Oklahoma and Indian Territory, 1890s
Oklahoma Territory was an organized territory of the
United States from May 2, 1890 until November 16, 1907, when
Oklahoma became the 46th state. It consisted of the western
area of what is now the State of Oklahoma. The eastern area consisted of the last remnant of Indian Territory.
History
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Organization
Oklahoma Territory’s history began with the Indian Intercourse Act of 1834
when the United States Congress set aside land for Native Americans. At the time, the land was unorganized territory that consisted of all the federal land “west of the Mississippi and not
within the states of Missouri and Louisiana, or the territory of Arkansas…" By 1856, the territory had been reduced to the modern
day borders of the State of Oklahoma. These lands quickly became known as Indian Territory.
Up until this point, the land had been exclusively used by Native Americans. However, in 1866, shortly after the
American Civil War, the federal government forced many of the tribes in
Indian Territory into making concessions. Washington accused them of abrogating the standing treaties by joining the Confederacy. As a result some two million acres (8,000 km²) of land in the center of the
Indian NationTerritory were ceded to the United States. The popular press began referring to this tract as the Unassigned Lands or Oklahoma and to the people agitating for its settlement as Boomers. To
prevent settlement of the land, President Rutherford B. Hayes, in April 1879, issued
a proclamation forbidding unlawful entry into Indian Territory.
David Payne and the Boomers
Gravestone of David L. Payne
Despite federal obstruction, popular request for the land did not end. Captain David L.
Payne was one of the main supporters of the opening of Oklahoma. Payne traveled to Kansas
where he founded the Boomer "Colonial Association." Payne's organization hoped to establish
a white colony in the Unassigned Lands and included some 10,000 members. The formation of the group prompted President Hayes, on
February 12, 1880, issued a proclamation ordering Payne not to
enter Indian Territory. In response, Payne and his group traveled to Camp Alice in the Unassigned Lands, east of Oklahoma City. There, they made plans for a city, which they named Ewing. Unfortunately,
the Fourth Cavalry arrested them, took them to Ft. Reno and then escorted them back to
Kansas. Payne was furious, as public law (see Posse
Comitatus Act) prohibited the military from interfering in civil matters. Payne and his party were freed—effectively
denying them access to the courts.
Anxious to prove his case in court, Payne and a larger group returned to Ewing in July. The Army again arrested the party and
escorted them back to Kansas. Again they were freed but this time leading to a trial in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Payne was charged under the
Intercourse Act with trespassing. Judge
Isaac Parker ruled against Payne and fined him the maximum amount of one
thousand dollars. Since Payne had no money and no property, the fine could not be collected. The ruling settled nothing as to the
question of the public domain lands, however, and Payne continued his activities unabated. He organized and led several more
expeditions into the territory.
After his trial, Payne would try a third time to enter the Unassigned Lands. In December, Payne and his group moved along the
northern border of Indian Territory. They were followed by a unit of cavalry under the command of Colonel J.J. Copinger. Colonel Copinger warned Payne that if he crossed the border that they would be "forcibly
resisted." As the number of Boomers grew as people joined Payne on the board, a messenger was sent to President Hayes asking
permission to enter Indian Territory. After weeks of no response, Payne led his followers to the Unassigned Lands. Once again,
they were arrested and Payne was sent back to Fort Smith. He was found guilty and sentenced to pay a $1,000 fine. Upon his
release, he returned to Kansas where he would spend the next four years trying to open Oklahoma.
During his last venture, this time into the Cherokee Outlet in 1884, the Army again
arrested him. Instead of taking him to Kansas, they hauled him several hundred miles under severe physical circumstances over a
tortuous route to Ft. Smith. Public sentiment grew so great over his mistreatment at the hands of the military that the
government finally granted his trial. Payne was turned over to the United States
District Court at Topeka, Kansas. In the fall
term, Judge Cassius G. Foster quashed the indictments and ruled that settling on the Unassigned Lands was not a criminal offense.
Joyous celebrations broke out among the Boomers. It was short–lived however. The government refused to accept the decision.
Payne immediately planned another expedition, but he would not lead it. On November 28
1884, in Wellington, Kansas, the morning after a late–night address to the Boomers, he collapsed and died.
William Couch and the Opening
After Payne's death, his associate William L. Couch assumed his leadership role. Couch, in
December of 1884, moved the Boomers into Indian Territory and founded Camp Stillwater on December 12, 1884. President James Garfield sent a small detachment of troops to
escort Couch out of the Territory. However, when the soldiers arrived, 200 armed men met the military and refused to be moved.
After 600 reinforcements arrived, the Boomers were given the option of leaving within 48 hours or been attacked. After the
Boomers refused to leave, the commanders moved their troops across the Kansas border and cut off Couch's supply lines. Soon, their food was gone, and Couch and Boomer were escorted back to
Kansas.
In response to Couch’s claims that the federal government was discriminating against them, on March
3, 1885, Congress approved the Indian
Appropriations Act of 1885. This act authorized negations for the cession of unoccupied lands belonging to the
Creek Indians, the Seminole Indians, and the
Cherokee Indians. It was at this point that Couch stopped being a colonist and became a
lobbyist.
