Nebraska: Difference between revisions

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| LargestCounty = [[Douglas County, Nebraska|Douglas]]
| LargestCounty = [[Douglas County, Nebraska|Douglas]]
| LargestMetro = [[Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area|Omaha–Council Bluffs]]
| LargestMetro = [[Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area|Omaha–Council Bluffs]]
| Governor = {{nowrap|[[Jim Pillen]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])}}
| Governor = {{nowrap|[[Jim Pillen]] (R)}}
| Lieutenant Governor = {{nowrap|[[Joe Kelly (attorney)|Joe Kelly]] (R)}}
| Lieutenant Governor = {{nowrap|[[Joe Kelly (attorney)|Joe Kelly]] (R)}}
| Legislature = [[Nebraska Legislature]]
| Legislature = [[Nebraska Legislature]]
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'''<big>Late 19th century</big>'''
'''<big>Late 19th century</big>'''


In the 1860s, after the U.S. government forced many of the [[Tribe (Native American)|American Indian tribes]] to cede their lands and settle on [[Indian reservation|reservations]], it opened large tracts of land to agricultural development by [[European emigration|European immigrants]] and [[American pioneer|American settlers]]. Under the [[Homestead Act]], thousands of settlers migrated into Nebraska to claim free land granted by the federal government. Because so few trees grew on the [[prairies]], many of the first farming settlers built their [[Sod house|homes of sod]], as had Native Americans such as the Omaha. The first wave of settlement gave the territory a sufficient population to apply for statehood.<ref>Marsha Hoffman and Dwight A. Radford, "Nebraska", ''Redbook: American State, County, and Town Sources'', 3rd ed. (Provo: Ancestry, 2004), 408.</ref> Nebraska became the 37th state on March 1, 1867, and the capital was moved from Omaha to the center at Lancaster, later renamed [[Lincoln, Nebraska|Lincoln]] after the recently assassinated President of the United States, [[Abraham Lincoln]]. The battle of [[Massacre Canyon]], on August 5, 1873, was the last major battle between the [[Pawnee people|Pawnee]] and the [[Sioux]].<ref>''The Nebraska Indian Wars Reader, 1865–1877'' By R. Eli Paul p. 88 Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (April 1, 1998) {{ISBN|0-8032-8749-6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. Senate: States in the Senate {{!}} Nebraska Timeline |url=https://www.senate.gov/states/NE/timeline.htm#:~:text=Nebraska%20was%20admitted%20to%20the,to%20establish%20statehood%20for%20Nebraska. |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.senate.gov |archive-date=May 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525044158/https://www.senate.gov/states/NE/timeline.htm#:~:text=Nebraska%20was%20admitted%20to%20the,to%20establish%20statehood%20for%20Nebraska. |url-status=live }}</ref>
In the 1860s, after the U.S. government forced many of the [[Tribe (Native American)|American Indian tribes]] to cede their lands and settle on [[Indian reservation|reservations]], it opened large tracts of land to agricultural development by [[European emigration|European immigrants]] and [[American pioneer|American settlers]]. Under the [[Homestead Act]], thousands of settlers migrated into Nebraska to claim free land granted by the federal government. Because so few trees grew on the [[prairies]], many of the first farming settlers built their [[Sod house|homes of sod]], as had Native Americans such as the Omaha. The first wave of settlement gave the territory a sufficient population to apply for statehood.<ref>Marsha Hoffman and Dwight A. Radford, "Nebraska", ''Redbook: American State, County, and Town Sources'', 3rd ed. (Provo: Ancestry, 2004), 408.</ref> Nebraska became the 37th state on March 1, 1867, and the capital was moved from Omaha to the center at Lancaster, later renamed [[Lincoln, Nebraska|Lincoln]] after the recently assassinated President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. The battle of [[Massacre Canyon]], on August 5, 1873, was the last major battle between the [[Pawnee people|Pawnee]] and the [[Sioux]].<ref>''The Nebraska Indian Wars Reader, 1865–1877'' By R. Eli Paul p. 88 Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (April 1, 1998) {{ISBN|0-8032-8749-6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. Senate: States in the Senate {{!}} Nebraska Timeline |url=https://www.senate.gov/states/NE/timeline.htm#:~:text=Nebraska%20was%20admitted%20to%20the,to%20establish%20statehood%20for%20Nebraska. |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.senate.gov |archive-date=May 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525044158/https://www.senate.gov/states/NE/timeline.htm#:~:text=Nebraska%20was%20admitted%20to%20the,to%20establish%20statehood%20for%20Nebraska. |url-status=live }}</ref>


