, buying and selling, and claiming to own the bodies and souls of men, women, and children.

“That it robs man of his manhood cannot be consistently denied by those who are acquainted with the facts connected with that system. The slave is deprived of his freedom to will and to act for himself either in reference to the common pursuits of life, or that which appertains to his intellectual, moral and religious well-being.

“Therefore, Resolved, that in the opinion and judgment of this Conference no slaveholder should hereafter be admitted to membership in the M. E. Church, where the laws of the State allow emancipation, without first executing deeds of manumission in conformity to law; and those who are already [members] and claiming property in man should be required to take immediate steps for the legal emancipation of all such slaves, wherever and whenever the civil or common law will permit the same to be done, or forfeit their membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church.” 36 -146

§The intense feeling spilled into the new Nebraska territory. There

were events to fuel the fire. At one point all three owners of the major outfitter in Nebraska City owned slaves. On December 5, 1860, two slaves were offered for sale at public auction in that city. There were fifteen slaves in the territory that year. 28-61 The first governor of the Nebraska territory was unapologetically pro-slavery.

Another effect of the bill was little noticed in the passions of the time. The K-N Act ended the policy of maintaining a permanent Indian reservation on the plains and thus doomed the traditional lifestyle of Native Americans living there. 26-27

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Senator Douglas stated the K-N Act was “to serve notice on the Secretary of War to discontinue using that territory as a dumping ground for Indians.” The Senator’s regrettable distracting comment came only ten years after “that territory” was promised to Indian nations as their permanent home.

Homestead Act

The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed persons to make legal and easy claim to 160 acres of land on the frontier. By 1900 almost 69,000 people had acquired land in Nebraska under this Act. Plus, many more tried and did not “prove up” on the land, usually in areas of low rainfall where 160 acres was not an adequate base for a farm operation.

Previous to the Homestead Act, land was claimed through the Preemption Act of 1841. By this method a male or female head of house, or a male citizen at least 21 years of age, could mark out a claim. Claimants were limited to land not reserved for government use or for new towns, or land with Indian claims that were unsettled, or land with a spring. The act was complicated, providing for the process to be followed when, for example, the claimant died before title was granted.

Claimants were required to build a “12 by 14” structure on the property. After a government survey, and when the land was authorized for sale, the person would swear to have met these conditions and could then purchase the land. Most of the early land was obtained in this way since surveyors came well behind the first settlers. 38-40

Without the protection of legal filing, others would come to “claim” the same piece of land. As was illustrated in Chapter 1, “claim jumpers” ranked well below horse thieves in local opinion and would receive harsh treatment from Claim Clubs if they did not leave quickly. Hickey reports finding much evidence of fraud in preemption transactions. One fellow’s structure was 12 by 14 inches. 26-101

Qualifications under the Homestead Act were similar ~ head of household or a citizen at least 21 ~ but were simpler. The claimant could file for a quarter section of land [160 acres] for $10, and own it

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simply by living on or cultivating the land for five years. The “citizen” requirement could be met by applying for citizenship. There was much fraud here also, but the Act placed settlers on one third of the newly-acquired land. About 60% “proved up” and eventually owned the land.

§The Kincaid Act in 1904, sponsored by a Nebraska congressman,

authorized “proving up” on 640 acres, a more realistic size of farm or ranch for some areas of Nebraska. Other acts provided land through development of timber, or in promotion of education.

In the first years, wherever track was laid down, the railroad received every other square mile of a 40 mile wide strip as reimbursement for its investment. The Union Pacific received nearly five million acres in Nebraska by this agreement.

It was a good deal for the government, as well as the railroad. The alternate sections became more valuable with a railroad nearby, plus the towns formed along the line. The total investment of the Union Pacific exceeded the value of the land and the loans. Many farms were purchased in this strip, and of course most of the towns were developed by the railroads, to provide a market base.

