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Native Americans return to Plains
This is important because Natives were the foundation for our country. -
French Trader uses Oto word "Nebraskier"
Inspiration for our state's name. -
Louisiana Purchase
Added the area where Nebraska is to the United States. We got the land for a great price too! Take that GBR -
Oregon Trail
Mass migration west. Lots of land to be grabbed after the Louisiana Purchase -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Area became available for settlement -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act of 1862 gave 160 acres of public land to any head of household who lived on the land five years. -
Trial of Standing Bear
"Standing Bear vs. Crook" will be a small first step by Indians to achieve limited justice under the U.S. Constitution. -
Dawes Act
It was designed to encourage the breakup of the tribes and promote the assimilation of Indians into American Society -
Women granted limited voting rights
Nebraska was one of the last states west of the Mississippi River to grant women the right to vote -
Native Americans granted citizenship
We become citizens at birth. But it was not until well into the 20th Century that a large group of native-born people were given citizenship. -
Beef goes "modern"
By 1925, beef production had been greatly reformed. Enforcement of new laws reduced ranchers’ illegal use of public land. Stockyards and packing houses began to follow health guidelines and had somewhat improved working conditions for their workers. -
Tri-County Project
The Nebraska Legislature created the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District on July 1, 1933. The Central District, commonly known at the time as the “Tri-County Project,” intended to build an irrigation project that would bring water to south-central Nebraska. Three years later, after obtaining approval from the federal government and the necessary funds, Central began to construct Kingsley Dam and Lake McConaughy to store water for the huge project. -
SAC "takes off"
In order to protect itself and its allies from the Red Menace, the United States created the Strategic Air Command (or SAC) in 1946. The Command was responsible for a network of military bases and all of the atomic weapons of the United States. Two years later, Nebraska became a major player in the Cold War with the selection of Offutt Air Force Base (just south of Omaha) as the world headquarters for SAC. -
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Farm Crisis
1970s and 80s, a combination of factors resulted in a period when farmers across the Midwest could no longer stay in business, and that produced profound changes in the social landscape of the region. -
Corporate Farm ban passes
In the election of 1982, the corporate farm debate was heated, in part because local farmers were in a bidding war for ag land with large corporations like the Omaha National Bank, Prudential Insurance and others. Farmers have traditionally been the largest group of land buyers, and some were finding themselves unable to compete with the corporations. In the end, Initiative 300 passed and became part of the Nebraska Constitution. It was passed 290,377 to 234,555. -
Nebraska beef "goes global"
Nebraska entered the 21st century with impressive statistics. As of 2006, Nebraska had the top three beef cow counties in the U.S., including the nation’s No. 1 cow county — Cherry County, with nearly 165,000 cows. Holt County was No. 2 (101,000) and Custer County was No. 3 (93,000). Also among the top counties in the nation was Lincoln County at No. 15 (69,000).