First Nebraska Territorial Legislature

The first legislature, along with several subsequent gatherings, drew criticism for a perceived lack of representation of the population south of the Platte River.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20010121161100/http://nebraskahistory.org/sites/kennard/stathood.htm "More about Nebraska statehood, the location of the capital, and the story of the commissioner's homes"]}}, Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 12/14/08. Legislators from south of the Platte wore red blankets over their shoulders in the first session to indicate their hostility towards the northern legislators.Lawrence H. Larsen, Barbara J. Cottrell, Harl A. Dalstrom (2007) Upstream Metropolis: An Urban Biography of Omaha and Council Bluffs. University of Nebraska Press. p 47.

Although the then current Omaha capitol building, built in 1857-58, was apparently sturdy enough to house legislative sessions for several years and was well located in relation to Nebraska's 1867 population, it was still north of the Platte. Forces from the south launched a major verbal and legal initiative to move the seat of government to their part of the state.Lawrence H. Larsen, Barbara J. Cottrell, Harl A. Dalstrom (2007) Upstream Metropolis: An Urban Biography of Omaha and Council Bluffs. University of Nebraska Press. p 47. The first Legislature was also responsible for chartering Nebraska University in Washington County.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20061115223911/http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/timeline/nebraska_university.htm "Nebraska University"]}}, Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 12/14/08. Slavery in Nebraska was a topic of the first legislature, where members were largely influenced by events in neighboring Kansas. The first legislature considered an exclusion measure designed to keep former slaves from the territory. After the bill was postponed the issue continued to be raised, ultimately delaying statehood.Eugene H. Berwanger. (2002) The Frontier Against Slavery: Western Anti-Negro Prejudice and the Slavery Extension Controversy. University of Illinois Press, 2002. p. 120.

Few of the members had actually spent more than a night in the districts they represented, and most ferried to Council Bluffs, Iowa, at the end of each day for rest. The new territorial governor, Mark W. Izard, was successful at persuading members to adopt Iowa's legislative rules.Lawrence H. Larsen, Barbara J. Cottrell, Harl A. Dalstrom (2007) Upstream Metropolis: An Urban Biography of Omaha and Council Bluffs. University of Nebraska Press. p 47. Omaha members bribed other legislators to keep the capitol in Omaha by offering them lots in their new city. This land, which now wraps around the north and west ends of Downtown Omaha, was called Scriptown.Andreas, A.T. (1882) "Douglas County", History of the State of Nebraska. Chicago, IL: Western Historical Company. p. 841.

Although not a member, Reverend William D. Gage, a Methodist minister, served as the chaplain, and later the legislature returned the favor by naming Gage County after him.[http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nesgs/Ancestree/vol04/v04no04b.htm "Early Nebraska sermons"], Nebraska State Genealogical Society. Retrieved 12/14/08. Joseph W. Paddock, who had immigrated to the territory from New York in 1854, served as the chief clerk."Paddock, Major Joseph W." in Albert Watkins, History of Nebraska: From the Earliest Explorations to the Present Time with Portraits, Maps, and Tables, Vol. III (Lincoln: Western Publishing and Engraving Company, 1913), 506.

• Pioneer history of Omaha

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Category:1855 in Nebraska Territory

Category:1855 in American politics