Veterans had the right to “military land warrants,” which speculators would buy from needy soldiers and sell at a high profit. This also gave the dealers the chance to charge 40 to 60% interest, which often meant that the settler could not meet payments and the land merchant received it back and found another victim. 52-9

Territorial Legislature

The shenanigans of the legislature for the Nebraska territory is another major piece for our picture of the setting in which those first congregations were attempting to be in ministry. “Zoo” would be a polite term for some of the legislative sessions. The pastors had other words as they expressed dismay that they had come to a place “beyond civilization.” The legislators had much more descriptive terms for each other: liar, thief, hypocrite, rascal, wolf in sheep’s clothing, scoundrel, coward ~ are the ones that can be printed.

Elections were stolen by reporting false figures from a remote community. It took so long to receive an accurate count that one

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time both candidates for congress were in Washington, ready to be seated, before the count was verified.

The governor of a territory was appointed by the President, so was an “outsider” from the beginning. With severely limited means of communication in the early years, the President was considered distant. Legislative actions did not require approval on a federal level. All of this, combined with frontier attitudes, resulted in a high spirit of independence

man

Manipulation of public discussion was practiced from the beginning. Bellevue built a building for the legislature before the first governor arrived, in order to settle the capital issue before it could be debated. Cuming, the second governor, assigned more representatives to the area north of the Platte [his party], though twice as many people lived south of the Platte [according to his own census].

The major point worthy of all the fights: where to locate the capitol. The first governor, appointed from South Carolina, was ill following the long trip. Governor Burt went to the home of Father Hamilton in Bellevue for care, where he died two weeks later. Common understanding was that he planned to convene the

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legislature in Bellevue and that city then would have the inside chance at being a permanent location. Pastor Hamilton turned down a local offer of $25,000 to purchase Presbyterian land in Bellevue for the new capitol, so the church was in the process early. [A gift of land owned by the Methodist Mission Board was an essential part of the later decision to locate the state capitol in Lincoln.]

woman

Acting Governor Cumings convened the legislature in Omaha, whose enterprising citizens had quickly constructed an appropriate building ~ brick, no less, 34 X 75 foot ~ to attract such an important body. The Bellevue Paladium found it to be too small and added:

“We were struck with the singularity of taste displayed in the curtain furniture of the different rooms, which consisted of two folds of plain calico, the one green and the other red, which we took to be symbolic of jealousy and war ~ which monsters, we fear, will make their appearance before right is enthroned and peace established.” 38-13

The officials were probably pleased to have any cloth at all.

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Again, the curious reader can find hilarious accounts of how the legislature did business. There are several blow-by-blow descriptions with “He said .... and then he said” details. The fight over location so dominated the legislature that they did not have time to debate a civil and criminal code for the territory. They simply adopted Iowa’s, in toto! 52-87

§The Nebraska Territory had two official bodies: the Council, 13

members, and the Legislature, with 39 members. The legislature was an especially loud, angry assembly. The vote to organize, with certification of delegates and declaration of the first organization by the governor, was done in 30 minutes. The quick action was planned to outmaneuver citizens waiting in the hallways, dressed in Indian robes and intending to put on a ‘savage’ act to dramatize their opinions about the governor.

In short form, a few examples can catch a bit of the feeling ~ and confusion. Persons would bribe the legislators. On the floor. While in session. A typical bribe was ‘scrip’ ~ pieces of paper which cost nothing but which would give title to a lot in a new town. Which town would exist [Eureka!] IF the legislature voted to locate the capital there. Sometimes no location was precisely defined. “Vote our way and you could be worth $5,000!”

Throw into this strange mix that most of the legislators did not live in the territory. The Nebraska delegate convention in January, 1854, was held in St. Joseph, Missouri. 52-52 In the minutes of the legislature we can read “Mr. Richardson of Michigan….” The ‘representatives’ presumably had met the residence requirement, which was to sleep within the district one night. With a chuckle, we wonder if sleeping one night was preferred to working one day on the district.

Most had not met their constituents. Some did not have any constituents and found humor in saying, “I am here to represent my constituents.” Most of them were there to represent land-development interests.

The first council had members from Tennessee, Maine [2], New York [4], Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Kentucky, Virginia ~ and one from Nebraska [Florence]. One Nebraska legislator, during

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a legislativebreak time, came very close to winning a seat in the Kansas legislature at the same time.

