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Part II
Chapter I
Iowa History
... Iowa Territory. In 1838,
that part of the territory of Wisconsin lying west of the
Mississippi was organized as the territory of Iowa, and Robert
Lucas, of Ohio, was appointed governor. Under his direction, the
first census was taken, members of the legislature were chosen, and
civil government in Iowa was begun. The act of congress that
provided for the organization of this territory gave the governor
full power to veto any and all acts of the legislature.
Constitutional
Convention.
In 1840, and again in 1842, attempts were made to call a convention
to draft a state constitution, but without success. In 1844, however
a convention called for this purpose, met in Iowa City, and drafted
a constitution, which prescribed boundaries differing very much from
the present boundaries of Iowa. Within these limits was included a
large part of what is now Minnesota, as well as all of Iowa, except
a small portion of the northwestern part of the state, embracing the
counties of Lyon Osceola and Sioux, and parts of three or four
adjoining counties.
Iowa a State.
These boundaries proved to be unsatisfactory to Congress, and new
ones were proposed by that body. The meridian of 17° 30´ west from
Washington was to be the western boundary, and the northern boundary
was changed so as to limit the state in that direction also. In
April, 1845, this constitution, owing to the dissatisfaction with
regard to the boundaries, was rejected by the people. After another
unsuccessful attempt in the following year, a constitution with the
present boundaries, which had been proposed by Congress, was adopted
August 3, 1846, and December 28, of the same year, Iowa, the
twenty-ninth state, was admitted into the Union.
Early Settlers.
Reference has already been made to the early settlements in Iowa.
The permanent settlement of the state did not begin until after the
close of the Black Hawk War, in 1832. In June of the next year,
people from Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan pushed across the
Mississippi and staked out claims at Fort Madison, Burlington,
Davenport and several other places along the river.
A noted author, in
speaking of these settlers, says: “The pioneers of Iowa as a class
were brave, hardly, intelligent and enterprising people. Among those
who have pioneered the civilization of the West, and been founders
of great states, none have ranked higher in the scale of
intelligence and moral worth than the pioneers of Iowa who came to
the territory when it was still an Indian country, and through
hardship, privation and suffering, laid the foundations of this
great and prosperous commonwealth, which today dispenses her
blessings to more than a million and a half of people. In all the
professions, arts, industries and enterprises which go to make up a
great and prosperous people, Iowa has taken and holds a front rank
among her sister states of the West.”
Indian Claims.
The territory obtained from the Indians by the Black Hawk Purchase
extended along the Mississippi from the northern boundary of
Missouri to the mouth of the Upper Iowa River. The strip averaged
about 50 miles in width, and contained nearly 6,000,000 acres, or
about one-sixth of the present area of Iowa.
Half-Breed Tract.
In a former treaty with the Sac and Fox Indians, a valuable tract of
land, containing nearly 113,000 acres, was reserved for the
half-breeds of these tribes. This land was situated in what was
afterwards the southern part of Lee county. The covetous eyes of
land speculators were soon turned towards this reservation, and
companies were formed for the purpose of purchasing the rights of
the half-breeds to the soil. As might have been expected,
conflicting claims arose, and several years were spent in
litigation. At last, the supreme court appointed commissioners to
settle the vexing question. These men divided the tract into 101
shares, and the titles granted by them were afterwards declared
valid by the courts.
In 1842, the government made another
treaty with the Sacs and Foxes, and by its terms gained possession
of the land till the remainder of the lands belonging to those
tribes in Iowa. The Indians were to retain possession of the land
till the first of May, 1843. This region had been thoroughly
explored by the whites, but the United States authorities had
prevented any settlements from being made. As the time for the
opening of the land to settlers drew near, hundreds of families
encamped along the line, and by sundown of the first of May, over
1,000 families had settled in this new territory. These settlers
were simply squatters, for the lands occupied by them had never been
surveyed, and still belonged to the general government.
Land Sale.
Under the laws of the United States then in force, all lands subject
to settlement were to be offered at public sale and sold to the
highest responsible bidder. If the land could not be sold for want
of bidders, actual settlers acquired the right to enter it at the
minimum price of $1.25 per acre. When Iowa was admitted into the
Union, there were 27 organized counties, but immigration had been so
rapid that many of the 100,000 settlers had founded homes for
themselves, even before the lands were surveyed or the counties
organized.
Capitals.
The first session of the legislature of the territory of Iowa
convened at Burlington, in 1839. Nearly all of its meetings were
held in the M. E. church of that place. In the early part of the
session three commissioners were appointed to select a site for a
permanent seat of government within the limits of Johnson county.
The commissioners selected a section of land, caused it to be
surveyed into town lots, and in accordance with an act of the
legislature, named the place Iowa City. Work on the public buildings
was begun at once, and on July 4, 1840, Governor Lucas reported to
the legislature that the foundation of the capitol was nearly
completed.
At the first
session of the state legislature, it was decided that Iowa City was
too near the eastern boundary of the state for a permanent seat of
government. It was accordingly determined to re-locate the capital
at some point nearer the geographic center of the state. The
commissioners appointed to select the new site chose five sections
of land in the southwestern part of Jasper county, and called the
town which they laid out Monroe City. The public buildings at Iowa
City were to be given to the State University, which had been
established the year before.
But Monroe City did not thrive, and
the legislature continued to meet at Iowa City. In 1855, an act was
passes removing the capital to Des Moines, and, three years later,
the legislature began its work at that place. In a few years the
capitol building was found to be inadequate to the appropriated for
a new building. Other appropriations amounting to more than
$2,5000,000 have since been made, and the new capitol is a
magnificent building and the pride of the people of the entire
state. |
