Oklahoma Territory
The Oklahoma Territory was a historic territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890 to November 16, 1907. At that time, the territory was united with the Indian Territory and added to the union as the 46th state with the name Oklahoma . The territorial capital was Guthrie .
history
organization
The history of the Oklahoma Territory began with the Indian Intercourse Act of 1834 when Congress made land available to the Native Americans . At the time, the country was a disorganized territory. This included the whole country "west of the Mississippi without the states of Missouri and Louisiana as well as the Arkansas Territory ..." By 1856, the territory was reduced to the current borders of the state of Oklahoma. The language "Indian territory" became commonplace for it.
Until then, only Indians lived in this area . Shortly after the Civil War , 1866, the federal government forced many of the indigenous tribes in Indian territory to make concessions. Washington accused them of breaking the existing treaties and supporting the Confederate States . As a result, 2,000,000 acres (8,100 km² ) of land in the middle of the Indian Nation Territory was ceded to the United States . The tabloids began reporting the area as Unassigned Lands or Oklahoma, calling the people who settled there "Boomers". To prevent the settlement of the country, President Rutherford B. Hayes issued a proclamation prohibiting unauthorized entry into Indian territory.
David Payne and the Boomers
Despite the federal blockade, interest in the land continued. Captain David L. Payne was one of the main proponents of opening up the Oklahoma area to white settlers. Payne traveled to Kansas , where he established the Boomer Colonial Association. He hoped with his company to found a white colony in the "Unassigned Lands" that comprised around 10,000 members. The formation of the group prompted President Hayes to issue a proclamation on February 12, 1880, prohibiting Payne from entering Indian territory. In response, Payne and his group traveled to Camp Alice in the "Unassigned Lands" east of what is now Oklahoma City . There they made plans for a city they named Ewing . However, the 4th Cavalry detained them , took them to Ft. Reno and then escorted her back to Kansas. Payne was furious that public law (see Posse Comitatus Act ) forbade the military from interfering in civil affairs. Payne was released with his company after they denied entry to the area in court.
Eager to try his case in court, Payne returned to Ewing with a large group in July 1880. The Army detained her again and then escorted her back to Kansas. They were released, but this time there was a trial in Fort Smith , Arkansas . Payne was due to the Indian Intercourse Act for trespassing charged. Judge Isaac Parker ruled Payne out and fined him $ 1,000 . Since Payne had neither money nor property, the fine could not be collected. Nothing was made in the decision regarding entry into the area, but Payne continued unabated. He organized and led some expeditions to the territory.
After his trial, Payne wanted to enter the "Unassigned Lands" a third time. In December 1880, Payne and his group moved along the northern border of Indian territory. They were taken by a cavalry unit under the command of Colonel J.J. Copinger pursued. Colonel Copinger warned Payne of re-incarceration if he were to cross the border again. As the number of boomers increased as a result of the union of people on the border, a message was sent to President Hayes asking them to enter Indian territory. After weeks of no response, Payne led his followers to the Unassigned Lands. They were arrested one more time and Payne was sent back to Fort Smith. He was found guilty again and sentenced to pay a fine of $ 1,000. After his release, he returned to Kansas, where he spent the next four years opening Oklahoma for settlement.
During his last attempt, this time at the Cherokee Outlet in 1884 , the US Army detained him again. Instead of taking him to Kansas, they dragged him under massive physical exertion over a tortuous route to Ft. Smith. The public was shocked by his military abuse, so the federal government decided to negotiate his case. Payne was handed over to the United States District Court in Topeka, Kansas. In this case, Judge Cassius G. Foster dismissed the case and ruled that the settlement of the Unassigned Lands was not a criminal offense. Joyful celebrations broke out among the Boomers. The government refused to accept the decision.
Payne immediately planned another expedition, but he never led it. The next morning, November 28, 1884, in Wellington, Kansas, he turned to the Boomers, collapsed, and died.
William Couch and the opening for the settlement
After Payne's death, his partner William L. Couch took over management. Couch moved with the Boomers to Indian Territory in December 1884 and established Camp Stillwater there on December 12, 1884 . Meanwhile, President James A. Garfield sent a small division to escort Couch out of the Territory. However, when the soldiers arrived at Camp Stillwater, they encountered 200 armed men who refused to go anywhere else. The soldiers then asked for reinforcements. When that happened, the Boomers were given the choice of either leaving the territory within 48 hours or being attacked. When the Boomers refused to leave, commanders moved their troops to the Kansas border, cutting off Couch's supply lines . Soon they ran out of food, so Couch and the other boomers gave in. They were then escorted back to Kansas.
In response to Couch's claims that the federal government was discriminating against her, the US Congress passed the Indian Appropriations Act on March 3, 1885 . That bill approved negotiations for the cession of uninhabited areas belonging to the Creek , Seminoles, and Cherokee . It was then that Couch became a lobbyist .