Couch would spend four years in Washington D.C trying to open Oklahoma. However many
full-blooded Indians from the Five Civilized Tribes lobbied against Couch’s
actions. It would not be until January of 1889 when things would change. Pleasant Porter led a group of Creeks who offered to sell their unoccupied lands. Within weeks, the
Unassigned Lands were sold to the United States. These Unassigned Lands embraced just
under 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km²) in the heart of Indian Territory.
On March 2, 1889, Congress passed an amendment with the
Indian Appropriations Act of 1889 which provided for the opening of
homesteading settlements in Unassigned Lands, to be known as Oklahoma. President Benjamin Harrison announced that Oklahoma would
be opened on April 22 via land run. The land run was to be
held at noon and was open to all people of at least 21 years of age. Each claim was worth 160 acres and only those who already
possessed 160 or more were allowed to enter.
Land Run and the Sooners
Oklahoma was opened on April 22, 1889 by the Land Run of 1889, the first land run in the territory’s history. Over
50,000 people entered the lands on the first day, among them several thousand former slaves and descendants of slaves. Couch and
his Boomers, now numbering some 14,000, also entered the race. Those who entered Oklahoma before the official start of the race
were labeled Sooners.
When the race began at noon, thousands of horses, wagons, buggies, carts, and others rushed across to Oklahoma. Unfortunately,
the law-abiders fought with the Sooners on several instances. William Couch, himself a Sooner, was shot and wounded by a legal
pioneer. Couch died on April 21, 1890, as a result of his
wounds.
When the race was over, many disappointed pioneers were forced to leave the area without any claim. Of the 14,000 Boomers,
only 1,000 had made claims. Tent cities grew overnight at Oklahoma City,
Kingfisher, El Reno, Norman, Guthrie, and Stillwater, which was the first of the settlements.
Early Territorial Period
Oklahoma Territory contained 26 counties plus the Osage Nation—Indian Territory consisted of 26 districts plus the Seminole
Nation.
The brief legislation that provided for the opening of the land called for no form of government in Oklahoma. No local police
or courts were established, with federal troops provided law enforcement 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 jurisdictions. Despite that, the district was generally peaceful. Most land
disputes were settled without bloodshed, although a few took years to resolve. For over a year the people of Oklahoma Territory
were semi-autonomous. The only government during this period was that created and maintained by common consent, yet there was no
lawlessness or outlawry, and property and life were adequately protected at all times.
The next year, on May 2, 1890, Congress passed the Oklahoma
Organic Act, which organized the western half of Indian Territory into
Oklahoma Territory. The eastern half remained under Indian rule, predominantly the Five
Civilized Tribes, as Indian Territory. Congress included in Oklahoma Territory the strip of country known as
No Man's Land, embracing 3,681,000 acres (14,900 km²) and became Beaver County. In September of 1890, the 1,282,434 acres (5,190 km²) of the Sac and Fox, Iowa, and Pottawatomie reservations in the eastern part of Oklahoma Territory were opened to settlement. The following
spring, the 4,397,771 acres (17,797 km²) of Cheyenne and Arapaho lands in the center of the Territory were opened. On September 16,
1893, the Cherokee Outlet was opened to settlement, and
the counties of Kay, Grant,
Woods, Woodward,
Garfield, Noble, and
Pawnee were created from its 6,014,239 acres (24,339 km²) of land. In 1895 the
Kickapoo reservation of 206,662 acres (836 km²) was settled, and the year following
Greer County, which had been previous to that considered a portion of
Texas, was given to the Territory by a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States. All of these, with the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache and Wichita reservations just opened, give Oklahoma Territory a settled area of 24,000,000 acres (97,000
km²); 1,725,646 acres (6,983 km²) of which was still being included in Indian reservations.
Path to Statehood
Oklahoma Territory existed from 1890 to 1907. During that time, seven Governors (and two acting Governors) administered the
territory. During its 17 year existence, little of note occurred due to the growing idea of statehood which had originated in
Indian Territory. Most of the Governors stayed in office for only a few months, with
the only lingering events being the creation of the University of Oklahoma and
the Oklahoma State University. The territory’s only real purpose
was to serve as a transitional government from unorganized territory to state.
The movement to secure statehood for Indian Territory began in 1902 with a convention in Eufaula, consisting of representatives of
the "Five Civilized Tribes". The representatives met again in 1903 to organize a
constitutional convention.
The Sequoyah Constitutional Convention met in Muskogee, on August 21, 1905.
General Pleasant Porter, Principal Chief of the Creek
Nation, was selected as president of the convention. The elected delegates decided that the executive officers of the Five
Civilized Tribes would also be appointed as vice-presidents: William C. Rogers, Principal Chief
of the Cherokees; William H. Murray, appointed by
Chickasaw Governor Douglas H. Johnston to represent the
Chickasaws; Chief Green McCurtain of the Choctaws; Chief
John Brown of the Seminoles; and Charles N. Haskell, selected to represent the Creeks (as General Porter had been elected
President).