During the 1870s to the 1880s, Nebraska experienced a large growth in population. Several factors contributed to attracting new residents. The first was that the vast prairie land was perfect for cattle grazing. This helped settlers to learn the unfamiliar geography of the area. The second factor was the invention of several farming technologies. New agricultural innovations such as barbed wire, windmills, and the steel plow, combined with fair weather, enabled settlers to transform Nebraska into prime farming land. By the 1880s, Nebraska's population had soared to more than 450,000 people.<ref>''Redbook''</ref> The [[Arbor Day]] holiday was founded in [[Nebraska City, Nebraska|Nebraska City]] by territorial governor [[J. Sterling Morton]]. The [[National Arbor Day Foundation]] is still headquartered in [[Nebraska City, Nebraska|Nebraska City]], with some offices in Lincoln.
During the 1870s to the 1880s, Nebraska experienced a large growth in population. Several factors contributed to attracting new residents. The first was that the vast prairie land was perfect for cattle grazing. This helped settlers to learn the unfamiliar geography of the area. The second factor was the invention of several farming technologies. New agricultural innovations such as barbed wire, windmills, and the steel plow, combined with fair weather, enabled settlers to transform Nebraska into prime farming land. By the 1880s, Nebraska's population had soared to more than 450,000 people.<ref>''Redbook''</ref> The [[Arbor Day]] holiday was founded in [[Nebraska City, Nebraska|Nebraska City]] by territorial governor [[J. Sterling Morton]]. The [[National Arbor Day Foundation]] is still headquartered in [[Nebraska City, Nebraska|Nebraska City]], with some offices in Lincoln.
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Notably, Nebraska was the last of all 50 states to maintain a ban on the issuance of driver's licenses to [[Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals|adults who had entered the United States illegally as children]] (also known as Dreamers). The state legislature lifted the ban in December 2016.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/last-state-to-ban-drivers-licenses-for-dreamers-nebraska-passes-bill-to-allow-them | title=Last state to ban drivers licenses for Dreamers, Nebraska, passes bill to allow them | website=[[Fox News]] | date=December 6, 2016 | access-date=December 7, 2022 | archive-date=December 7, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207033550/https://www.foxnews.com/world/last-state-to-ban-drivers-licenses-for-dreamers-nebraska-passes-bill-to-allow-them | url-status=live }}</ref>
Notably, Nebraska was the last of all 50 states to maintain a ban on the issuance of driver's licenses to [[Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals|adults who had entered the United States illegally as children]] (also known as Dreamers). The state legislature lifted the ban in December 2016.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/last-state-to-ban-drivers-licenses-for-dreamers-nebraska-passes-bill-to-allow-them | title=Last state to ban drivers licenses for Dreamers, Nebraska, passes bill to allow them | website=[[Fox News]] | date=December 6, 2016 | access-date=December 7, 2022 | archive-date=December 7, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207033550/https://www.foxnews.com/world/last-state-to-ban-drivers-licenses-for-dreamers-nebraska-passes-bill-to-allow-them | url-status=live }}</ref>


