History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/1/21
THE act providing for the relocation of the Capital of the State was repealed at the session of the Legislature of 1848, the plat of Monroe City was vacated and the State Treasurer was directed to refund with six per cent, interest, all money paid for lots in that short-lived Capital city. The commissioners, who had purchased a large number of lots in the city, were excluded from the benefits of the refunding section of the act. The Legislature instructed our Senators and Representatives in Congress to use their influence to secure a grant of lands or money, for the improvement of the navigation of the Maquoketa, Skunk, Wapsipinicon and Iowa rivers. A joint resolution was passed extending thanks of the people of Iowa to Captain Benjamin S. Roberts for his gallant conduct in the Mexican War and a finely wrought sword was ordered presented to him by the Governor. Congress was urged to grant a liberal pension to Isaac W. Griffith, a soldier from Iowa, who lost his right arm in the Mexican War at the Battle of Cherubusco.
The report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for 1848 shows the number of children of school age to be 41,446, of which but 7,077 were in the public schools. The number of teachers employed was one hundred and twenty-four, of which one hundred and one were men, and twenty-three women. The average salary of the men was sixteen dollars per month, of the women but nine dollars. There were six hundred and seventy-three organized school districts. The State Library at this time contained 1,660 volumes, one-third of which were law books. The expense of maintaining the Library for the year past was $109.31.
The first homestead law, providing for the exemption of the home of the head of a family from sale for debt, was enacted by the Second General Assembly. The author of the bill was Lemuel B. Patterson, a young man then living at Iowa City, who had served two terms as Librarian of the Territory. At that time, when nearly all of the young men of the new State were poor and straggling to secure homes, the common rate of interest exacted by professional money lenders was forty per cent. Hundreds of men had given mortgages on their homes at this ruinous rate of interest, had found themselves unable to meet their obligations and had seen their families left homeless. Mr. Patterson was deeply impressed with the destitution and misfortunes of so many industrious families and determined to secure legislation for the protection of the home. He drafted a bill embracing the principle of the homestead exemption laws now so generally prevailing and secured its enactment into law against strong opposition. This law has been amended and improved from time to time but the important features devised by its author in 1849, remain as the settled policy of our State.
When the new Senators from Iowa took their seats in Congress, General A. C. Dodge drew the short term which expired March 4,1849. The Legislature being in session, reëlected him for a full term of six years. The Whig votes were given to Francis Springer. Upon the accession of General Zachary Taylor as President, he appointed Fitz Henry Warren, of Iowa, First Assistant Postmaster General, much to the gratification of the Whigs of the State, of which he was one of the ablest leaders.
The Democratic State Convention met at Iowa City on the 29th of June, 1849, and nominated for President of the Board of Public Works, W. M. Patterson; Secretary, Jesse Williams; Treasurer, George Gillaspy. The resolutions denounced the removal of Democrats from Federal offices. A low tariff was favored, and gold and silver as the money of the country; the Wilmot Proviso was
AUGUSTUS C. DODGE
United States Senator, 1848 to 1855
condemned but the exclusion of slavery from California and New Mexico was favored. The Whig State Convention assembled at Iowa City June 30th and nominated Thomas J. McKean for President of the Board of Public Works; Wm. M. Allison for Secretary; and Henry G. Stewart for Treasurer. The resolutions indorsed the administration of President Taylor, favored the exclusion of slavery from the free territories, condemned the acts of the Democratic party in the late Legislature and favored a revision of the Constitution of the State. The election was warmly contested but resulted in the choice of the Democratic candidates by a plurality of about seven hundred. The vote for President of Board of Public Works was as follows:
| Patterson, Democrat | 11,672 |
| McKean, Whig | 10,960 |
| John H. Dayton, Free Soil | 504 |
| Patterson’s plurality, 712; majority, 148. |
At the opening of the session of the Thirty-first Congress in December, 1849, Daniel F. Miller appeared and contested the seat of William Thompson, who had been admitted on a certificate of election given by the board of canvassers after they had rejected the vote of Kanesville. The House of Representatives was nearly evenly divided between the two parties, being classified Democrats one hundred and sixteen, Whigs one hundred and eleven, with three Independents. The contest over the election of Speaker had continued from the 12th to the 24th of December, when Howell Cobb, Democrat, was chosen by a plurality of one vote. Under the circumstances a deep interest was taken in the contest of Thompson’s election. The committee on elections consisted of six Democrats and four Whigs. After a lengthy investigation a majority report, signed by the six Democrats, was presented, declaring Thompson entitled to the seat. The four Whig members made a minority report which found that the votes of Kanesville were legally cast and should have been counted. The debate which followed was not closed until the 29th of June, 1850, when the House, by a vote of one hundred and two to ninety-four, decided that Thompson had not been legally elected. The House further declared, by a vote of one hundred and nine to eighty-four, that a vacancy existed in the First Iowa District, and directed the Speaker to so inform, the Governor of that State. A special election was called to fill the vacancy at which Miller was chosen by a plurality of two hundred and fifty-seven.
