Unit 2: Iowa Territory

How To Use This Page

On this page, you will find a curated collection of videos, resources, guides, and opportunities for exploration that are tied specifically to Iowa's territorial period. Educators and lifelong learners can use the compelling and supporting questions to guide their learning and focus their exploration on the major topics. The lectures, videos, featured content, and readings can be completed at each learner's own pace and will provide necessary knowledge and background to craft and deliver Iowa History lessons in a K-12 classroom.

Compelling and Supporting Questions

Compelling and supporting questions are designed for each unit and the materials below will provide content and context for teachers, students, and lifelong learners.

Compelling Question

How did the arrival of European and American settlers in the Iowa Territory change the cultural landscape?

Supporting Questions

1. How did westward expansion change Iowa’s population, economics, and politics?
2. How was the Iowa Territory governed?
3. What challenges did surveyors face as they plotted the new territory on maps?
4. How were Black Americans treated under the Territorial government?
5. What challenges did American and European settlers face in the new Iowa Territory?
6. How did the Meskwaki respond to removal?

Overview

On June 1, 1833, the federal government officially opened land in present-day Iowa to White settlers. In 1834, the land was incorporated in the Michigan Territory, and then became part of the Wisconsin Territory in 1836. On July 4, 1838 the Iowa Territory was officially designated by the federal government, spanning from the Mississippi River to the Missouri River and north to the Canadian border. During this time period, the federal government ruled over territories until they became states. The U.S. government appointed a governor and judges while also overseeing the surveying and sale of land.

As surveyors plotted out a grid pattern for new settlement, a brief dispute erupted over the southern border with Missouri in 1839. Surveying was imperfect work, and a Missouri surveyor had set the state’s boundary farther north than previous surveys. The change on the map added 2,616 more square miles to Missouri’s land while cutting into the Iowa Territory’s southern counties. At the time, Missouri allowed slavery, which was a contentious issue in the free-soil Iowa Territory. When Van Buren County farmers in the Iowa Territory resisted, a brief riot known as the Honey War played out along the border. 

Although the Iowa Territory did not permit slavery, many settlers tolerated enslavement and even practiced it. African Americans had few rights in the new territory and faced violence and discrimination. Native peoples also experienced violence as westward expansion pushed land-hungry settlers onto their homelands and hunting grounds. The U.S. government used military force and unfair treaties to push west. In 1842, the Sauk and Meskwaki were forced to cede all their lands in the Iowa Territory west of the Mississippi River. The federal government forced the tribes to relocate to Kansas within three years in exchange for negligible financial compensation.

Early squatters and settlers established towns along eastern Iowa, sticking close to rivers that provided easy transportation and connection to nearby towns. Over 100,000 people arrived in the Iowa Territory from the 1830s to the 1840s. In 1844 Iowa voters rejected a constitution that would have reduced the territory’s size, but two years later, they approved a new constitution and officially joined the Union.

Think Like a Historian

In this video, genealogist Ricki King discusses historical thinking skills like gathering and evaluating sources, developing claims based on evidence, and the value of family histories as a method for learning about the past. 

In this video, environmental historian Kevin Mason discusses historical thinking skills like change over time, developing questions, and gathering and evaluating evidence. 

Major Topics of Study

When learning about Iowa's territorial period, some of the key areas to cover might include:

• Michigan Territory → Wisconsin Territory → Iowa Territory
• Squatters, claims clubs, crime → land surveys (1836-1858) → Honey War
• Farming, lead mining → lives of men, women, children
• Territorial laws restricting African American rights
• Sauk and Meskwaki → land cessions (1836, 1837) → removal (1842)
• Dragoons, Fort DSM (V.1 and V.2)
• Push/pull factors: Swedes, Dutch, Amish, Amana
• Ralph Montgomery case (1839) vs. Nathaniel Morgan (1840)

Notable Iowans

Exemplary and significant people in Iowa history from territorial period could include many of the below figures. Wherever possible, links to Iowa's digital biography provide opportunities for further exploration.

Historic Sites

Iowa is full of valuable historic sites. The below sites provide opportunities to explore the value of place-based learning and the importance of storytelling through historic sites.

• Old Stone Capitol in Iowa City

• Plum Grove, Iowa City: Home of Governor Lucas (after his term as Governor)

State Historical Society Objects, Documents, and Photos

Objects, documents, and photographs from the State Historical Society of Iowa are excellent catalysts for further inquiry in the classroom or for independent lifelong learners. 

Video Resources

If you are looking for longer, more detailed discussions or lectures related to the themes discussed in this unit, the following resources provide further context and information.

Further Reading

This curated collection of readings allow teachers, students, and lifelong learners to explored a curated collection of primary sources, articles, books, and essays that supplement and provide depth to the topics covered in this unit.