[[Mexico]], [[India]], [[China]], [[Guatemala]], and [[El Salvador]] are top countries of origin for Nebraska's immigrants.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.immigrationresearch.org/system/files/immigrants_in_nebraska.pdf|title=Immigrants in Nebraska|access-date=August 11, 2023|archive-date=August 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811215930/https://www.immigrationresearch.org/system/files/immigrants_in_nebraska.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[Mexico]], [[India]], China, [[Guatemala]], and [[El Salvador]] are top countries of origin for Nebraska's immigrants.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.immigrationresearch.org/system/files/immigrants_in_nebraska.pdf|title=Immigrants in Nebraska|access-date=August 11, 2023|archive-date=August 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811215930/https://www.immigrationresearch.org/system/files/immigrants_in_nebraska.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>


====Birth data====
====Birth data====
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{{Further|Political party strength in Nebraska}}
{{Further|Political party strength in Nebraska}}


For most of its history, Nebraska has been a solidly [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] state. Republicans have carried the state in all but one presidential election since [[1940 United States presidential election|1940]]: the [[1964 United States presidential election|1964 landslide election]] of Lyndon B. Johnson. In the [[2004 United States presidential election|2004 presidential election]], [[George W. Bush]] won the state's five electoral votes by a margin of 33 percentage points (making Nebraska's the fourth-strongest Republican vote among states) with 65.9% of the overall vote; only [[Thurston County, Nebraska|Thurston County]], which is majority-[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]], voted for his [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] challenger [[John Kerry]]. In [[2008 United States presidential election|2008]], the state split its electoral votes for the first time: Republican [[John McCain]] won the popular vote in Nebraska as a whole and two of its three congressional districts; the second district, which includes the city of Omaha, went for Democrat [[Barack Obama]]. Since then, the state has split its electoral vote once, with the second district going for Democrat [[Joe Biden]] in [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]].
For most of its history, Nebraska has been a solidly [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] state. Republicans have carried the state in all but one presidential election since [[1940 United States presidential election|1940]]: the [[1964 United States presidential election|1964 landslide election]] of Lyndon B. Johnson. In the [[2004 United States presidential election|2004 presidential election]], George W. Bush won the state's five electoral votes by a margin of 33 percentage points (making Nebraska's the fourth-strongest Republican vote among states) with 65.9% of the overall vote; only [[Thurston County, Nebraska|Thurston County]], which is majority-[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]], voted for his Democratic challenger [[John Kerry]]. In [[2008 United States presidential election|2008]], the state split its electoral votes for the first time: Republican [[John McCain]] won the popular vote in Nebraska as a whole and two of its three congressional districts; the second district, which includes the city of Omaha, went for Democrat [[Barack Obama]]. Since then, the state has split its electoral vote once, with the second district going for Democrat [[Joe Biden]] in [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]].


Despite the current Republican domination of Nebraska politics, the state has a long tradition of electing [[Centrism|centrist]] members of both parties to state and federal office; examples include [[George W. Norris]] (who served a few years in the Senate as an independent), [[J. James Exon]], [[Bob Kerrey]], and [[Chuck Hagel]]. Voters have tilted to the right in recent years, a trend evidenced when Hagel retired from the Senate in 2008 and was succeeded by conservative Republican [[Mike Johanns]] to the U.S. Senate, as well as with the 2006 re-election of [[Ben Nelson]], who was considered the most conservative Democrat in the Senate until his retirement in 2013. Johanns retired in 2015 and was succeeded by [[Ben Sasse]], while Nelson retired in 2013 and was succeeded by [[Deb Fischer]], both conservative Republicans.
Despite the current Republican domination of Nebraska politics, the state has a long tradition of electing [[Centrism|centrist]] members of both parties to state and federal office; examples include [[George W. Norris]] (who served a few years in the Senate as an independent), [[J. James Exon]], [[Bob Kerrey]], and [[Chuck Hagel]]. Voters have tilted to the right in recent years, a trend evidenced when Hagel retired from the Senate in 2008 and was succeeded by conservative Republican [[Mike Johanns]] to the U.S. Senate, as well as with the 2006 re-election of [[Ben Nelson]], who was considered the most conservative Democrat in the Senate until his retirement in 2013. Johanns retired in 2015 and was succeeded by [[Ben Sasse]], while Nelson retired in 2013 and was succeeded by [[Deb Fischer]], both conservative Republicans.