In February, 1848, an event occurred in California which largely affected the settlement of Iowa for several years. A laborer employed by Colonel Sutter (a Swiss immigrant, who had built a mill on the Sacramento River), while digging a race for the mill, discovered gold dust in the excavation. It was soon found that gold in large quantities existed in the alluvial deposits of many of the streams of the Territory which had recently been acquired from Mexico. The discoveries soon became known to the public, causing great excitement. The contagion reached the Mississippi Valley, as glowing accounts came of rich deposits and sudden fortunes made by the gold diggers. Then began an exodus from Iowa and other western States. The tide of immigration which had been flowing into the prairie States was suddenly diverted toward the newly discovered gold-fields of California.
Early in 1849 thousands of citizens of Iowa, allured by the prospect of acquiring sudden wealth, formed companies in various localities for the purpose of making the journey over the plains. Wagons were fitted up with camp equipments, provisions, tools and arms for defense against the Indians. They were generally drawn by oxen, for cattle could subsist on grass along the route, while horses would require grain to be transported the entire distance. It was necessary for the emigrants to carry with them enough supplies to last for the entire journey, which took from four to six months. Large, strong wagons were made for these trips, as rough roads were encountered through the mountain regions. These wagons were also used as the night camps for defense against Indian attacks. Almost the entire journey was through an unsettled country, portions of which was in regions infested by roving bands of hostile Indians. The wagons were covered with canvas and drawn by from three to six pair of oxen. At night the encampment was made secure by forming a corral with the wagons, while the oxen were left to graze on the plains. Progress was slow, as the cattle could only travel from fifteen to twenty-five miles a day. During the years 1849, ’50, ’51, ’52, long lines of California teams traversed the main roads leading westward through Iowa, from the Mississippi to the Missouri. They furnished a good home market to Iowa farmers for their surplus hay and corn, early in the spring before the grass had grown to supply feed for the slowly moving teams. Thousands of gold seekers from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin made their journey thus over the Iowa prairies in those years. It is doubtful, on the whole, whether as much wealth was brought back by the thousands of Iowa men who swelled the army of gold seekers as was expended by them in outfits, subsistence, loss of time and the various unavoidable expenses attending the venture.
Whether Iowa gained or lost in population from the great hegira is not easy to determine. Thousands of Iowa men remained in California, but other thousands from eastern States, who traversed its fertile prairies on their journey in search of gold, remembered the beautiful country they had passed through and, after a few years, returned to make it their home.
The gold discoveries and consequent emigration to California revived with vigor the controversy over the extension of slavery in the territories. The new population of California was largely composed of industrious, self-reliant men, who were inured to toil and abhorred slavery. President Taylor, who was anxious to avoid the reopening of a bitter contest upon which the Whig party was hopelessly divided, sought to forestall the danger by sending a trusted agent to the Pacific Coast, immediately after his inauguration, to urge the early application of the citizens of California for its admission into the Union as a free State, before the slavery propagators would gain a formidable foothold on its soil.
A convention was called, a constitution framed prohibiting slavery. But the “irrepressible conflict” could not be prevented. It was in vain that compromises were agreed to, they only postponed the day when it must be settled by physical force. The compromise measures finally agreed to by the Thirty-first Congress were: the admission of California as a free State, settlement of the Texas boundary, organization of Utah and New Mexico as Territories without prohibiting slavery within their limits, the enactment of a rigid law for the arrest and return to their masters of all slaves escaping from bondage and the abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia.
