Colorado Territory

Coordinates: 38°59′50″N 105°32′52″W / 38.9972°N 105.5478°W / 38.9972; -105.5478 (Territory of Colorado (historical))
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the western film, see Colorado Territory (film). For the attempt to divide the State of California, see Territory of Colorado (California).
Territory of Colorado
the United States
1861–1876
of Colorado Territory
Coat of arms
Organized incorporated territory
History 
February 28 1861
August 1 1876
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Kansas Territory
Nebraska Territory
New Mexico Territory
Utah Territory
State of Colorado

The Territory of Colorado was an

organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861,[2] until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado.[3]

The territory was organized in the wake of the

Reconstruction. The Colorado Territory ceased to exist when the State of Colorado was admitted to the Union in 1876.[3]

East of the

homesteaders near their camps. By the end of the American Civil War in 1865, the Native American presence had been largely eliminated from the High Plains
.

History

Main article: History of Colorado
Historical population
YearPop.±%
186034,277—    
187039,864+16.3%
Source: 1860–1870;[4]

The land which ultimately became the Colorado Territory had first come under the jurisdiction of the United States in three stages: the 1803

Annexation of Texas, and the 1848 Mexican Cession. The land claims of Texas were, at first, controversial. The border between the U.S. and Mexico was redefined by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo at the end of the Mexican–American War in 1848, and the final boundaries of the state of Texas were established by the Congressional Compromise of 1850
.

Indigenous populations

Originally, the lands that comprised the Colorado Territory were inhabited primarily by the

Anasazi in southwestern, southern, and part of southeastern Colorado. The Comanche and Jicarilla Apache also formally ruled over the southeastern portions of the state. Arapaho and Cheyenne
also hunted, warred, and sometimes lived in the eastern and northeastern plains of the state as well.

Exploration by non-native peoples

The earliest explorers of European extraction to visit the area were

Silvestre Vélez de Escalante
explored southern Colorado in the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition.

Other notable explorations included the Pike Expedition of 1806–07 by Zebulon Pike, the journey along the north bank of the Platte River in 1820 by Stephen H. Long to what came to be called Longs Peak, the John C. Frémont expedition in 1845–46, and the Powell Geographic Expedition of 1869 by John Wesley Powell.

Early settlements, trade, and gold mining

In 1779, Governor

de Anza of New Mexico fought and defeated the Comanches under Cuerno Verde
on the Eastern Slope of Colorado, probably south of Pueblo. In 1786, de Anza made peace with the Comanches, creating an alliance against the Apaches.

A group of

California Gold Rush. They reported finding trace amounts of gold in the South Platte and its tributaries as they passed along the mountains. In the south, in the San Luis Valley
, early Mexican families established themselves in large land grants (later contested by the U.S.) from the Mexican government.

In the early 19th century, the upper

Forts in Colorado
.

In 1858,

Denver City" in honor of James W. Denver, the previous governor of the Kansas Territory
. Larimer did not intend to mine gold himself; he wanted to promote the new town and sell real estate to eager miners.

Larimer's plan to promote his new town worked almost immediately, and by the following spring the western Kansas Territory along the South Platte was swarming with miners digging in river bottoms in what became known as the

Golden City
at the base of the mountains west of Denver City, with the intention of supplying the increasing tide of miners with necessary goods.

Territorial aspirations

The movement to create a territory within the present boundaries of Colorado followed nearly immediately. Citizens of Denver City and Golden City pushed for territorial status of the newly settled region within a year of the founding of the towns. The movement was promoted by

Territory of Jefferson, and held elections, but the United States Congress
did not recognize the territory, and it never gained legal status.

Congressional grant of territorial status for the region was delayed by the slavery issue, and a deadlock between Democrats, who controlled the Senate, and the antislavery Republicans, who gained control of the House of Representatives in 1859. The deadlock was broken only by the Civil War. In early 1861, enough Democratic senators from seceding states resigned from the U.S. Senate to give control of both houses to the Republicans, clearing the way for admission of new territories. Three new territories were created in as many days: Colorado (February 28), Nevada (March 1), and Dakota (March 2).

Colorado Territory was officially organized by Act of Congress on February 28, 1861 (12 

Dred Scott Decision of 1857, but the question was rendered moot by the impending American Civil War and the majority pro-Union sentiment in the territory. The name "Colorado" was chosen for the territory. It had been previously suggested in 1850 by Senator Henry S. Foote
as a name for a state to have been created out of present-day California south of 35° 45'.

Civil War years

During the

John M. Chivington, defeated Sibley's force at the two day Battle of Glorieta Pass
along the Santa Fe Trail, thwarting the Confederate strategy.

