Nebraska Territory - Definition and Overview

Nebraska Territory was a historic, organized territory of the United States from May 30, 1854 until March 1, 1867 when Nebraska became the 37th U.S. state. It was established by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.

The original land allocated to the Nebraksa territory included everything that was left of the original Louisiana Purchase which was north of the current Kansas-Nebraska border. Some land east of the Missouri River was removed by Congress in 1859, and left unorganized until it was eventually attached to Iowa. Colorado Territory took a portion of Nebraska Territory in 1861; that land later became part of Wyoming. Dakota Territory took everything north of the 43rd parallel; Idaho Territory was given everything west of the 127th meridian.

The territorial capital was Omaha.

See also

• Historic regions of the United States

External link

• "Nebraska as a Territory," History of the State of Nebraska, Chicago: A. T. Andreas, 1882 (http://www.kancoll.org/books/andreas_ne/territory/territory-p2.html)