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After millions of years of moving from one place on the globe to another, after millions of years covered by a shallow inland sea, and after millions of years covered with tropical jungles and savannas, what would become the northern Great Plains was plowed under by a series of huge sheets of ice that pushed down from the North Pole and then receded. The glaciers were pushed across the northern plains by the weight ... Read more
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Cattle are so much a part of Nebraska life today that it may seem strange to think of a time when there were none in our area.
We think "west" when we think about beef in America, but its story is really about going north. Cattle are not native to the American continents. The Spanish brought them to the Americas in the 16th Century.
In Mexico, strays from Spanish herds, especially ... Read more
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One horrible by-product of war is that crimes against humanity sometimes occur away from the battlefields. A very sad example was the creation of concentration camps by Adolph Hitler’s National Socialist political party. Racist, nationalistic, imperialistic, anti-communist, and militaristic, the "Nazis" claimed that Jewish people were members of an "inferior race".
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Imagine that you could be transported in a time machine to Nebraska 12 million years ago. You would walk out of your time machine into a very different world than the one you’re used to.
For one thing, you would be the only human being in the landscape. Humans had not yet evolved, and so animals dominated a landscape covered with sub-tropical grasses and patches of jungle.
The area that became Nebraska ... Read more
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In late 1950, Nebraska Governor Val Peterson told the press that he had compiled a list of suspected subversives, who were to be rounded up in the event of a national emergency. Peterson’s list supposedly named many suspected communists in Nebraska, but he told the State Defense Council, only one had a job working for the state. The Governor said it was his duty to defend the state.
Critics of Peterson’s action said the list had little practical significance and may ... Read more
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Notable Nebraskan, George William Norris was born near Clyde, Ohio, on July 11, 1861. Norris’ father died when he was four years old — only months after George’s older brother had died in the Civil War. Norris was the 11th child of a very poor family of farmers. George’s mother, Mary, encouraged him to continue his education to help him ... Read more
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Nebraska entered the 21st century with impressive statistics. As of 2006, Nebraska had the top three beef cattle counties in the U.S., including the nation’s No. 1 cattle county — Cherry County, with nearly 165,000 cattle. Holt County was No. 2 (101,000) and Custer County was No. 3 (93,000). Also among the top counties in the ... Read more
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In the east, there was history of Indian wars. Because of this, some white Americans new to the Louisiana Purchase area thought they needed protection from Native Americans. There were only some minor conflicts, but people still worried.
So in 1820, Fort Atkinson became the westernmost U.S. military post. The fort provided the only government authority in the huge territory west of the Missouri. It was built on the same Missouri River ...
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By the 1980s, the situation in agriculture was worse. At least a third of Nebraska farmers were in danger of loosing their farms. Banks were foreclosing on loans to farmers, and auctions were increasing, selling off ... Read more
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Congressman Henry Dawes of Massachusetts sponsored a historic piece of legislation, the General Allotment Act (The Dawes Severalty Act) in 1887. Its purpose was to encourage the breakup of the tribes and for Indians to blend in with American society. It would be the major Indian policy until the 1930s. Dawes’ goal was to create independent farmers out of Indians — give them land and the tools for citizenship.
While Senator ... Read more
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Notable Nebraskan, Mildred Brown was born in Bessemer, Alabama in 1915 to a prominent black family. Her father was a respected minister. Later, Mildred would become a well-known and admired civil rights activist and leader of the African American community in Omaha.
At the age of only 16 in 1931, Mildred graduated from Miles Memorial Teachers College in Birmingham, Alabama. She became an English teacher. After marrying S. Edward Gilbert ... Read more
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The Selective Training and Service Act — the draft — became law on September 16, 1940. Men between the ages of 24 and 35 first signed up on October 16, 1940. One hundred and thirty-five boards were organized across the state of Nebraska to decide how to select men to serve in the military. The first national lottery to determine which men would be drafted into the military and ... Read more
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"The most important thing on your mind was trying to stay alive."
—Bill Gilgren, Dalton, NE
Third Infantry Division in Europe
"It’s just kind of hard to describe really. You are scared, jumpy, and you prayed. You knew when there was a [kamikaze] raid and the planes were coming in, that somebody was going to get hit because it was just a one-way trip for the pilot."
—John Zimola, Wahoo, NE
Fire Controlman First Class,USS Louisville
What is it like to be under enemy fire or ... Read more
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9000 to 7000 Years Ago: Nebraska’s First People
The objects from this site were made by some of Nebraska’s first known people: the Paleo-Indian people.
The site is located in southern Nebraska’s Frontier County. Learn more about them in the Activities and Resources.
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"I used to think in my head, just before I dropped (a bomb), if I wait two more seconds, who is it going to affect? Whose lives? This is what you think about."
—Edward Sellz, Omaha, NE
Truman gravely made the decision to drop the atomic bomb in Japan, first on Hiroshima on August 6th, and then on Nagasaki on August 9th, 1945. Those are the only two events of an atom bomb being used in times of war. In an instant, ... Read more
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In the first Nebraska territorial census of 1854, there were only four slaves listed. In 1855, Sally Bayne arrived in Omaha and is counted as the first free African American to settle in the Nebraska Territory. Before that, both slaves and free blacks had traveled through on the Oregon Trail and settled on the west coast. Gradually, along with ... Read more
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"It was something different to see minority people. . . . their presence was a little uncomfortable for some residents in the community."
—Elaine Hatten, Hastings, NE
Rick Wallace interviews Willie Trip about his experiences at the Hastings Naval Ammunition Depot during World War II. An NET Television’s THE WAR: NEBRASKA STORIES interstitial,excerpted from NET Television’s series, Next Exit. Courtesy 2007 NET Foundation for Television
Racism was a serious problem in World War II. The defense factories needed more workers than small towns ... Read more
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There was a shortage of housing in Hastings because of the number of people who were moving there for jobs. In November, 1942, the construction company brought in about 100 Chippewa and Sioux Indians to work at the construction site.
Hidden racism in Hastings caused residents to assume that different racial groups needed separate housing. Even the local newspaper printed insults about the Sioux workers. As a result, a group of Sioux lived at the plant in tents.
Reba ... Read more
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"The turn of the century." For many people, moving from one century to the next seems like a new beginning. In reality, the idea of a "century" is just numbers on a calendar or on a clock. (One should remember that there have been and still are different systems for telling time and counting the years.) In our western European civilization, however, a new century is ... Read more
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Producing beef takes longer than you might think. The production cycle, from the time a cattle breeder chooses his or her breeding stock to the delivery of beef to the consumer, spans nearly two years. Breeders, ranchers, feeders, processors, and distributors work within this cycle to keep grocery stores and restaurants well supplied to meet the needs of their customers.
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