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LAND RUN TO STATEHOOD 1880-1910

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ONE OF THE MOST DESIRABLE REGIONS ON THE CONTINENTWAITWHAT? 1880s westward expansion became truly exciting for settlers Railroads, discovery of coal reserves, fertile land (in some places) Dawes Act Senator Henry Dawes (chairman of enforcement committee) Government allot land to individual Indians Pretty much swindled land from Indians by use of treaties, Indian Territory splitting up and forming Oklahoma Territory Land runs

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DAWES ACT OF 1887 Indians are now wards of the state (someone placed under protection of a legal guardian) Contradictory because while treated as independent nations they were also considered incapacitated individuals

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DAWES ACT First Provision: Void all land claims and redistribute the title of lands among the Indians themselves Five Civilized Tribes and the Sac, Fox, Sioux and Seneca Nations were originally excluded from provisions Part due to pre-existing treaties Part due to all resistance in the tribes had been more or less dulled by their existence on reservations Second Provision: Territorial borders of these tribes would not be included in creation of any further American states Amended several times in later years eventually all tribal lands absorbed by U.S. No more bribing or forced treaties Third Provision: Creation of state run schools for Native American children Ulterior motive speed up process of cultural assimilation

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SETTLEMENT OF INDIAN LANDS In favor: Against: Homestead Act of 1862 White settlers Merchants in surrounding states Railroads Some Indian leaders Elias Boudinot Majority of Indians Licensed traders in Indian Territory Stockmen Bootleggers

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VOCABULARY Allotment Giving land to the Indians individually Auction the public sale of something to the highest bidder Boomer a person who took part in the land runs of the late 1800s Lottery a contest whose winner is chosen by a drawing Sooner person who crossed the starting line of a land run before the appointed time Squatter a person who settles on unoccupied land, sometimes illegally, in order to gain title to it

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LAND OPENINGS.HOLLYWOOD, TOM CRUISE AND THE CHEROKEE STRIP Hollywood Historical Stopped at land office to pick up a flag People told to take out numbered flag and replace with new flag Town is portrayed as place with no order (shootings, etc) Sooners come back from looking for a section BEFORE the race The town starting point is made up of tent buildings and some wood buildings under construction Night before the race is seen as a celebration, fireworks Photographers take photos from a wooden tower Sooners are seen on their land before the race starts Race is seen as very chaotic People use horses, wagon, even a bike to get into the land Plots were marked with numbered flags 100,000 people were seeking 40, 000 available plots most went home empty handed There were multiple starting points Sooners checked out land, got numbers and rushed to the land office to make claims Towns were mostly tents William Prettyman was the photographer built the wooden tower and took the famous picture Some Sooners did hide out on their plots then went to the land office Trains were also used to get people to the area Plots were marked with numbered stones at the corner of each quarter section had to find stones, get numbers, return to land office, wait in line, then claim the land

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YOUVE GOT THE LAND NOW WHAT?? Homesteading Where you lived determined what type of house you built Not a lot of trees, lumber is costly, so use resources available Dugouts (or soddies) were built into the side of hills, covered with what was around (sticks) Dirt floors, blankets on walls Good for insulation and fire protection, not so good in a rain storm Original basement/cellar Extra hidey holes for protection in storms, cool pantry Bugs! Kept a cloth over the stove so no extra ingredients fell into cooking Kept bull snakes as pets

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LAND OPENINGS Run Unassigned Lands 1889 Tribes affected: Pottawatomie, Sac and Fox, Iowa 1891 Cherokee Outlet 1893 Kickapoo 1895 Cheyenne and Arapaho - 1892

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Lottery- Sign up and follow the rules Usually thousands of people, stood in line for hours, had to sign up in person, use real names, some signed up more than once and lost the right to claim land Single men, over 21, head of household, single women, U.S. citizen or form stating intention Could not own 160 acres elsewhere 29,000 at Ft. Sill, 135,000 at El Reno Tribes affected Wichita and Caddo 1901 Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache - 1901

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Bids Open to the highest bidder Big Pasture 1906 480,000 acres Tribes affected Kiowa No Mans Land The after-thought Organic Act 1890 Greer County Court Action 1896 (Not a fight with tribes but with the state of Texas!) Result opened 4, 000 homesteads

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LEGISLATION TOWARDS THE CREATION OF OUR STATE Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 Tribal roll established Forced acceptance of land allotment Organic Act May 1890 First step in creating the state of Oklahoma Land runs created legal problems and chaos in new towns Congress passed Organic Act to help bring order to the new territory

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Major provisions: 1. Created Oklahoma Territory (Combine western I. T and Territory of Cimmarron or No Mans Land) 2. Created 3 branches of government A. Executive Territorial governor B. Judicial Supreme Court with 3 judges C. Legislative an assembly with 2 houses 3. Delegates to Congress 4. Created 7 counties 5. Established law under the laws of Nebraska until a code of laws could be adopted. 6. Made provisions for Indian reservations in the western part of I.T. to become part of Oklahoma Territory 7. Created 3 universities Norman, Stillwater, and Edmond

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TWIN TERRITORIES TO STATEHOOD

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Enabling Act, or Hamilton Statehood Bill (1906): provided for joining the twin territories Required people to organized a government similar to other states Constitution had to: forbid liquor in Indian Territory and Osage Nation; establish religious freedom; prohibit polygamy; guarantee all races the right to vote; establish free public schools Guthrie to remain capital until 1913 112 delegates met on November 6, 1906 no women or blacks 77 counties were organized

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Progressive Movement was popular believed that government could best solve the problems in society They wanted to break up and/or regulate large businesses such as railroads They supported an income tax and a greater amount of say in government by the people

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CARRIE NATION Alcohol was legal in Oklahoma Territory but not in Indian Territory Many disagreed with the laws on both sides Womens Christian Temperance Movement (WCTM) was powerful force at the time; wanted to outlaw alcohol use Carrie Nation led prohibition campaign in Kansas and Oklahoma; tore down saloons, broke mirrors, and smashed liquor bottles Many European immigrants wanted to keep alcohol legal since its use was a part of their culture Constitutional Convention decided to leave the issue to a vote by the people

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In November, 1906, fifty-five men from Indian Territory and fifty-five men from Oklahoma Territory met together to write a constitution for one state.

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President Roosevelt declared Oklahoma is now a state! at 10:16 a.m. on November 16, 1907. The White House telegraph was connected to Guthrie and the minute the President signed the proclamation, the information was flashed to the new state.

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FRONT PAGE NEWS!! 46 th State!!!!

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An election had already been held to elect a new governor. The capital was in Guthrie. A ceremony was held to symbolize the joining of the two territories. A man stood in as Oklahoma Territory and a woman stood as Indian Territory. It was a pretend wedding, but a nearby minister married the two territories. Charles N. Haskell

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MARRIAGE OF OKLAHOMA TERRITORY AND INDIAN TERRITORY (GUTHRIE)

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TWIN TERRITORIES POPULATION Population of the State of Oklahoma 2012 Approximately 3,800,000 DateOklahoma Territory Indian Territory 189061,000197,000 1900400,000300,000 1907722,441691,736 Oklahoma celebrated 100 years in 2007 _______ Her 105 th birthday will be Friday, Nov. 16, 2012

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TULSA JUST BEFORE STATEHOOD (1906) TULSA NOW IN 2012