Couch spent the next four years in Washington DC trying to open up the Oklahoma area to settlement. During this time, many Indians of the five civilized tribes tried to take action against Couch's plans. The situation changed faster than expected. Pleasant Porter , leader of the Creek, offered to sell uninhabited land. Within weeks, the "Unassigned Lands" was sold to the United States. This area comprised exactly 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km²) in the heart of Indian territory.
On March 2, 1889, Congress passed an amendment to the Indian Appropriations Act that cleared the Unassigned Lands, better known as Oklahoma, for settlement. President Benjamin Harrison announced that Oklahoma would open on April 22nd via the Oklahoma Land Run . The "Land Run" should start at noon. All people who were at least 21 years old were allowed to participate.
Land Run and the Sooners
Oklahoma was opened to white settlers on April 22, 1889 by the Oklahoma Land Run , the first "land run" in territorial history. Over 50,000 people entered the country on the first day, including several thousand former slaves and their descendants. Couch and his Boomers, now about 14,000, also took part in the race. Those who entered Oklahoma before the official start of the race were known as the Sooners .
When the race started at noon, thousands of horses, wagons, carriages, carts and other rushed over to Oklahoma. Occasional fighting broke out between law-abiding parties and the Sooners. William Couch, himself a Sooner, was shot and wounded by a pioneer. As a result of this wounding, Couch died on April 21, 1890.
After the race, many disappointed pioneers were forced to leave the area without a claim . Only 1,000 of the 14,000 Boomers held a claim. Tent cities grew overnight at Oklahoma City, Kingfisher , El Reno , Norman , Guthrie, and Stillwater, which were the first to be populated. The Sooners were the real reason for the "Land Run" because they displayed and pursued a "he who doesn't dare, he doesn't win" mentality.
Early territorial period
At the end of the day of April 22, 1889, there were enough settlers in the Unassigned Lands, which made it necessary to create a territorial government. However, the legislature responsible for opening up the territory to settlement did not want any form of government in Oklahoma. As a result, no local police or courts were established. Federal troops were also responsible for enforcing the law and the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, under Federal Judge Isaac Parker, was the only form of criminal and civil jurisdiction. Regardless, the district was mostly peaceful. Most territorial disputes were resolved without bloodshed, although it took several years to complete. For over a year, the Oklahoma Territory people were semi-autonomous. During this time, decisions had to be made unanimously, yet there was no lawlessness or ostracism, and property and life were adequately protected at all times.
On May 2, 1890, the US Congress passed the Oklahoma Organic Act , which organized the western half of the Indian Territory into the Oklahoma Territory. The eastern half remained under Indian leadership, predominantly the five civilized tribes, as Indian territory. The US Congress added a strip of land better known as No Man's Land to the Oklahoma Territory . This area covered an area of 3,681,000 acres (14,900 km²) and became Beaver County . In September 1890, 1,282,434 acres (5,189.83 km²) of the Sac and Fox , Iowa and Potawatomi Reservations in the eastern part of the Oklahoma Territory were opened for settlement. The following spring, 4,397,771 acres (17,797.15 km²) of the Cheyenne and Arapaho areas were opened in the middle of the territory. On September 16, 1893, the Cherokee Outlet with an area of 6,014,239 acres (24,338.76 km²) was opened for settlement and the counties of Kay , Grant , Woods , Woodward , Garfield , Noble and Pawnee were created in this area. In 1895 the Kickapoo reservation was settled with its area of 206,662 acres (836.33 km²) and in the following year Greer County , where it was considered to become part of Texas , but annexed to the territory after a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States has been. With the Kiowa , Comanche , Apache and Wichita reservations also opened, the Oklahoma Territory resulted in a settlement area of 24,000,000 acres (97,000 km²), but 1,725,646 acres (6,983.44 km²) of this area were Indian reservations.
The road to statehood
The Oklahoma Territory existed between 1890 and 1907, during which time seven regular and two acting governors administered the territory. While the desire for statehood grew in Indian Territory, there was little talk of it in Oklahoma Territory. Most of the governors in the Oklahoma Territory only stayed in office for a few months. The only notable events during this period were the creation of the University of Oklahoma , the University of Central Oklahoma (then known as the Territorial Normal School ), and Oklahoma State University (then known as the Oklahoma Agricultural & Mechanical School ). The sole purpose of the territory was to serve as a transitional government from the disorganized territory to the state .
The movement, which had as its goal the statehood of Indian territory, met for the first time in 1902 in Eufaula , consisting of representatives of the "five civilized tribes". They met again in 1903 to organize a constituent assembly .