Glenwood Iowa had so many representatives in the Nebraska legislature that they called a town meeting to reprimand “their” six men who had voted with Omaha instead of one of the other fine choices. [Every town in Nebraska had some hopes of becoming the capital.] The townspeople were agitating for Plattsmouth, or as a second choice, Bellevue, so the capital would be directly across the river.

Glenwood would then have a better chance of getting a river bridge and possibly the great advantage of the proposed transcontinental railroad coming through town. 72-80 Humor note: 140 years later, Glenwood residents renewed their plea for a bridge.

§Germans had control of politics and decisions in the early years.

The minutes of the first state legislature were published in both English and German. Swedish residents were next in strength. [The great influx of new immigrants, twenty years later, and the emotions surrounding World War I brought the Germans down to a persecuted group sixty-five years into Omaha’s history.]

Shouting and acrimonious debate were common. Parliamentary delay, with an early adjournment, prevented serious discussion and provided opportunity to spread out to the bars. The Chair, after one such ‘lunch’ break, offered to recognize anyone sober enough to claim the floor. The response was more confusion.

Once in a while it was fisticuffs. Hanscom, who would rather fight than talk, and he loved to talk, in one session was ordered off the floor by the Speaker. [He was not a member at that point.] Hanscom defied the Sergeant-at-arms to come near him and was not removed.

On another occasion, the Speaker, a small man, tried to physically take back his chair from the Speaker Pro Tem, [who had gained the

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chair through trickery], so that he could entertain a motion to move the capitol out of Omaha. A fight broke out and he was flat on the floor of the chamber in the brawl, getting the worst of it. Hanscom was too busy handing out bruises to protect the poor fellow, so he grabbed the man by his collar and belt and threw him under a low table for protection ~ and to keep him out of the chair.

Omahans were not shy or stingy about bribes. They dug in their pockets to pay for town lots which could be given to the legislators in return for votes. The operative word was “inducements,” according to General Estabrook, the Attorney General.

One leading legislator had received 1/12 of the half mile wide strip of land added to the city, to be used for this purpose, but in an expansive private moment [drunk] he said he would not vote for Omaha. The word got around. An Omaha official who was in charge of distributing scrips asked the man for his collection of scrip so that the secretary could number the pieces of paper, as, “The operators had neglected to do that after printing them.” The man gave them over for this purpose and of course did not see them again. 72-78

Another legislator, friendly to Omaha, was given scrip for several lots, which he was to use for inducement with resistant “doubtful” members. He kept them all. He later said he was the most doubtful man he knew. 72- 79

One representative, from Florence [which was also vying for the capital], gave his critical vote to Omaha in exchange for the right to locate the capital site. When the time came, the promise was kept and he drove a stake near 60 lots he owned in Omaha. His stake located the capitol and, by that action, the site of the future Central High School. He then was able to sell his lots for $60 each.

Omaha played other games. Omaha did not transfer the land to the territory, so that Omaha owned the capitol and even used it as collateral for a local bond issue. That added considerable fuel to the legislative fires in future years. 8-57

§“Some men carried the art of winking to the highest perfection.”

[Herald] Friends of the presiding officer winked to get the floor.

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The Speaker told negative types to sit down or be knocked down [while others were winking]. It worked. 72-81

The following year, the Democrat leaders who were in opposition to Omaha brought forth a sweet-talking resolution about Governor Izard, whom they despised. The hope was to get him to go to Washington on a mission while they voted the capital to another location. The lieutenant governor was ready to sign the resolution if the governor was out of town. Someone had to explain to the naive governor that the legislators did not mean the nice things they said. He liked the resolution anyway [wanted to hear more of it!] and it passed. But he stayed in town.

§The next year the opposition created an imaginary town to be

located somewhere in Lancaster County. [Actually, two groups had indefinite locations, which helped to cause the plan to fall apart when the filibuster was on.] They gave out scrip to the lots in the proposed towns and won the vote of all except the eight Omaha legislators. They could over-ride the expected veto. The group demanded $20,000 in cash from the Omaha delegation to change the vote. One man was so frightened in the turmoil he asked for $5,000, in exchange for which he would go home. 72-91 Omaha delegates thought he could go home for free.

