[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 30 (Monday, March 4, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E235-E236]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IDAHO'S TERRITORIAL SESQUICENTENNIAL

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL K. SIMPSON

                                of idaho

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 4, 2013

  Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, on this day in 1863, 150 years ago, 
President Abraham Lincoln signed a congressional act creating the Idaho 
Territory. Twenty-seven years later, part of that territory would 
become the 43rd State, the State of Idaho.
  The Idaho Territory was initially much larger than the borders of 
Idaho today; it included most of what would later become Montana and 
Wyoming. The territory, to be governed by William H. Wallace, an old 
friend of Lincoln's, was previously part of the Washington Territory.
  Western Washington politicians moved to discard large tracts of land 
in eastern Washington Territory partly because the population in those 
areas was increasing rapidly and they wanted to assure Olympia would 
remain the capital of the region. That population increase was mostly 
gold miners seeking out their fortunes in the Clearwater region, now 
Idaho's panhandle. This goes to show you, Mr. Speaker, gerrymandering 
is not a new phenomenon; it is in fact one of the reasons the Idaho 
Territory was created in the first place.
  However, the land mass for the Idaho Territory was so expansive that 
within a year Montana broke away, and four years later Wyoming did the 
same, leaving the Idaho Territory looking very much like the State does 
today.
  In 1890, after 27 years as a territory, Idaho became the 43rd State. 
However, much of what distinguishes Idaho today came about during its 
territorial years, including the creation of its main highways, many of 
its public schools, its tax system, its tribal laws, its universities, 
its water laws, and indeed, its eventual Constitution, written in the 
summer of 1889 in Boise. Idaho's Constitution remains today almost 
exactly how it was written, and it still forms the basis for all Idaho 
laws to this day.
  The citizens of Idaho have always demonstrated a unity and sense of 
pride in their traditions and history, and this rich history is what 
makes them who they are today. From the Canadian border to Yellowstone, 
from Craters of the Moon to Coeur d'Alene Lake, Idahoans celebrate 
today. It is my privilege today to commemorate Idaho's territorial 
sesquicentennial.

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