dec 28, 1846 - Iowa Joins the Union
Description:
Iowa connected the Eastern forests to the Western praries. Its eastern border is the Mississippi and its western border is the Big Sioux and Missouri River.
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 essentially set the precedent for territories becoming states and set a government up for the territory that became Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
After Michigan left the Michigan Territory to become its own state, Iowa became part of the Wisconsin Territory. Due to the influx of people coming in by crossing the Mississippi River during the time of Manifest Destiny, Iowa eventually broke off and became its own Iowa Territory, extending into Minnesota and the Dakotas. Eventually, the territory had enough people to have a legislature.
The governors of the territory pushed statehood hard, but settlers were scared that their taxes would increase.
When Polk became President, the territory's population grew to 75,000. The issue of slavery came up even though the Iowa Territory banned slavery. Northerners wanted the borders of Iowa really small so they could squeeze in a few more free states to the west of the Mississippi, but Iowans did not want this and they compromised on the current border.
On this date, December 28th, 1846, Polk signed an act of congress approving Iowa's constitution, making it a free state 60 years after the Northwest Ordinance was passed because it was above the Missouri Compromise line.
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