Omaha stalled, filibustered, picked at the minutes from the preceding day, pointed out the expense to all of building another capital [and the loss of value in the lots some of them had been given in the original deal] ~ until the coalition began to crack.

The governor’s veto of the bill to move the capitol held. He presented a reasonable statement on the deficits of the bill: people have not had a say, a building is in progress, no other funds are in sight, present population is served well from an Omaha location, the proposed town has no site, and the change of location of the capital city requires the consent of the governor.

At one point, a convention of representatives from south of the Platte met at Brownville and voted to secede from Nebraska and merge with Kansas. The Kansas border would be brought up to the Platte river, which they felt would provide a more welcoming climate for pro-slavery sentiment. Kansas said NO.

§

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A ‘sometimes’ preacher double-crossed Hanscom and came to regret it. The minister promised Hanscom that if he were seated in a debatable situation, he would vote for Omaha in the contested situation. In further exchange, he would appreciate being appointed the chaplain of the legislature so he could pray for the body each day. Hanscom agreed and the man was seated.

A few days later, the preacher met Hanscom on the street and stuttered out a retraction. He now had ‘circumstances’ which would make it impossible for him to vote for Omaha. [Someone offered a better deal.] Mr. Hanscom had lost a vote and his famous temper flared. He declared the man to be “a ___ ___ infernal lying old hypocrite!”

“Those are hard words, my dear Mr. Hanscom, but ~”“I reiterate it, that you are an infernal lying old hypocrite. You’re

a wolf in sheep’s clothing....” He declared that the man would do no praying for the legislature.

If praying was needed, “I’ll do it myself. That’s the kind of man I am.” Hanscom made it stick. The Omaha legislators kept life in the legislative chambers so uncomfortable for the minister that he did not run again. 72-81

As a part of one of these fights, a majority of the legislators picked up their marbles and journeyed to Florence [two hours trip!] to continue business. They said it was for safety. The governor ordered them back, saying nothing they did would be recognized as official and they would not be paid while away. He ventured the thought that they did not have to worry about personal safety.

The year previous, the ‘South Platte’ representatives asked Governor Izard for 300 militia to protect them against the Omaha crowd. Izard was a weak governor, whom they privately referred to as “Grandmother.” He reminded them the ‘Omaha crowd’ consisted of only eight persons, and added his personal guarantee of their safety: “Behave yourselves, and your ‘grandmother’ will protect you.” 72-91

The first three sessions of the legislature were this kind of turmoil, with a new plot each year. The Democrats, who tended to be pro-slavery, were strongest in the territory south of the Platte. The representatives of Omaha, who lived north of the Platte and were the budding Republican group, were usually anti-slavery. Bellevue,

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Plattsmouth, Nebraska City Brownville and Florence each felt they had a stronger case to be the capital, which added fuel to the dissension. They finally ragged the subject dry.

§When Nebraska became a state Omaha no longer needed the

capitol and all who were involved quickly agreed that it should be south of the Platte. With better overland transportation now available, the capitol building could be constructed away from the river. However, the rancor of the long fight was not forgotten.

The new capital city nearly lost its new status. The Lincoln promoters had a deadline of January 1, 1869, to be ready for the legislative sessions or risk losing it all. They advertised for drawings. Only one response came, from Chicago. They accepted those plans and advertised for bids. Again, one bid came, from out of state. The leaders did not trust Omaha, so they mixed the state funds in with their personal accounts. The new state governor was impeached as a result.

The shabby building lasted only fourteen years. But it was there on time!

§Descriptions of a reception for Governor Izard provide humor as

well as another quick look at local color. The plain room of a small hotel on a very cold winter night provided the “theatre of a scene perhaps the most ludicrous that was ever witnessed in the history of public receptions.”

