Jefferson Territory
The Jefferson Territory was an illegal and unrecognized territory of the United States that existed from October 24, 1859 until the creation of the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861. It included parts of the Kansas Territory , the Nebraska Territory , the New Mexico Territory , the Utah Territory, and the Washington Territory , but separate from the governments of these five territories. The Jefferson Territory government, although democratically elected, was never legally recognized by the federal government , although it administered the territory undisturbed for 16 months. Many of the laws passed by the Jefferson Territorial Legislature were reinstated after the creation of the Colorado Territory and were formally approved by the new Colorado General Assembly in 1861.
Origins
On August 25, 1855, the Kansas Territory created Arapahoe County , a vast county that encompassed all of the western portion of the territory. The boundaries of Arapahoe County were defined as follows:
Beginning at the northeast corner of New Mexico , the border ran north to the southern border of Nebraska and northern border of Kansas , from there to the eastern border of the Utah Territory, then along the border between the Utah and Kansas Territories to New Mexico and thence back along the border between New Mexico and the Kansas Territory to the starting point.
Since Arapahoe County was mainly inhabited by Cheyenne and Arapaho with only a few white settlers, the county was never organized. A remnant of this county survives to this day as Arapahoe County , Colorado .
The Pikes Peak gold rush began with the discovery of gold in July 1858 at Dry Creek Diggings in the Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory. The gold rush brought 100,000 prospectors to the area known as Pike's Peak Country , which included Arapahoe County in the Kansas Territory and the disorganized southwest corner of the Nebraska Territory. The Kansas Territory leaders were far too preoccupied with the brutal events of Bloody Kansas in the populous eastern part of the Territory that there was little time or attention to the concerns of the far western part of the Territory. The US Congress was also preoccupied with the secession of the slave states .
The settlers in the area tried to organize Arapahoe County on their own. An election was held on March 28, 1859 to elect the county officials. A total of 774 voters cast their votes, including 231 from Auraria and 144 from Denver City , unaware that the Kansas Territorial Legislature had divided Arapahoe County into six new disorganized counties on February 7, 1859. However, when no news came from Kansas Territory officials, many settlers decided that they should establish a separate government.
founding
In April 1859 a small convention was held at Wootton's Hall in Auraria on the need for local government. The name Jefferson was chosen and a constituent convention planned for June 6, 1859. The congregation met that day and adjourned until August 1, 1859, when the 37 district MPs met to draft a constitution for Jefferson State , which was then rejected in a referendum on September 24. The original authors designated another convention to be held on October 3rd to draft a Provisional Constitution for the Jefferson Territory , named in honor of Thomas Jefferson , the chief author of the US Constitution . As the third US President, Jefferson authorized the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, which included much of that territory.
The proposed Jefferson Territory included the entire current state of Colorado, but it was 70 percent larger. The territory shared the same southern boundary as the present-day state of Colorado, the 37th parallel, but extended 138.1 miles (222.2 kilometers) north to the 43rd parallel, 2.7 miles (4.3 kilometers) further east to 102nd longitude and over 50 miles (81 kilometers) west to 110th longitude. The territory was divided into eight municipal districts and 19 deputy districts.
On October 24, 1859, an election was held to approve the formation of a Provisional Government in the Jefferson Territory and to elect territorial officials. The formation of a provisional government was approved by a vote of 280 in 1852 and the following officials were elected:
| position | Surname |
|---|---|
| governor | Robert W. Steele |
| Secretary | Lucien W. Bliss |
| Treasurer | George W. Cook |
| Attorney General | Samuel McLean |
| Chief Justice | AJ Allison |
| Associate Justice | John M. Odell |
| Associate Justice | E. Fitzgerald |
| Clerk of Supreme Court | Oscar B. Totten |
| Marshall | John L. Merrick |
| Superintendent of Public Instruction | HH McAffee |
| Auditor | CR Bissell |
On November 7, 1859, Governor Robert W. Steele opened the first session of the Jefferson Territorial Provisional Legislature in Denver City with the following announcement:
Let us then approach the tasks with an attitude of mind that overcomes all difficulties: working for the benefit of the whole Commonwealth, encouraging moderation and maintenance in all of our laws that we must never be ashamed of a modest part in organizing a Provisional Government for that Jefferson Territory.
