View source for Idaho Territory

{{short description|Territory of the U.S. between 1863–1890}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2013}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox former subdivision
| conventional_long_name = Idaho
| common_name            = Idaho Territory
| nation                 = [[United States|the United States]]
| subdivision            = [[Organized incorporated territories of the United States|Organized incorporated territory]]
| event_pre              = 
| date_pre               = 
| year_pre               = 
| event_start            = Split from [[Dakota Territory|Dakota]], [[Nebraska Territory|Nebraska]], and [[Washington Territory|Washington]] territories
| date_start             = March 3,
| year_start             = 1863
| event1                 = [[Montana Territory]] split off & land ceded to [[Dakota Territory]]
| date_event1            = May 28, 1864
| event2                 = [[Wyoming Territory]] formed
| date_event2            = July 25, 1868
| event_end              = [[Idaho|Statehood]]
| date_end               = July 3,
| year_end               = 1890
| p1                     = Washington Territory
| flag_p1                = US flag 34 stars.svg
| p2                     = Dakota Territory
| flag_p2                = US flag 34 stars.svg
| s1                     = Montana Territory
| flag_s1                = US flag 35 stars.svg
| s2                     = Dakota Territory
| flag_s2                = US flag 35 stars.svg
| s3                     = Wyoming Territory
| flag_s3                = US flag 37 stars.svg
| s4                     = Idaho
| flag_s4                = Flag of Idaho (1907–1927).png
| image_flag             = 
| image_coat             = Idaho territory coat of arms (illustrated, 1876).jpg<!--Idahoterritoryseal1866.jpeg-->
| symbol_type            = Coat of arms of the Idaho Territory (1863–1866)<!--Seal of Idaho Territory 1866–1890-->
| image_map              = File:Map of Territory of Idaho.jpg
| image_map_caption      = Map of Territory of Idaho
| capital                = [[Lewiston, Idaho|Lewiston]] (1863–1866)<br />[[Boise, Idaho|Boise]] (1866–1890)
| government_type        = Organized incorporated territory
| title_leader           = [[List of Governors of Idaho|Governor]]
| leader1                = [[William H. Wallace]]
| year_leader1           = First
| leader2                = [[George L. Shoup]]
| year_leader2           = Last
| leader3                = 
| year_leader3           = 
| leader4                = 
| year_leader4           = 
| legislature            = 
}}
[[File:Seal of Idaho (1863–1866).jpg|200px|thumb|right|Seal of the Idaho Territory, 1863–1866]]
The '''Territory of Idaho''' was an [[organized incorporated territory of the United States]] that existed from March 3, 1863,<ref name="auto">{{USStat|12|808}}</ref> until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the [[United States|Union]] as [[Idaho]].

==History==
{{Historical populations
|type= USA
|1870|14999
|1880|32610
|1890|88548
|footnote=Source: 1870–1890;<ref>{{cite report|editor-last=Forstall|editor-first=Richard L.|title=Population of the States and Counties of the United States: 1790–1990|page=3|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/PopulationofStatesandCountiesoftheUnitedStates1790-1990.pdf|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref>
}}

===1860s===
The territory was officially organized on March 3, 1863, by Act of [[United States Congress|Congress]],<ref name="auto"/> and signed into law by President [[Abraham Lincoln]]. It is a successor region that was created by areas from existing territories undergoing parallel political transitions beginning with disputes over which country owned the region (See [[Oregon Country]]). By 1863, the area west of the [[Continental Divide]] that was formerly part of the huge [[Oregon Territory]] had been sundered from the coastal [[Washington Territory]] north of the young [[Oregon|State of Oregon]] to the far west and the remnant of the Oregon Territory was officially "unorganized". Most of the area east of the Continental Divide had been part of the loosely defined [[Dakota Territory]] ending along the 49th parallel—now the border with Canada, then a [[colonialism|colonial possession]] of Great Britain.

The original newly organized territory covered all of the present-day states of [[Idaho]] and [[Montana]], and almost all of the present-day state of [[Wyoming]], omitting only a corner in the state's extreme southwest portion. It was wholly spanned east-to-west by the bustling [[Oregon Trail]] and partly by the other [[emigrant trail]]s, the [[California Trail]] and [[Mormon Trail]] which since hitting stride in 1847, had been conveying settler wagon trains to the west, and incidentally, across the continental divide into the [[Snake River Basin]], a key gateway into the Idaho and [[Oregon Country]] interiors.