Dr. Miller, writing for the Herald several years later [1867], continued: “Izard was a stately character physically, mentally rather weak, and accordingly felt a lively sense of the dignity with which the appointment had clothed him. He had never known such an honor before and it bore upon him heavily.”

So the legislature and community leaders humored him with the best “Executive Ball” the primitive village could muster. All nine ladies in town came in their finest, which the locals said was an amazing sight. The room was poorly heated in the extreme cold, so fresh mud plaster on the walls had frozen. Water seeping from the green cottonwood floorboards had turned to ice. The imported music for the grand occasion was a fiddler from Council Bluffs,

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squeezed into one corner. Several persons fell as they tried to dance on the very rough icy floor.

The governor made his appropriate remarks and, at 11 p. m., they had the executive ball dinner. The main items: dried apple pie, sandwiches of a “somewhat peculiar size” made of a “singular mixture of bread of radical complexion” [they were brown bread and bacon], and coffee with brown sugar, no milk. 72-82 ff.

The gentle reader does not want to know all the shenanigans of vote fraud, clever deals, fights and threats that took place in other parts of Nebraska’s government in this period. If someone is curious the record is there. 72-138, ff.

The Responses of Congregations

So, you are pastor ~ or elder or deacon ~ in this time and setting. How do you finance your project? You formulate your pitch for a ‘grant’ from congregations ‘back east,’ using all the arguments of the previous pages: we can help fight slavery, we will get a railroad, we have settlers enough for the entire territory ~ and Omaha is in the right spot to be the distribution and collection center for the whole thing. If you want a good investment, send money.

They sent money. Plus people and leaders. Well over 100 congregations were organized in Omaha in the next 35 years, and ninety survived in 1890. Resources, as always, were inadequate. The commitment of leaders was exceptional.

We have many stories of deep appreciation for congregations back east who selected a specific pastor’s family for support. The supporting churches would, for example, send a large steamer trunk at Christmas, filled with necessary clothing items for each family member, plus a special gift for each child ~ items simply not available to a prairie family. “The thought counts” even more when your eastern support congregation is working to provide love and care to a family living in the isolation of the frontier.

A much lower percentage of pioneers were interested in Christianity than is the case today. After a few decades, church membership grew to about 10% of the population. The risks were

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great and the guarantees non-existent. But the eastern churches poured leaders and money into ministry for the people. A single denomination established more churches in Nebraska than there are post offices.

Religious influence in those first years was more an expression of faith than of reality. However, the next chapter will illustrate the remarkable witness and growing influence of religious-minded citizens.

church with lamp post

§A Nebraska pastor’s wife made the story of that support personal.

Years later, she remembered her anxiety as her husband faithfully made the rounds, responding to every kind of pioneer crisis. She tried to make a warm and welcoming home for them and their two children, while keeping everyone’s spirit up.

The breaking point came in a Christmas week. Her family did not have enough warm clothing for the winter and food was meager. The members of the parish shared what they had, but they were also desperately poor following a drought year.

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The day before Christmas she “lost it.” Her husband was gone to help a pioneer family a day’s journey away and when he arrived home he would be tired and discouraged. She knew he would be unable to help his family in their need.

She remembered telling God off in plain fashion. “God, I promised to be faithful and you promised to provide what we need. I kept my promise but you broke yours. Tomorrow is Christmas. I have only dry bread to offer my family in celebration of the birth of our Lord. I have nothing for a gift for my children ~ not even a piece of paper ~ and I know when he comes home my husband will not lift his eyes to look at me in our wretched condition.”

That afternoon, a member stopped by to tell her that a trunk had arrived at the rail station. He would fetch it. By the time he brought the trunk to their home her husband had arrived, as weary and disheartened as she had expected.

But the trunk! It was carefully packed by their support congregation back east, who knew their family. The couple could not hold back the tears of relief as they held up winter coats for each person, new underwear and winter clothing, and cloth to make what may have been missed.

At the bottom of the trunk was a pair of ice skates for each child ~ the special gift. She could not celebrate the gifts until she went to a side room, in prayer to God, to ask forgiveness for her loss of faith and her anger.

Then they had Christmas.