The Sequoyah Constitutional Convention was held in Muskogee on August 21, 1905 . General Pleasant Porter, Chief of the Creek Nation, was elected President of the Convention. The elected delegates decided that the executive officers of the five civilized tribes should also be named vice-presidents: William C. Rogers , chief of the Cherokees; William H. Murray , who was named representative of the Chickasaws by Chickasaw Governor Douglas H. Johnston ; Chief Green McCurtain of the Choctaws ; Chief John Brown of the Seminoles and Charles N. Haskell , who was chosen to represent the Creeks when General Porter was elected President.
The convention drafted a constitution , drew up a plan for the creation of government, and put together a map showing the counties that were to be built. In addition, delegates were elected to ask for statehood before the US Congress. The Convention's proposals were then presented in a referendum in Indian Territory, in which they were overwhelmingly confirmed.
The delegation received a frosty reception in Washington . Eastern politicians feared the admission of two more western states and undoubtedly neither was ready to accept an "Indian" state. In this context, pressure was put on President Theodore Roosevelt , who ultimately decided that the Indian and Oklahoma Territories would only be allowed statehood as a unified state.
The hard work of the Sequoyah State Constitutional Convention was not entirely lost. When Indian Territory MPs joined the Oklahoma State Constitutional Convention in Guthrie the next year, they brought with them their constitutional experience. The Sequoyah Constitution largely served as the basis for the Oklahoma State Constitution, which came into being with the amalgamation of the two territories in 1907.
Territorial governor Frank Frantz oversaw the transition from territory to state. He was selected as a Republican nominee to become the first governor of the state of Oklahoma. In the election on September 17, 1907, he faced the Democrat Charles N. Haskell . In the same election, the state constitution of Oklahoma was proposed. The constitution was passed and Haskell was elected governor. After the citizens of Oklahoma adopted the United States Constitution on November 16, 1907, the Oklahoma and Indian Territories were dissolved and the state of Oklahoma became the 46th state into the union.
government
With the passage of the Organic Act in June 1890, the territorial government came into being. This had no constitution except for the paragraphs in the Organic Act, which served as a semi-autonomous document. The Organic Act provided for a complete organization of the territory, defined the tasks of the territorial government, laid down the restrictions on the legal acts of the Legislative Assembly and the territorial officials.
The US Congress provided for the creation of a legislature that was elected by the people, but the executive and judiciary of the territory were chosen and appointed by the US President.
legislative branch
Although the Organic Act required a popularly elected legislature, it gave no further indication of its composition other than a bicameral system . When the first Territorial Governor Steele took office, he made this point. He issued an executive order on July 8, 1890 , where he called for the election of a bicameral legislature. As the House one should the House of Representatives with 26 members and the House of Lords a Council act with 13 members. He set the date for the election on August 5, 1890. The legislature was to meet for the first time on August 12, but a by-election was held as a result of the death of two elected members , so the meeting was postponed to August 27, 1890 has been.
Laws passed by the territorial legislature did not require the approval of the US Congress to take effect. They were just as effective as laws passed by a regular state government. However, a federal law could override a law passed by the legislature. The only restriction on the territorial legislature was the Organic Act.
executive
The executive branch consisted of the Oklahoma Territory Governor, a Territorial Secretary, and a Territorial District Attorney or Attorney General . The governor had executive power, served as a symbol of the federal government in the territory, and was the commander in chief of the territorial militia and federal troops in the territory. It was also the task of the governor to design the boundaries of the counties, to name the county towns and to appoint their officials, as provided for by the Nebraska Code in the Organic Act. The code remained in force until the first session of the territorial legislature. The Secretary served as the Deputy Governor and in the event of a vacancy in the governorship the Secretary would serve as the Acting Governor until a new one could be appointed. The Attorney General gave legal advice to the governor and served as the chief enforcement officer in the territory.
Judiciary
The Judiciary was the Territorial Supreme Court , consisting of three judges: one chief judge (Engl. Chief Justice ) and two assessors judges (Engl. Associate Justice ). The Supreme Court had jurisdiction. It not only acted as a U.S. federal court , but it covered all cases ( private and criminal ) provided under the Territorial Legislature Code. The court could serve half of the day as the US federal court and the other half of the day as the territorial court. In addition, it served as a Supreme Court (Engl. Supreme Court ) and decided cases that had been challenged by the territorial courts.
List of governors
| Surname | Term of office | Political party |
|---|---|---|
| George Washington Steele | 1890-1891 | republican |
| Robert Martin | 1891-1892 | republican |
| Abraham Jefferson Seay | 1892-1893 | republican |
| William Cary Renfrow | 1893-1897 | democrat |
| Cassius McDonald Barnes | 1897-1901 | republican |
| William Miller Jenkins | 1901 | republican |
| William C. Grimes | 1901 | republican |
| Thompson Benton Ferguson | 1901-1906 | republican |
| Frank Frantz | 1906-1907 | republican |
See also
Web links
Coordinates: 36 ° 5 '27.6 " N , 98 ° 45' 3.6" W.