HISTORY & FACTS
Several key individuals, peoples and events helped to advance Nebraska toward statehood.
For centuries before white explorers arrived, Native American tribes lived in Nebraska. The Missouri, Omaha, Oto and Ponca Indians were said to be peaceful tribes, and they lived by farming and hunting along the region's rivers. Although the Pawnees fought with other Indian tribes, they were friendly with white settlers. Western Nebraska was the home of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Comanche Indians. These tribes, which built no villages and lived in tepees, lived by hunting buffalo.
In 1662, French explorer Rene Robert Cavalier traveled down the Mississippi River to its mouth. He claimed large tracts of land surrounding the river for France. The land, which included Nebraska, was named "Louisiana," in honor of French King Louis XIV. During the 1690s and early 1700s, French traders and trappers moved to the Louisiana region.
Spain objected to France's presence in the region, which Spain also claimed. In 1720, a Spanish expedition of 45 went into Nebraska, intending to remove the French. But in a battle near the Platte River, Pawnee Indians attacked and killed most of the Spaniards. In 1763, at the close of the Seven Years' War in Europe, France gave up all claims east of the Mississippi River to England and west of the Mississippi to Spain. However, French fur traders continued to operate in Nebraska. In 1800, French ruler Napoleon Bonaparte forced Spain to return the Louisiana Territory to France. He then sold the entire territory, which included Nebraska, to the United States in 1803. This transaction was known as the Louisiana Purchase.
The first American expedition to visit Nebraska, in 1804, was led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They traveled up the Missouri River and explored the state's eastern edge. In 1819, the U.S. Army established Nebraska's first military post, Fort Atkinson, to protect the frontier. The fort, with more than 1,000 pioneers, also became the site of Nebraska's first school, library, grist mill and brickyard, but the fort was temporary. The village of Bellevue, founded on the Missouri River in 1823, became Nebraska's first permanent white settlement.
In the early 1830s, Nebraska's Platte River valley began to play an important role in the "Great Migration," the westward movement of thousands of white settlers. These people followed several trails crossing Nebraska, including: the Oregon Trail, which followed the Little Blue and Platte River valleys; the Mormon Trail, which started from present-day Omaha and traveled along the north bank of the Platte River; and the Denver Trail, which extended from the Missouri River to Denver. These trails were traveled extensively until railroad construction reached the Pacific Coast.
The word "Nebraska" first appeared in publications in 1842, when Lt. John C. Fremont explored the plains and mountains of the western U.S. His report mentions the "Nebraska River," the Oto Indian name for the Platte River. This term was taken from the Oto word "Nebrathka," meaning "flat water."
The first bill to organize the new Nebraska Territory, introduced in Congress on Dec. 17, 1844, failed to pass. However, after a long dispute, a bill called the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed and was signed by President Franklin Pierce on May 30, 1854. This dispute, between the slave states and free states for control in the Nebraska region, gave rise to the Republican Party and caused border conflicts before the Civil War. Slaves were first bought and sold in the 1850s in Nebraska City, and at one time, the Underground Railroad operated in Nebraska.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act officially created the Kansas and Nebraska territories, opening the area to settlement west of the Missouri River. By 1863, Congress created several new territories from this region, bringing the Nebraska Territory to about the state's present size.
The election of Abraham Lincoln as president and the Civil War that followed had a significant impact on Nebraska's development. The 1st Nebraska Cavalry, under Brig. Gen. John M. Thayer, was raised for service in the Union Army. Nebraska's entry into the Union was delayed until after the Civil War ended. In 1865, the Union Pacific Railroad began to build a line spanning westward from Omaha, and it stretched across Nebraska two years later. By the mid-1880s, the Burlington Railroad lines criss-crossed the state. Many railroads received land grants from state and federal governments to offset construction costs. These lands were sold to settlers through extensive advertising campaigns. These campaigns, plus an influx of discharged Civil War veterans seeking land, helped increase Nebraska's population.
In early 1867, Congress passed an act admitting Nebraska to the Union. Nebraska joined the Union as the 37th state on March 1, 1867. David Butler was elected the first governor, and the state capital was moved to Lincoln.
Nebraska Facts
Here are some facts about Nebraska:
Nebraska's capitol building was chosen as one of the modern architectural wonders of the world by the American Institute of Architects.
Arbor Day -- observed by millions of people -- was founded by Nebraska's J. Sterling Morton, former U.S. secretary of agriculture. The National Arbor Day Foundation's headquarters are located near his home in Nebraska City.
Boys Town, a community for disadvantaged youth, is located near Omaha.
Charles Lindbergh learned to fly in Lincoln when the city was a center for airplane manufacturing.
America's first rodeo was held by Buffalo Bill in Nebraska in 1882.
Nebraska has the nation's largest area of sandhill grasslands, a productive cattle raising area.
Nebraska was the home or birthplace of entertainers such as Henry Fonda, Johnny Carson, Dick Cavett, Marlon Brando and Fred Astaire.
The University of Nebraska's football team has finished in the national AP or UPI top 20 ratings every year since 1970.
Lincoln is the home of the U.S. Amateur Confederation of Roller Skating and frequently hosts national championship competition in that sport.
Back to Travel Nebraska Homepage