Omaha World Herald wrote:Nebraska celebrates 140 years of statehood Thursday. For many who had helped to settle this raw stretch of prairie, it was a dream come true. For the few who were deeply involved in the politics of statehood, it may have seemed more like the end of a seven-year nightmare...
Both parties claimed to support statehood, and in early 1860 the Territorial Legislature sent the question of a constitutional convention to voters for approval. There was little debate leading up to the vote, but people in Douglas and Sarpy Counties worried that statehood might give new momentum to those who wanted to move the Capitol away from Omaha. Whatever their reasons, Nebraskans were apparently not yet ready to join the Union, and the call for a constitutional convention went down to defeat.
In April 1864, Congress passed an act enabling Nebraska voters to decide the statehood question. This time the cost of a state government and the specter of taxes fueled public debate, along with fear of forced military service. "If we have a state, we'll have a draft," went the refrain. Voters rejected the idea a second time.
Gov. Alvin Saunders and Republican leaders came up with a new approach. They assembled a small group of volunteers and drafted a constitution in secret, then pushed it through both houses of the Territorial Legislature without making copies available to legislators. The new constitution was not referred to any committee in the House, and no amendments were allowed.
Nebraska turns 140
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Nebraska turns 140
Everyday History: Secret meetings gave birth to statehood
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