When did the Oklahoma Land Rush take place?
At high noon on April 22, 1889, settlers furiously dashed across the Oklahoma plains to stake their claims to nearly two million acres put up for grabs by the U.S. government. On the anniversary of the Oklahoma Land Rush, look back at the estimated 50,000 “boomers” and “sooners” who engaged in what some have called the greatest horse race in American history.
More Info:
www.history.com
What are your thoughts on this subject?
31 Comments
George Oliver Prince
Guess I'm going to aggravate a few Oklahoman's, but Sooners were people who illegally jumped the gun before the Oklahoma Land rush of 1889
21
May 27, 2018 3:10AM
Sherry Balow
My great grandparents staked their claim and their 3 children were all born in the territory... I remember their stories.
18
Jun 2, 2016 1:40AM
Harkey8
That land was originally designated to be for the 40 acres and a mule for freed slaves. Later, African Americans were prohibited from owning the land as others were. Equality has been an ongoing strife for this nation; yet the slaves made such prosperity possible ~ such a paradox 😞
8
Aug 16, 2018 11:24PM
Bebe Fain
My Great Grand Uncle Major John A Pickler was appointed by President Harrison to over see the Oklahoma Land rush
5
Mar 14, 2019 8:01AM
Cheryl Love
Harkey8, Seminoles, Shawnees, so many other indigenous peoples were already there.
0
Nov 5, 2023 2:40AM
Bruce Chowning
George Oliver Prince, we all know this, and it doesn’t bother us. We own it. We’re not called the Sooner State for nothing
3
Jul 2, 2021 7:43PM
Char
mikewkirby, I use mine all the time as back up and occasionally can't afford another miss..
0
Jun 23, 2021 9:47PM
Char
Yet it is were all five civilized tribes were put...not sure on the year
0
Jun 23, 2021 9:45PM
vinnie
Harkey8, very well-written! I followed issues of slavery then and now and find much of what you have written to be excellent research!
0
Jan 26, 2019 9:10PM
a1goodmule
Barbara DeWitt, I thought about it to cant get away from them lol
0
Nov 22, 2018 2:57AM
patrhea
Got it! Love the q and explanation!
3
Sep 5, 2018 9:15PM
Janet Fredericks
Barbara DeWitt, Me too!!!
0
Sep 5, 2018 6:39PM
Don Racette
Barbara DeWitt They are a nuisance
0
Sep 5, 2018 6:08PM
Judith Ferguson
Both sets of my grandparents Staked claims after land rushes there was more than one, the 1889 was just the largest not the latest.
3
Sep 5, 2018 5:24PM
ninakamwene
Lucky guess
2
Sep 4, 2018 7:21PM
Barbara DeWitt
Why do we have to put up with those crappy little ads in the lower left hand corner. I'm about ready to leave this quiz because of them.
4
Sep 4, 2018 6:58PM
Annie
Dad was born in Indian Territory. 👏🏻
3
Sep 4, 2018 6:26PM
Harkey8
Harkey8, Edit
By the 1870s, blacks had abandoned hope of federal land redistribution, but many still saw "forty acres and a mule" as the key to freedom.[231] Black land ownership in the South increased steadily despite the failure of federal Reconstruction.[232] One quarter of black farmers in the South owned their land by 1900. Near the coast, they owned an average of 27 acres; inland, an average of 48 acres.[233] By comparison, 63% of Southern white farmers owned their land.[234] Most of this land was simply bought through private transactions.[232]
In 1910, black Americans owned 15,000,000 acres of land, most of it in Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina. This figure has since declined to 5,500,000 acres in 1980 and to 2,000,000 acres in 1997.[235][236][237] Most of this land is not the area held by black families in 1910; beyond the "Black Belt", it is located in Texas, Oklahoma, and California.[238] The total number of Black farmers has decreased from 925,708 in 1920 to 18,000 in 1997; the number of white farmers has also decreased, but much more slowly.[238] black American land ownership has diminished more than that of any other ethnic group, while white land ownership has increased.[235] black families who inherit land across generations without obtaining an explicit title (often resulting in tenancy in common by multiple descendents) may have difficulty gaining government benefits and risk losing their land completely.[236][239] Outright fraud and lynchings have also been used to strip black people of their land.[240][241]
Black landowners are common targets of eminent domain laws invoked to make way for public works projects.[242] At Harris Neck in the Sea Islands, a group of Gullah freedpeople retained 2,681 acres of high-quality land due to the Will of the plantation owner Marg[a]ret Ann Harris. About 100 black farmers continued to live at Harris Neck until 1942, when they were forced off the land because of a plan to build an Air Force base. The land was used freely by local white authorities until 1962, when it was turned over to the federal Fish and Wildlife Service and became Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge. Ownership of the land remains contested.[242][243][244]
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has long been viewed as a cause for the decline in black agriculture. According to a 1997 report by the USDA's own Civil Rights Action Team:[245]
There are some who call the USDA 'the last plantation.' An 'old line' department, USDA was one of the last federal agencies to integrate and perhaps the last to include women and minorities in leadership positions. Considered a stubborn bureaucracy and slow to change, USDA is also perceived as playing a key role in what some see as a conspiracy to force minority and socially disadvantaged farmers off their land through discriminatory loan practices.
A class action lawsuit has accused the USDA of systematic discrimination against black farmers from 1981–1999. In Pigford v. Glickman (1999), District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman ruled in favor of the farmers and ordered the USDA to pay financial damages for loss of land and revenue.[246] However, the status of full compensation for affected farmers remains unresolved.[247]
Symbolism Edit
The phrase "40 acres and a mule" has come to symbolize the broken promise that Reconstruction policies would offer economic justice for African Americans.[248][249]
The "40 acres and a mule" promise featured prominently in the Pigford decision. Ruling that the United States Department of Agriculture had discriminated against African American farmers, Friedman wrote: "Forty acres and a mule. The government broke that promise to African American farmers. Over one hundred years later, the USDA broke its promise to Mr. James Beverly."[250]
Reparations Edit
"40 Acres and a Mule" is often discussed in the context of reparations for slavery. However, strictly speaking, the various policies offering 'forty acres' provided land for political and economic reasons—and with a price tag—and not as unconditional compensation for lifetimes of unpaid labor.[251][252]
4
Aug 16, 2018 11:33PM
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