COUNTRY'S
INDEPENDENCE, BUT TODAY, IN THE GEM STATE, WE CELEBRATE OUR
BIRTHDAY.
130 YEARS AGO TODAY, IN
1890, IDAHO OFFICIALLY
BECAME THE 43RD STATE
IN THE U.S. BUT FOR 26
YEARS
YEARS IDAHO WAS JUST A U.S. TERRITORY. CHASE BIEFELDT TALKED
WITH RETIRED IDAHO
HISTORIAN, KEITH
PETERSEN, TO LEARN
MORE ABOUT IDAHO'S
ROAD TO STATEHOOD.
KEITH PETERSEN WAS AN
IDAHO HISTORIAN FOR 12
YEARS.
YEARS.
HOW
HOW MUCH
HOW MUCH WOULD YOU SAY YOU KNOW ABOUT IDAHO? YOU NEVER
KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT
IDAHO
HOWEVER, KEITH
CERTAINLY KNOWS
ENOUGH TO TELL THE
STORY OF HOW IDAHO
BECAME A STATE.
ONE HUNDRED AND
THIRTY YEARS AGO TODAY,
THE U.S. CONGRESS
APPROVED AN IDAHO
STATE CONSTITUTION IN
1890.
BUT THIS WAS NO EASY
FEAT.
THERE WAS A LOT GOING
ON IN THE IDAHO
TERRITORY IN THE 1880S.
IT TOOK A LOT OF
RESOLUTION OF
SIGNIFICANT POLITICAL
ISSUES BEFORE IDAHO
COULD SEE ITS WAY CLEAR
TO BECOME A STATE.
IN THE TERRITORIAL
PERIOD IT SET UP REALLY
SERIOUS DIVISIONS
BETWEEN NORTH AND
SOUTH IDAHO, AND MANY
TIMES IN THE 27 YEAR
PERIOD OF IDAHO
TERRITORY, THE NORTH
TRIED TO BREAK AWAY
FROM IDAHO.
AT THE SAME TIME,
NEVADA
NEVADA WAS MAKING A PLAY TO ANNEX MUCH OF
SOUTHERN
SOUTHERN IDAHO. PEOPLE STARTED THINKING THAT IF THE
NORTH GOES
WASHINGTON AND THE
SOUTH GOES TO NEVADA,
THERE WON'T BE AN
IDAHO WORTH FIGHTING
OVER.
THE MOST SERIOUS
ACTION CAME IN 1887
WHEN ACTUALLY BOTH
HOUSES
HOUSES OF
HOUSES OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS PASSED A BILL WHICH WOULD
HAVE ALLOWED THE
IDAHO PANHANDLE TO
SECEDE FROM IDAHO AND
JOIN WASHINGTON, BUT
PRESIDENT GROVER
CLEVELAND REFUSED TO
SIGN IT SO IT WAS POCKET
VETOED.
BUT WHEN CLEVELAND
LEFT OFFICE, THE TIDE
SHIFTED.
BECAUSE LDS CHURCH
MEMBERS IN IDAHO
VOTED IN LARGE
NUMBERS AND VOTED
PRIMARILY IN THOSE DAYS
AS DEMOCRATS.
REPUBLICANS PASSED
REPUBLICANS PASSED
SOMETHING
SOMETHING CALLED THE IDAHO TEST OATH, OR WE OFTEN CALL IT THE
MORMAN TEST OATH.
IT'S COMPLICATED, BUT
BASICALLY
DISENFRANCHISED ALL
MORMAN VOTERS, SO
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE
SAME PERIOD, IDAHO
BECAME A REALLY
DOMINANT REPUBLICAN
STATE POLITICALLY
BECAUSE MORMANS WERE
NO LONGER ABLE TO
VOTE.
AT THE SAME TIME IN
1888, REPUBLICANS WON
THE PRESIDENCY AND
BOTH HOUSES OF THE
UNITED STATES
CONGRESS. SO IDAHO
REPUBLICAN PARTY HAD
STRONG ALLIES IN
WASHINGTON, D.C.
SUDDENLY.
ALL THE SUDDEN THE IDEA
OF IDAHO PERHAPS
BECOMING A STATE
GAINED GREAT
MOMENTUM.
WHY WAS STATEHOOD
IMPORTANT BACK THEN?
THERE'S VARIOUS
REASONS INCLUDING
FUNDING AND SO ON,
BUT ONE OF THE BIGGEST
REASONS IS
REPRESENTATION IN
CONGRESS. AS A
TERRITORY, IDAHO HAD
ONE NON VOTING
MEMBER OF CONGRESS.
SO ONCE YOU BECOME A
STATE, YOU HAVE TWO
SENATORS AND THEN
HOWEVER MANY
REPRESENTATIVES YOUR
POPULATION SUPPORTS,
BUT THAT ABILITY TO HAVE
A VOICE IN NATIONAL
AFFAIRS IS A PRIMARY
REASON FOR WANTING
STATEHOOD. BY 1890, STATEHOOD WAS NOT UNANIMOUSLY
POPULAR BUT IT WAS A
VAST MAJORITY OF
IDAHOANS WHO VOTED
FOR THE CONSTITUTION
THE ACT WAS SIGNED BY
PRESIDENT HARRISON ON
JULY 3RD, 1890.
CHASE
CHASE BIEFELDT, IDAHO'S NEWSCHANNEL SEVEN. ALL THE IMAGES YOU
JUST SAW ARE COURTESY
OF THE IDAHO STATE
HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
IDAHO HAS COME A
LONG
LONG WAY
LONG WAY IN 130 YEARS. PETERSEN SAYS IN 1890, OUR POPULATION WAS
JUST 88-THOUSAND.
NOW, WE HAVE NEARLY
1-POINT-8 MILLION
PEOPLE IN THE GEM
STATE..
AND IN CELEBRATION--
WE'RE ASKING YOU TO
SEND US YOUR FAVORITE
PICTURE OR PLACE IN THE
GEM STATE.
GEM STATE.