During the first session, the legislature organized 12 counties. (The Colorado General Assembly would create 17 counties with roughly equal boundaries in 1861.) The legislature adjourned to December 7, 1859.
Many settlers from eastern Kansas preferred to be ruled by the territory. The opponents of self-government of the Jefferson Territory held an election on December 8, 1859, in which Captain R. Sopris was elected as their MP for the Kansas Territorial Legislature.
Governor Steele announced the second session of the Jefferson Territorial Provisional Legislature in Denver City for January 23, 1860.
Many disappointed prospectors left the region in 1860. The 1860 U.S. census counted approximately 35,000 people in the Jefferson Territory region. However, Governor Steele emphasized that many prospectors were working on their claims in distant areas, and so estimated the total number of people in the Jefferson Territory at 60,000.
Governor Steele tried to strike a balance with the Kansas Territory officials. On August 7, 1860, Steele made an announcement seeking the amalgamation of the Provisional Government of Jefferson Territory with the Kansas Territory. But the Kansas government was not ready to ally with what they considered to be an illegal government, and so everything stayed the same.
On November 7, 1860, Abraham Lincoln won the US presidential election , triggering the secession of seven slave states and the formation of the Confederate States . These events destroyed any chance for federal affirmation of Jefferson Territory as well as the chances for Governor Steele, a staunch pro-Union Democrat and vocal opponent of Lincoln and the Republican Party , to play a role in the new administration.
In order to strengthen the political power of the free states , the Republicans in the US Congress on January 29, 1861 hurriedly accepted the part of the Kansas Territory east of the 25th longitude as the Free State of Kansas into the Union. Kansas' statehood left the western portion of the now-extinct Kansas Territory, which the Jefferson Territory claimed, officially disorganized. While the federal government formally refused to support the Jefferson Territory, it had effectively recognized the region's eastern border.
Counties
On November 28, 1859, the Jefferson Territory created 12 counties :
- Cheyenne County became Laramie County , Wyoming
- St. Vrain County became Weld County , Colorado
- Arrappahoe County became the Arapahoe County, Adams County, and the City and County of Denver , Colorado
- El Paso County became El Paso County and Pueblo County , Colorado
- Fountain County covered most of southeastern Colorado
- Park County became Park County , Colorado
- Saratoga County became part of Grand Counties and Summit Counties , Colorado
- North County became Jackson County , Colorado
- Jefferson County became Jefferson County , Colorado
- Jackson County became Boulder County , Colorado
- Heele County became Larimer County , Colorado
- Mountain County became part of Gilpin Counties and Clear Creek Counties , Colorado
capital Cities
- Denver City - October 24, 1859 to November 12, 1860
- Golden City - from November 13, 1860 to June 6, 1861
Most of the administrative affairs of Jefferson Territory were handled in the home of Governor Steele at Mount Vernon and later Apex .
resolution
On February 26, 1861, the US Congress passed a bill to create the Colorado Territory. The bill was signed by US President James Buchanan two days later on February 28, 1861. On May 29, 1861, William Gilpin , the newly appointed governor of the Colorado Territory, arrived in Denver City. Most of the region’s citizens welcomed their new government. On June 6, 1861, Governor Steele made an announcement declaring the dissolution of Jefferson Territory and calling on all workers and residents to obey applicable United States law.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b J.E. Wharton and DO Wilhelm: History of Denver with a Full and Complete Business Directory . Leona L. Gustafson. 1866 . Retrieved August 13, 2008.
- ^ Bulletin , US Geographical Survey, p. 63 United States Government Printing Office , 1922
- ^ Paxson, Frederic Logan, The Last American Frontier , pp. 147-149, The Macmillan Company, 1918
- ^ Provisional Laws and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly of Jefferson Territory . General Assembly of the Territory of Jefferson. 1859-1860. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
- ↑ An Act Defining the Boundaries of Counties and for other purposes . In: Provisional Laws and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly of Jefferson Territory . General Assembly of the Territory of Jefferson. November 28, 1859. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
- ↑ 36th US Congress: An Act to provide a temporary Government for the Territory of Colorado ( PDF ; 18 kB) State of Colorado , Department of Personnel and Administration, Colorado State Archives. February 28, 1861. Retrieved November 29, 2007.
Web links
- The New Territory of Jefferson , New York Times , August 25, 1859