General Dodge of Iowa took an active part in the discussion of these measures, he and Senator Jones voting for the fugitive slave law and against the exclusion of slavery from the territories. General Dodge, in a speech, rejoiced that Iowa had never indorsed the “Wilmot Proviso,” which sought to exclude slavery from the territories. There can be no doubt that Senators Dodge and Jones truly represented a majority of the people of Iowa at this time, as it was almost the only northern State which had refused to instruct its members of Congress to support the “Wilmot Proviso.” President Taylor died on the 9th of July, 1850, in the midst of the bitter controversy and was succeeded by Millard Fillmore, who was an earnest supporter of the compromise measures.
On the 15th day of May, 1850, the Whigs held their State convention at Iowa City. The resolutions declare the Whig party of Iowa to be in favor of free men, free territory, free States and a revision of the Constitution of the State. The candidates nominated were John L. Thompson for Governor; Isaac Cook for Secretary of State; Wm. H. Seevers for Auditor; Evan Jay for Treasurer; and Joseph Nosier for Treasurer of the Board of Public Works. The Democratic Convention assembled at Iowa City on the 12th of June. The resolutions condemned the administration of President Taylor and approved of the compromise measures of Congress. The following nominations were made: Stephen Hempstead for Governor; G. W. McCleary for Secretary of State; Israel Kester for Treasurer; Wm. Pattee for Auditor; George Gillaspy for Treasurer of Public Works. The election resulted in the success of the Democrats by an average plurality of 2,000. The vote for Governor was as follows:
| Hempstead, Democrat | 13,488 |
| Thompson, Whig | 11,403 |
| Wm. Penn Clark, Free Soil | 576 |
| Hempstead’s plurality | 2,083 |
| Hempstead’s majority | 1,058 |
The election of members of Congress for the full term resulted in the choice of Bernhart Henn in the First District, and Lincoln Clark in the Second, both Democrats.
The Third General Assembly met at Iowa City on the 2d of December, and was organized by the election of the following officers: President of the Senate, Enos Lowe; Speaker of the House, George Temple.
Governor Briggs, in his retiring message to the General Assembly, congratulated the people of the State upon the final settlement, by the Supreme Court of the United States, of the controversy long pending with Missouri over our southern boundary. The award was in favor of the line claimed by Iowa.
The financial condition of the State was reported as follows: the amount of money on hand and received for the two years ending November 4, 1850, $90,444.33; amount paid out for the same period, $90,442.94; balance in the treasury, $1.39. The estimated revenue for the next year, $56,538.33, exclusive of the delinquent taxes of former years. On the 4th of December the votes for Governor were canvassed by the General Assembly in joint convention, and Stephen Hempstead was declared elected for the term of four years and delivered his inaugural address.
During the session the following new counties were established:
The act providing for a Board of Public Works was repealed and provisions made for a Commissioner and Register to carry on the improvement of the Des Moines River. Wm. G. Haun of Clinton County, introduced a bill in the House to prohibit free negroes and mulattoes from settling in the State. It met with strong opposition, but finally passed the House by a vote of twenty yeas to fifteen nays. In the Senate the vote stood nine yeas to seven nays. The Governor approved it and it became a law. The commissioners appointed to revise and codify the laws of the State had completed their work and reported to the Legislature for approval. Upon consideration some amendments were made, after which it was adopted and ordered printed. The law was to take effect July 1, 1851. There were printed with the code the following documents: The Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Ordinance of 1787, Constitution of the
STEPHEN HEMPSTEAD
Governor of Iowa, 1850 to 1854
United States, Acts Establishing the Territories of Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa, Constitution of Iowa, Acts of Congress Relating to the Admission of Iowa into the Union, Acts of Congress Relating to Naturalization of Foreigners and other State papers of minor importance—the whole making a volume of six hundred and eighty-five pages, known as the “Code of 1851.”