Colorado War between the U.S. and the Indians of Cheyenne and Arapaho

Main article: Colorado War

In 1851, by the

homesteaders encroaching westward into Indian terrain, relations between U.S. and the Native American people deteriorated. On February 18, 1861, in the Treaty of Fort Wise, several chiefs of Cheyenne and Arapaho supposedly agreed with U.S. representatives to cede most of the lands, ten years earlier designated to their tribes, for white settlement, keeping only a fragment of the original reserve, located between Arkansas River and Sand Creek
. This new fragment was assigned in severalty to the individual members of the respective tribes with each member receiving 40 acres (160,000 m2) of land. The United States, by the Fort Wise Treaty, wished to have the Indians settle the new reservation as farmers. The U.S. agreed to pay the tribes a combined total of $30,000 per year for 15 years and in addition to provide a lumber mill, one or more mechanic shops, dwelling houses for an interpreter, and a miller engineer. See Article 5 of the Fort Wise Treaty.

A good part of their co-nationals repudiated the treaty, declared the chiefs not empowered to sign, or bribed to sign, ignored the agreement, and became even more belligerent over the 'whites' encroaching on their hunting grounds. Tensions mounted when Colorado territorial governor

United States Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War in March and April 1865. After the hearings, the Congress Joint Committee in their report on May 4, 1865, described the actions of Colonel John Chivington
and his Volunteers as "foul, dastardly, brutal, cowardly" and:

It is difficult to believe that beings in the form of men, and disgracing the uniform of United States soldiers and officers, could commit or countenance the commission of such acts of cruelty and barbarity as are detailed in the testimony, but which your committee will not specify in their report.

Nevertheless, justice was never served on those responsible for the massacre; and nonetheless, the continuation of this Colorado War led to expulsion of the last Arapaho, Cheyenne, Kiowa and Comanche from the Colorado Territory into Oklahoma.

The movement for statehood

Following the end of the American Civil War, a movement was made for statehood; the United States Congress passed the Admission Act for the territory in late 1865, but it was vetoed by President Andrew Johnson. For the next eleven years, the movement for territorial admission was stalled, with several close calls. President Grant advocated statehood for the territory in 1870, but Congress did not act.

In the meantime, the territory found itself threatened by lack of

Denver Pacific Railroad northward to Cheyenne to bring the rail network to Denver. The Kansas Pacific Railway
was completed to Denver two months later. The move cemented the role of Denver as the future regional metropolis. The territory was finally admitted to the Union in 1876.

Territorial capitals

Three Colorado cities served as the capital of the Territory of Colorado:

  1. Denver City
    : from creation on February 28, 1861, until July 7, 1862.
  2. Colorado City
    : July 7 until August 14, 1862.
  3. Golden City
    : August 14, 1862 until December 9, 1867.
  4. Denver:[a]
    December 9, 1867 until statehood on August 1, 1876.

Governmental buildings

For much if not all of its existence, the Colorado Territorial government did not actually own its houses of government, instead renting available buildings for governmental purposes. Today, two buildings which served the Territorial government remain: the historic log building in Colorado City, and the

Loveland Block
in downtown Golden City (which had housed the complete legislature, Territorial Library and possibly Supreme Court from 1866 to 1867, with library remaining to 1868). Others which served include the original Loveland Building (1859–1933, 1107 Washington Avenue in Golden, housing the Territorial House from 1862 to 1866); the Overland Hotel (1859–1910, 1117 Washington Avenue in Golden, housing the Territorial Council from 1862 to 1866); and the Territorial Executive Building (unknown dates, approximately 14th and Arapahoe Streets in Golden, housing the executive branch of the government from 1866 to 1867).

See also

Notes

  1. ^
    City of Denver on February 13, 1866.[1]

References

  1. ISBN 0-918654-42-4
    .
  2. ^ a b c Thirty-sixth United States Congress (February 28, 1861). "An Act To provide a temporary Government for the Territory of Colorado" (PDF). Library of Congress. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Ulysses S. Grant (August 1, 1876). "Proclamation 230—Admission of Colorado into the Union". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  4. ^ Forstall, Richard L. (ed.). Population of the States and Counties of the United States: 1790–1990 (PDF) (Report). United States Census Bureau. p. 3. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  5. ^ "United States Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, 1865 (testimonies and report)". University of Michigan Digital Library Production Service. Retrieved 2008-03-19.

External links


38°59′50″N 105°32′52″W / 38.9972°N 105.5478°W / 38.9972; -105.5478 (Territory of Colorado (historical))

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