March 2022 • Nebraskaland 55
the Platte. This helped him protect Omaha's status as the
territorial seat of government after Cuming convened the
fi rst legislature there.
Cuming's enemies lambasted him at mass meetings.
In Nebraska City, a 22-year-old aspiring politician named
J. Sterling Morton wrote to President Pierce denouncing
Cuming as an "unprincipled knave."
Omaha used a combination of bribery and parliamentary
maneuvers to maintain its status, but by early 1858 the anti-
Omaha men had a clear majority in the legislature. They
planned to introduce a bill to allow the selection of a new
capital. That day, Omaha legislators and their allies launched
a fi libuster that quickly erupted into a fi stfi ght on the House
fl oor. The Omahans prevailed with help from about 50 local
men waiting in the back of the room.
The next day the anti-Omaha group carried a motion to
adjourn the House and reconvene in Florence. The Omahans
protested that the motion was illegal, and for several days
Nebraska had two rival legislatures, each denouncing the
other as illegitimate.
Nebraska was between governors at the time. The former
appointee had resigned; the new one had not yet arrived.
Tom Cuming was once again acting governor. He refused
to recognize the Florence legislature. Upon arrival, the new
governor agreed with Cuming. Omaha had escaped again.
Omaha's reign as capital city fi nally ended after Nebraska
became a state in 1867. An anti-Omaha coalition passed
legislation to select a new capital city. The winner was
required to change its name to Lincoln in honor of the late
president. A committee chose the village of Lancaster, which
at the time had only two stores, a shoe shop, six or seven
houses, and about 30 residents.
"It is founded on fi at," an Omaha newspaper said of the
new capital city, "no river, no railroad, no steam wagon,
nothing. It is destined for isolation and ultimate oblivion."
But Lincoln eventually grew into its new role, while
Omaha boomed as a railroad center. Today, Omaha Central
High School stands atop the former Capitol Hill.
As for Bellevue, the former trading post and almost-capital
city remained a tiny town until the Martin Bomber Plant
opened there in World War II.
N
Visit History Nebraska's website at history.nebraska.gov.
Lincoln in 1872, looking northwest from the tower of the
state capitol. The University of Nebraska's lone building is in
the background. History Nebraska RG2158-23
Nebraska Territory's fi rst capitol was also Omaha's fi rst
brick building. It stood on Ninth Street between Farnam and
Douglas. The legislature moved to a larger building in 1858.
History Nebraska RG1234-2-10