The convention drafted a constitution, drew up a plan of organization for the government, put together a map showing the
counties to be established, and elected delegates to go to the United States
Congress to petition for statehood. The convention's proposals were then put to a referendum in Indian Territory, in which
they were overwhelmingly endorsed.
The delegation received a cool reception in Washington. Eastern politicians, fearing
the admission of two more Western states, and no doubt unwilling to admit an "Indian" state, put pressure on the U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt, who
finally ruled that the Indian and Oklahoma Territories would be granted statehood only as a combined state.
The hard work of the Sequoyah State Constitutional Convention was not entirely lost, however. When representatives from Indian
Territory joined the Oklahoma State Constitutional Convention in Guthrie the next
year, they brought their constitutional experience with them. The Sequoyah Constitution served in large part as the basis for the
constitution of the State of Oklahoma, which came into being with the merger of the two territories in 1907.
Territorial Governor Frank Frantz oversaw the transition from territory to state. He was
selected as the Republican nominee to serve as the state’s first Governor. He faced
the Democratic Charles N. Haskell in the election on September 17, 1907. In the same election, the Oklahoma Constitution was proposed. The Constitution was passed and Haskell was elected Governor.
Once the people of Oklahoma adopted the United States Constitution on
November 16, 1907, Oklahoma and Indian Territories officially
dissolved and the State of Oklahoma was admitted to the Union as the 46th state.
- See also: State of Sequoyah
Government
With the passage of the Organic Act, in June, 1890, the territorial government came into existence. The territorial government
had no constitution, except for sections of the Organic Act creating it, which
served as a semi-governing document. The Organic Act provided for a complete organization of the Territory, defined the functions
of the territorial government, placed limitations upon the acts of the legislative assembly, as well as that of the territorial
officers.
Congress provided for the creation of a legislative branch elected by the people, but the
executive and judicial branches of the
territories were selected and appointed by the President of the United
States.
Legislative Branch
Though the Organic Act called for a popularly elected legislature, it made no reference to its composition other than a
bicameral requierment. When the first Territorial Governor George Washington Steele took office, he addressed this issue. He issued an executive order on July 8, 1890, calling for an election for a bicameral legislature. The
lower house was a twenty-six member House or Representatives and the upper house was a thirteen member Council. The date set for this election was August 5, 1890. The legislature was to have convened August 12, but owing to
the death of two members-elect a special election was called and the convening of the legislature was postponed until
August 27, 1890.
Acts passed by the Territorial Legislature did not require the consent of Congress to take effect. They had the same force of
law and a law passed by a regular state government,. However, an act of Congress could
repeal any law enacted by the legislature. The only limitation on the Territorial Legislature was the Organic Act.
Executive Branch
The executive branch consisted of the Governor of Oklahoma Territory,
a Territorial Secretary, and a Territorial District
Attorney or Attorney General. The Governor was vested with the executive
power, served as the symbol of the federal government in the territory, and was commander-in-chief of the territory’s militia and the federal troops in the territory. It was also
the duty of the Governor to outline the boundaries of the counties, name the county seats, and to appoint the county officers, as
provided under the Nebraska Code of the Organic Act. The Code would remain in force until the adjournment of the First
Territorial Legislature. The Secretary would serve as the assistant to the Governor and in the event of a vacancy of 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 law enforcement official of the
territory.
Judicial Branch
The Judiciary was the Territorial Supreme Court, consisting of three Justices: one Chief
Justice and two Associate Justices. The Supreme Court was given a wide
jurisdiction. It functioned, not only as a United States Federal Court, but
its jurisdiction extended to a trial of all cases (both civil law and
criminal law) arising under the code enacted by the Territorial Legislature. The Court
could sit half of the day as a Federal Court and the other half as Territorial Court. It would also serve as a supreme court and hear cases which had been appealed from Territory’s lower courts.
List of Governors
Lands that came to make up Oklahoma Territory
- Old Oklahoma – April, 22, 1889 – opened by land run.
- No Man's Land – May 2, 1890, assigned to Oklahoma Territory by Organic Act.
- Iowa reserve – September 22, 1891 – opened by land run.
- Sac and Fox reserve – September 22, 1891 – opened by land run.
- Tonkawa reserve – 1891 – allotment.
- Citizen Potawatomi and Absentee Shawnee reserve –
September 22, 1891 – opened by land run.
- Cheyenne Arapaho reserve – April 19, 1892 – opened by land
run.
- Cherokee Outlet – September 17, 1893 – opened by land run.
- Kickapoo reserve – May 4, 1896 – opened by land run.
- Greer County – March 16, 1896 – officially assigned to Oklahoma Territory
(Supreme Court decision May 23, 1895, separated the county from Texas).
- Commanche, Kiowa, and Apache reserve – June 9 through August 6, 1901 – lottery.
- Wichita and Caddo reserve – June 9 through August 6,
1901 – lottery.
- Ponca and Otoe–Misouria reserve – 1904 – allotment.
- Kaw reserve – 1906 – allotment.
- Osage reserve – 1906 – allotment.
- Big Pasture – December 1906 – sealed bid.
See also
External links
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