In the House Journal for 1850-1 was published several documents of historic interest, among which were the following: Decree of the United States Supreme Court settling the boundary controversy between Missouri and Iowa, report of the commissioners who surveyed and established the line with the full field notes, showing the establishment of mile-posts and monuments and a description of the character of the land on each side of the entire route, the streams, surface of the country, varieties of timber, etc. The entire length of the line as established was two hundred and eleven miles and thirty-two chains. There was also published a complete list of the teachers of the public schools of the State for the year 1850, showing the name, age and birthplace of each teacher and the county in which each school was taught. This is probably the only published record ever made of Iowa teachers in pioneer times. In looking over this roll of teachers we find the names of many who became prominent as lawmakers, judges, editors and educators.
The season of 1851 will long be remembered for the vast amount of rain which fell during the spring and summer. The floods began early in May and continued into July. Rain fell in torrents until the sloughs and ravines were filled with water which flowed into the swollen creeks and rivers, carrying fences and bridges away. The roads became almost impassable, the cultivated fields were quagmires, the river bottoms were inundated miles in width.
In a large portion of the State farmers were unable to put in crops, and where they had been planted the floods destroyed them. The low lands became vast lakes, while mud and water seemed to take possession of the farms, flat lands and valleys. The Mississippi River encroached upon the towns and cities along its banks, flooding business houses and dwellings and driving people with their movable property to the high lands. At Des Moines the river at one time reached a height of twenty-two feet above its ordinary stage. At Eddyville, Ottumwa, Iowaville and other towns, the people were driven from their homes, while driftwood and sand lodged in their lots, filling wells and cellars with mud and water. The farms along valleys and broad river bottoms suffered most. Stock was drowned, houses, barns and premises flooded, great ditches were cut through the fields, bridges and fences carried away and general desolation prevailed. When the rains ceased in July, hot dry weather came, baking the saturated soil, parching the vegetation which had survived the floods, so that crops were almost a failure throughout the State. Cholera broke out along the Des Moines and Mississippi rivers and the ravages of that plague added to the misery of the people. The frightful disease struck down hundreds in apparent robust health, often terminating in death within a few hours. In some localities famine threatened to add to the horrors of floods and pestilence, as the crops were so nearly destroyed that there was little food left for the people. This was the darkest period in Iowa’s history. The loss of crops had impoverished thousands. The scourge of cholera had alarmed them; famine threatened and many sold their farms for half their value and left the State. Those who remained soon found the best market they had ever known for horses, oxen, cows and corn from the crowds of emigrants who were crossing Iowa for the California gold-fields.
Early in 1849 Colonel Mason, of the 6th United States Infantry, was ordered to select a site for a military post on the upper Des Moines River. The Sioux Indians in that part of the State had been committing depredations
FLOOD AT FORT DES MOINES IN 1851
FORT DODGE
Established in 1850
upon surveying parties and pioneers and it was for the protection of settlers from the Sioux that the post was to be established. Colonel Mason selected a site on the high table land of the east side of the Des Moines River, a short distance below the mouth of Lizzard Creek. The place selected was on the extreme western border of the “Neutral Grounds,” between the Sioux, Sac and Fox Indian lands. Early in the spring of 1850 Major Samuel Woods, with a detachment of the Sixth United States Infantry, was sent to the new post, which had been named Fort Clark. Another fort on the frontier had been given the same name, by order of the Secretary of War, and the name of the Iowa post was changed to Fort Dodge, in honor of General Henry Dodge, the United States Senator from Wisconsin. The commissioned officers of Major Wood’s command when stationed at Fort Dodge were Captain L. A. Olmstead, Lieutenants L. S. Corey and Stubbs and Surgeon Charles A. Keeney.
The command marched from Fort Buckner on the Iowa River on the last day of July. Because of the heavily-loaded wagon train it was necessary to bridge many streams and sloughs. Beaching the Des Moines River about the middle of August camp was made on the table land, where the business portion of Fort Dodge has since been built. The command proceeded at once to erect twelve substantial log buildings, which were completed and occupied by the 20th of November. During the three years the troops occupied Fort Dodge, the Government expended $80,000 in buildings and other improvements. The post was abandoned on the 3d of October, 1853, when the troops were ordered one hundred and fifty miles north in Minnesota to build a new fort on the north line of the new purchase made from the Sioux Indians.