Unit 3: Iowa Statehood

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 earliest days of statehood (1846 to 1857). 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

 What challenges and opportunities defined frontier life in Iowa?

Supporting Questions

1. How and why did Iowa's constitution change over time?
2. How did the Meskwaki reclaim their homeland after displacement?
3. What push and pull factors brought migrants to Iowa?
4. How did gender roles influence the work of women, men, and children on the farm?
5. Where were early towns established in Iowa? Why there?

Overview

The process of becoming a state occurred in two phases. First, the federal government appointed territorial officials and outlined the boundaries of the new territory. To complete the second phase of the statehood process, a territory needed to have a sufficient population and a functioning government with a constitution. In 1840, Iowa had a population of at least 43,000, well above the 5,000 White men it needed to meet the minimum requirements to elect a lower house of the legislature. Despite having a sufficient population, that year voters struck down a referendum  to draft a constitution. The federal government paid the tax burden for territories and settlers enjoyed benefits of territorial life without the full cost of governance. 

But four years later, sentiments had changed and setters were ready to form a constitutional convention to pursue a path to statehood. Florida was also ready to join the Union and the Missouri Compromise of 1820 dictated that slave states needed to join at the same time as free states to maintain the balance of power. Since Florida was entering as a slave state, Iowa could enter as a free state. Iowans would also gain the added benefits of electing their own leaders, wielding more influence in national politics, and gaining access to federal money that would improve the Mississippi River for steamboat travel. 

The delegates to the first state constitutional convention in 1844 wrote a constitution that reflected their beliefs and values. Most identified politically as Jacksonian Democrats, a party that was notoriously pro-slavery, anti-Native American, and anti-banks. The constitution they drafted severely limited rights for people of color in the new state, reflecting the open racial prejudice common across the Iowa Territory. The constitution would be revised in 1846 and again in 1857. Black men would not gain the right to vote until 1868, and women not until 1920. 

The population grew quickly after statehood as migrants to Iowa pursued economic, political, and religious independence. Migrants from Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany in Western Europe found refuge in the new state. In the 1850s, nearly 500,000 people moved to Iowa, overcoming the challenges of life on the frontier like disease, accidents, prairie fires, and blizzards. In 1857, the state government moved from Iowa City to Des Moines, which reflected the westward movement of newcomers to the state. Although Iowa’s population was predominantly rural, towns became communication, transportation, and market hubs for the rural hinterlands around them. Wagons, steamboats, and stagecoaches carried settlers west toward Ottumwa and Sioux City. 

In the 1850s, the Meskwaki also led a public relations campaign to petition for the right to buy back their land in Iowa. After the 5th Iowa General Assembly passed a law allowing the Meskwaki to purchase land, the Meskwaki bought 80 acres near Tama in 1857. Across the United States, Native tribes lost 80 million acres in the period after removal from the late 1880s to the early 1990s. The Meskwaki were the first tribe to buy their land back after removal. By the mid-1860s, their population totaled nearly 250 in Tama County.

Think Like a Historian

In this video, State Historical Society of Iowa Administrator Valerie Van Kooten discusses historical thinking skills like continuity and change over time, contextualization, and comparison. 

Major Topics of Study

When learning about the early years of Iowa's statehood, some of the key areas to cover might include:

• A New Map of the State of Iowa
• Iowa's Constitution and Government
• Meskwaki Resistance & Return
• Migrants to a New State
• Life on the Farm
• Early Towns

Notable Iowans

Exemplary and significant people in Iowa history from this time 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.

• Abbie Gardner Sharp Cabin

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.