The first territorial capital was at [[Lewiston, Idaho|Lewiston]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://history.idaho.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/reference-series/0048.pdf |title="Territorial Government in Idaho, 1863-1869," Reference Series No. 48 |author=Idaho State Historical Society |year=1968 |access-date=2013-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002124302/http://www.history.idaho.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/reference-series/0048.pdf |archive-date=October 2, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> from the inception in 1863 to 1866. [[Boise, Idaho|Boise]] was made the territorial capital from 1866 by a one-vote margin of the Territorial Supreme Court. Congress failed to provide official criminal or civic codes for the Idaho territory upon its inception. It was not until January 4th, 1864 that the territory's original laws were adopted.<ref>Schwantes, C. A. (1998). The Pacific Northwest: An Interpretive History. In The Pacific Northwest: An interpretive history (pp. 136-137). Lincoln, Nebraska: Univ. of Nebraska Press.</ref>

The upheaval caused by the Civil War and [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction]] was a distant concern to those in the comparatively stable Idaho Territory, a situation which in turn encouraged settlement.

In 1864, the [[Montana Territory]] was organized from the northeastern section of the territory east of the [[Bitterroot Range]]. Most of the southeastern area of the territory was made part of the [[Dakota Territory]].

In the late 1860s, Idaho Territory became a destination for displaced Southern [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] who fought for the [[Confederate States of America]] during the Civil War. These people were well represented in the early territorial legislatures, which often clashed with the appointed [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] territorial governors. The political infighting became particularly vicious in 1867 when Governor [[David W. Ballard]] asked for protection from federal troops stationed at Fort Boise against the territorial legislature. By 1870, however, the political infighting had decreased considerably.

In 1868, the areas east of the [[111th meridian west]] were made part of the newly created [[Wyoming Territory]]. Idaho Territory assumed the boundaries of the modern state at that time.
The discovery of gold, silver and other valuable natural resources throughout Idaho beginning in the 1860s, as well as the completion of the [[First transcontinental railroad|Transcontinental Railroad]] in 1869, brought many new people to the territory, including Chinese laborers who came to work the mines. As Idaho approached statehood, mining and other extractive industries became increasingly important to its economy. By the 1890s, for example, Idaho exported more lead than any other state.

===1870s===
Construction began on the Idaho Territorial Prison in 1870 and was completed by 1872. The prison was in use by the territory, then the state until 1973. The [[Old Idaho State Penitentiary]] was placed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1974 for its significance as a Territorial Prison. The site currently contains museums and an [[arboretum]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Old Idaho Penitentiary Timeline |work=Education Programs |publisher=Idaho State Historical Society |year=2007 |url=http://www.idahohistory.net/oldpentimeline.pdf |access-date=2007-06-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529042316/http://www.idahohistory.net/oldpentimeline.pdf |archive-date=May 29, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

[[File:Id-state-penitentiary-old-entrance.jpg|right|thumb|Entrance to the Old Penitentiary]]

Almost immediately after Idaho Territory was created, a public school system was created and [[stage coach]] lines were established. Regular newspapers were active in Lewiston, [[Boise, Idaho|Boise]] and [[Silver City, Idaho|Silver City]] by 1865. The first telegraph line reached Franklin in 1866, with Lewiston being the first town linked in northern Idaho in 1874. The first telephone call in the Pacific Northwest was made on May 10, 1878, in Lewiston.

Although forming a sizable minority, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Idaho were held in suspicion by others in Idaho. By 1882, notable and powerful Idahoans successfully disenfranchised members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints voters in Idaho Territory, citing their illegal [[Mormonism and polygamy|practice of polygamy]]. Idaho was able to achieve statehood some six years before Utah, a territory which had a larger population and had been settled longer, but was majority members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with voting polygamists.

There were four thousand Chinese living in the Idaho Territory from 1869 to 1875. Like many [[Chinese American|Chinese immigrants]], they came to "Gold Mountain" to work as miners, or found work as laundrymen and cooks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boisecounty.us/visit-boise-county/|title=Visit Boise County – Boise County}}</ref> The 1870 census reported there were 1,751 Chinese in [[Idaho City]] who were nearly half of city residents.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TiuiKwmqTdoC&dq=%22idaho+city%22+brothel&pg=PA58|title=Surviving on the Gold Mountain: A History of Chinese American Women and Their Lives|first=Huping|last=Ling|date=July 16, 1998|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=9780791438640 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

The [[Nez Perce War]] began in the north-central portion of the territory at [[Battle of White Bird Canyon|White Bird Canyon]] in June 1877, and concluded four months later in eastern [[Montana Territory]] at [[Battle of Bear Paw|Bear Paw]].

