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
Slide 3
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
Slide 4
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
Slide 5
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
Slide 6
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
Slide 7
Slide 8
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
Slide 9
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
Slide 10
LAND OPENINGS Run Unassigned Lands 1889 Tribes affected:
Pottawatomie, Sac and Fox, Iowa 1891 Cherokee Outlet 1893 Kickapoo
1895 Cheyenne and Arapaho - 1892
Slide 11
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
Slide 12
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
Slide 13
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
Slide 14
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
Slide 15
TWIN TERRITORIES TO STATEHOOD
Slide 16
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
Slide 17
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
Slide 18
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
Slide 19
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.
Slide 20
Slide 21
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.
Slide 22
FRONT PAGE NEWS!! 46 th State!!!!
Slide 23
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
Slide 24
MARRIAGE OF OKLAHOMA TERRITORY AND INDIAN TERRITORY
(GUTHRIE)
Slide 25
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
Slide 26
TULSA JUST BEFORE STATEHOOD (1906) TULSA NOW IN 2012