BEGINNING OF THE TERRITORY

 

I. Determining a need for government

                a. Dakota Territory did not want their "Laramie County," Dakota Territory

                b. population "centers" in Dakota were farmers while in "Laramie County," there were only miners, soldiers, Indians (South Pass City, the forts, native people) and coming groups of railroaders

                c. Dakota Territory saw no common interests so wanted "Laramie County" turned into a separate territory

II. Building the tracks through the area

a.  railroad workers enter the area

b. Grenville Dodge lays out Cheyenne, July 1867

c. building the Dale Creek trestle

d. locating Laramie--April, 1868

e. "hell-on-wheels" towns--Benton, Bear River City and others

f. Legh Freeman's "Frontier Index" newspaper--the second in the area

III. The rules for establishing a territory

                a. the Northwest Ordinance gave directions on how many people were required for a territory to become a state

                b. the laws gave Congress and the Executive Branch power over territories

                c. because the Union Pacific had huge land grants, it had equally significant political influence

IV. Naming the territory: origins of "Wyoming"

                a. other names proposed included "Cheyenne," "Arapaho," "Shoshone," "Lincoln," "Sweetwater"

                b. Cong. James Ashley of Ohio suggested "Wyoming," meaning in Delaware Indian language "on the broad plain"

V. Appointments of government officers

                a. territorial officers generally were political friends of the president

                b. because President Andrew Johnson was undergoing impeachment at the time, Wyoming officials were not confirmed

                c..in 1868, Grant was elected President and the following March, took office

                d. he appointed Wyoming officials:  John A. Campbell, governor; Edward M. Lee, secretary

                e. Campbell's arrival and designating the "temporary capital"

                f. setting up the structures of legislature and courts

VI. The first territorial legislature

                a. William Bright, South Pass City legislator, and wife Julia

                b. visiting suffragists

VII. The Suffrage Bill

                a. the Suffrage Bill passed by First Territorial Legislature and signed by Gov. Campbell

                b. reasons Wyoming was first territory to give women equal rights

                c. bill NOT written by Esther Hobart Morris

                d. Morris' true role in suffrage debates

VIII. The Suffrage Bill in Retrospect: The Lingering Significance of Passage

IX.  Flaws of Territorial Status

                a. "outsiders" appointed to key positions

                b. little self-governance

                c. substantial federal government control over local affairs

X. The appointees

                a. the "newcomers": Campbell, Thayer, Hoyt, Hale, Morgan, Moonlight

                b. the "locals": Warren, Baxter, Warren (again)

                c. the delegates to Congress

                d. the rise of Joseph M. Carey

XI. Politics and the Mines and Railroads

                a. the influence of the Union Pacific on territorial laws and the economy

                b. the Rock Springs massacre and territorial politics

XII. Politics and the Livestock Industry

                a. illegal fencing of government land

                b. protecting the interests of the stockgrowers

 

Pres. Andrew Johnson                 Grenville Dodge                                          William & Julia Bright       

Cong. John Ashley                       Dale Creek trestle                                        South Pass City                   

"on the big plain"                          survey parties, tie hacks, tracklayers     "tea party story"         

Northwest Ordinance (1787)       "hell-on-wheels" towns                              Esther Hobart Morris      

Pres. U. S. Grant                            John A. Campbell                                        Dr. Grace Raymond Hebard

patronage appointments                Edward M. Lee                                          1st  women on a jury

Legh Freeman                                   suffrage bill (Dec. 10, 1869)                    1st woman to vote (Louisa Swain, Laramie)

Frontier Index                                 W. A. J. Sparks                                            Hayes-Tilden election (1876)   

John Hoyt                                          illegal fencing of government lands                                   

Francis E. Warren                           Wyoming Stockgrowers Association    

Joseph M. Carey                             Union Pacific Coal Company