Transcript The Jerome Commission - Guthrie Public Schools / Overview

Learning Goals
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The students will have an
understanding the Cherokee Outlet
and Kickapoo openings.
The Jerome Commission
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The opening of the Unassigned Lands was just the beginning
for Oklahoma Territory. The non-Indian public hoped that all
the Indian reservations would be opened for settlement and
the government did its best to oblige.
In July 1889 President Benjamin Harrison appointed the
Jerome Commission also known as the Cherokee Commission
to negotiate with tribes in the western territory.
Each man, woman, and child on the tribal rolls was to receive
160 acres of land. The remainder of the tribal lands would be
purchased by the US Government and opened to settlement
by non-Indians
The Second Opening
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On September 22, 1891 in a run similar to
the one conducted on the Unassigned lands,
900,000 acres of Sac and Fox,
Pottawatomie, Iowa, and Shawnee lands
were opened.
Twenty thousand people competed for 5600
claims.
The area became Lincoln and Pottawatomie
Counties.
Opening the Cherokee
Outlet
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Since the first opening of Indian lands to nonIndian settlement the lands many people had been
waiting for were in the Cherokee Outlet.
The Cherokee Strip Livestock Association had
worked long and hard to prevent the opening and
to retain its lease of those lands.
However, in 1890 the President declared their lease
invalid and ordered them to remove their livestock
from the area.
The Jerome Commission made an agreement with
the Cherokee Nation after long months of
deliberation and the Outlet was opened for
settlement on September 16,1893
Prettyman’s Photograph
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The Cherokee Outlet opening also included
lands which had belonged to the Tonkawa's
and Pawnees. It was perhaps the most
famous of all openings thanks the William S.
Prettyman a frontier photographer from
Kansas.
With his experience at the first opening
Prettyman devised a scheme whereby he
might produce the best possible picture of
the beginning of the land run.
The Race
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The Cherokee Outlet opening was operated somewhat
differently from the other openings. The Racers were required
to register before the race, and anyone who later filed a claim
was required to show his registration paper.
No claim could be filed without it. It was hoped that this
would impair the Sooners from claiming so much land.
In fact there were probably more Sooners participating in this
run than in any previous. They simply registered before they
entered the area.
Pawnee, Kay, Grant, Garfield, Noble, Woodward, and Woods
counties were created by the opening of the Cherokee Outlet.
Opening the Kickapoo
Reservation
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The last area to be opened by run was
the Kickapoo Reservation. The
Kickapoo land area was small.
Opened in 1895 the land area was
attached to existing counties.
Greer County
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Greer County had been in dispute with Texas for
several years. The Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819 had
declared the Red River the boundary between the
two areas, but at the western corner of the area
the North Fork of the Red River separated a
triangular section of land totaling 1,500,00 acres.
Texas claimed that the North Fork was the dividing
line and moved into the area.
The Oklahoma Organic Act of 1890 ordered a
lawsuit to determine the actual boundary. On May
4, 1896 an act of Congress declared Greer County
to be part of Oklahoma Territory
Ethnic Groups
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People of other ethnic origins often settled in groups,
according to race, religion, or occupation.
Many Germans made their homes in El Reno, Enid, Muskogee,
and Leedy.
Ukrainian settlement was in Hartshorne
Czechs settled in Bison and Prague
One religious group whose members did cluster together were
the Mennonites. There were Mennonite settlements in Gotebo,
Bessie, Corn, Geary, Canton, Fairview, Meno, Enid, Medford,
Perry, Hooker, and Turpin.
African Americans made up the largest ethnic group in
Oklahoma Territory and there were several all African
American towns. A few were Langston, Lima, bailey,
Ferguson, Tatums, and Lincoln City.
Oklahoma’s
AfricanAmerican
Communities
African Americans
created around 30
towns and
settlements in
Oklahoma.
.
Some of the
towns died,
but 13
are still here.
Towns like:
Boley, Brooksville,
Clearview, Grayson,
Langston, Lima,
Redbird, Summit,
Taft, Tatums,
Tullahassee, and Vernon.
Entrepreneurs
(business owners)
in these communities
started newspapers,
banks, and grocery
stores.
Edward P. McCabe,
from Kansas,
helped build the
town of Langston.
He encouraged
more African
Americans
to settle there.
Today, although
only 13 towns
still survive,
we remember
the pioneering
spirit of those
communities.
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Chapter 15 Quiz
1.) What commission was put together to
negotiate with the Western Tribes about
opening up Indian Reservations for settlement
a.) Reservation Commission
b.) Settlement Commission
c.) Jerome Commisssion
2.) How much land was each man, women and
child going to get if they opened up their land
for settlement?
a.) 160 acres
b.) 80 acres
c.) 40 Acres
3.) What counties were formed as a result of the
2nd Land Opening?
a.) Payne and Logan Counties
b.) Lincoln and Pottawatomie Counties
c.) Oklahoma and Logan Counties
4.) Which lands were the most coveted for
opening?
a.) Cherokee Strip
b.) No Man’s Land
c.) The lands along the Red River
5.) Why were Racers required to register before
the Cherokee Outlet opening and not after as in
previous land openings?
a.) They were trying to reduce the amount of
people who entered the race
b.) They were trying to reduce the amount of
Sooners in the race
c.) They were trying to increase the amount of
people who entered the race.
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6.) Name two of the seven counties that were
opened during the Cherokee Outlet opening.
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7.) What was the last area to be opened up by
landrun?
a.) The Kickapoo Reservation
b.) The Cherokee Strip
c.) No Man’s Land
8.) Although there were several different ethnic
groups that got land in the openings, which was
the largest ethnic group in Oklahoma territory at
this time?
a.) Germans
b.) Irish
c.) African Americans
9.) Who became the first territorial governor of
Oklahoma?
a.) George Washington Steele
b.) Stand Watie
c.) Charles Haskell
10.) What system was set up to give away the
rest of the land after the government stopped
using the land rushes system?
a.) Purchasing the land from the government
b.) Lottery system
c.) No further land was given away after the land
rush system was abolished
Chapter 15 Quiz
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1.) What commission was put together to
negotiate with the Western Tribes about
opening up Indian Reservations for
settlement
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2.) How much land was each man,
women and child going to get if they
opened up their land for settlement?
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3.) What counties were formed as a result
of the 2nd Land Opening?
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4.) Which lands were the most coveted
for opening?
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5.) Why were Racers required to register
before the Cherokee Outlet opening and
not after as in previous land openings?
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6.) Name two of the seven counties that
were opened during the Cherokee Outlet
opening.
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7.) What was the last area to be opened
up by landrun?
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8.) Although there were several different
ethnic groups that got land in the
openings, which was the largest ethnic
group in Oklahoma territory at this time?
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9.) Who became the first territorial
governor of Oklahoma?
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10.) What system was set up to give away
the rest of the land after the government
stopped using the land rushes system?