The Morrill Act, also known as the Land Grant Act, was signed by Abraham Lincoln in 1862. This act, named after its sponsor, Vermont congressman Justin Smith Morrill, gave each state thirty-thousand acres of public land for each Senator and Representative it had in congress. These numbers were based on the census of 1860.
Chief Standing Bear
Standing Bear, Ma-chu-nah-zha in the language of his people, was born in 1829 in the valley near the confluence of the Niobrara and Missouri Rivers. He inherited the role of clan chief from his father. The Bear clan, one of nine bands of the Ponca led by head chief, White Eagle, oversaw the social life of the tribe, as well as ceremonies and rituals. He was known for his strength of character and his eloquent speaking abilities.
Chief Red Cloud
Oglala Sioux Chief Red Cloud (1821 – 1909) ranks historically in the top tier among the greatest Native American leaders. He was a courageous warrior, supreme military strategist, eloquent spokesman, and masterful statesmen in protecting his peoples’ rights and homelands.
Robert W. Furnas
Robert Wilkinson Furnas (1824-1905) was born on a farm near Ohio in 1824, the son of William and Martha Jenkins Furnas. A twin, his brother died in infancy and his sister, Mary Elizabeth, died at the age of eighteen. He was orphaned at the age of twelve when both of his parents died of cholera.
Roscoe Pound
Roscoe Pound (1870-1964). Nathan Roscoe Pound was born in 1870, in Lincoln, Nebraska, the son of Stephen Bosworth Pound, a lawyer and judge, and Laura Biddlecombe Pound. His parents were New Yorkers who immigrated to Nebraska. Pound received his early education at home from his mother, who thought public education was unacceptably poor at that time.
President Lincoln’s Connection to Nebraska
Even though Abraham Lincoln never visited the Nebraska Territory and died before Nebraska statehood, he had a very large influence on our state.
Nebraska Medal of Honor Recipients
Seventy-three Nebraskans have been awarded the Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest military honor. They received the medal based on personal acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty.
Nathan Gold
Nathan Jules Gold was born on May 28, 1894, in Hampton, Iowa, the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Gold. He moved to Lincoln, Nebraska in 1902 with his parents and lived there for the rest of his life.