===1880s===
After the capital relocation controversy, proposals to split the two regions became widespread. For the rest of the decade, Idaho Territory was nearly legislated out of existence. In 1885, the Idaho legislature published a bipartisan memorial to Congress asking for northern Idaho to be returned to Washington Territory. There were two attempts during the [[49th United States Congress|49th Congress]] to accomplish this. On March 1, 1887 Congress sent a bill to President [[Grover Cleveland]] which would have returned northern Idaho to Washington Territory. Cleveland, likely as a favor to Governor [[Edward A. Stevenson]], refused to sign the bill and it was [[pocket veto#United States|pocket vetoed]] when the session of Congress ended two days later.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kingston |first1=C.S. |date=October 1930 |title=The North Idaho Annexation Issue (Continued) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40475366 |journal=The Washington Historical Quarterly |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=282–284 |jstor=40475366 |access-date=September 30, 2021}}</ref> Nevada and Utah showed interest in acquiring the remainders of southern Idaho.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stapilus |first=Randy |date=July 6, 2014 |title=How Idaho almost was split apart, never to become state |url=https://www.idahopress.com/members/how-idaho-almost-was-split-apart-never-to-become-state/article_095edb50-03fb-11e4-8321-0019bb2963f4.html |work=Idaho Press |access-date=September 30, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rickjust.com/blog/a-nevada-land-grab |title=Speaking of Idaho: A Nevada Land Grab |last=Just |first=Rick |date=November 14, 2020 |access-date=September 30, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hart |first=Arthur |date=May 25, 2015 |title= Idaho History: North Idaho tried for a generation to be free of Boise |url=https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/article40860420.html |work=Idaho Statesman |access-date=September 30, 2021}}</ref>

In 1889, the [[University of Idaho]] was awarded to the northern town of [[Moscow, Idaho|Moscow]] instead of its original planned location at Eagle Rock (now [[Idaho Falls, Idaho|Idaho Falls]]) in the south. This served to alleviate some of the hard feelings felt by [[Idaho Panhandle|North Idaho]] residents over losing the capital.

In a bid for statehood, Governor Stevenson called for a [[Idaho Constitutional Convention|constitutional convention]] in 1889. The convention approved a constitution on August 6, 1889, and voters approved the constitution on November 5, 1889.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QP8aAAAAYAAJ|title=Proceedings and Debates of the Constitutional Convention of Idaho 1889|year=1912|editor-last1=Hart|editor-first1=I. W.|volume=1|page=III}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yv8aAAAAYAAJ|title=Proceedings and Debates of the Constitutional Convention of Idaho 1889|year=1912|editor-last1=Hart|editor-first1=I. W.|volume=2|page=2037}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-idaho-statesman/127007078/|title=Official Vote: Adopting the Constitution|work=The Idaho Statesman|date=December 4, 1889}}</ref> President [[Benjamin Harrison]] signed the law admitting Idaho as a [[U.S. state]] on July 3, 1890.

==Territorial change==
{{Clear}}
<gallery>
File:Wpdms washington territory 1863 legend 3.png|The [[Oregon|State of Oregon]] (blue) and [[Washington Territory]] (green){{mdash}}along with the latter's portions ceded to [[Nebraska Territory]] on March 2, 1861, and to Idaho Territory on March 3, 1863
File:Wpdms idaho territory 1863 idx.png|The Idaho Territory in 1863
File:Wpdms idaho territory 1864 legend idx.png|Areas ceded to the [[Montana Territory|Montana]] and [[Dakota Territory|Dakota]] Territories in 1864
File:Wpdms idaho territory 1868.png|The Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming Territories in 1868
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|History}}
*[[Idaho in the American Civil War]]
*[[California Trail]]
*[[Historic regions of the United States]]
*[[History of Idaho]]
*[[Oregon Trail]]
*[[Oregon Treaty]], 1846
*[[Territorial evolution of the United States]]
*[[State of Deseret]], 1849–1850 (extralegal)
*[[Territory of Jefferson]], 1859–1861 (extralegal)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Idaho Territory}}
* [http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/geog/explore/essay.pdf Idaho State Univ. document] (PDF) on origin of name "Idaho" and how Idaho became territory
* [http://www.washingtonhistory.org/wshs/columbia/articles/0388-a1.htm ''COLUMBIA'': Fall 1988; Vol. 2, No. 3, The Long Wait for Statehood, Why it took Washington 36 years and Idaho 26 years to achieve their goals.]
* [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=012/llsl012.db&recNum=839 Idaho Organic Act 1863 – An Act to provide a temporary Government for the Territory of Idaho]
* [https://archive.org/details/lawsterritoryid03idahgoog Laws of the Territory of Idaho (1864)]
* [https://archive.org/details/constitutionofst00idahrich Constitution of the state of Idaho, and the act providing for the admission of the state (1891)]

{{Territories of the United States}}
{{Idaho}}
{{Authority control}}
{{coord|44.06|-114.74|type:adm1st_globe:earth_region:US-ID|display=title}}

[[Category:Idaho Territory| ]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Idaho|*]]
[[Category:Former organized territories of the United States]]
[[Category:History of Idaho]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Montana]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Wyoming]]
[[Category:History of the American West]]
[[Category:History of the Northwestern United States]]
[[Category:1863 establishments in Idaho Territory]]
[[Category:1890 disestablishments in the United States]]