More Myths
Nevada’s Historical Myths:
Facing the truth about some of ourbest but tallest tales.
by
Dennis Myers & Guy Rocha
Nevada History
Why Did Nevada Become A State?
by
Guy Rocha
Nevada State Archivist
Who hasn’t heard ad nauseam that our state was admitted to the Union on
October 31, 1864 because its silver and gold production were needed to help
finance the Civil War. Anyone who has attended Nevada’s schools has heard
the story from a teacher or read it in a textbook. It’s a wonderful tale,
but nothing could be farther from the truth. Our state’s history has too
often been embellished and transposed into myth, and the claim of Nevada’s
mineral wealth triggering statehood ranks as one of the most pervasive
fictional stories in the annuals of the Silver State. The reasons for
Nevada’s statehood were political, not economic. Earlier writers were so
caught up in romanticizing Nevada’s role in the Civil War they decided to
re-invent history.
FACT: Nevada Territory was a federal territory, a part of the Union, and
President Abraham Lincoln appointed Governor James Warren Nye, a former
Police Commissioner in New York City, to ensure that it stayed that way.
Governor Nye put down any demonstration in support of the Confederacy, and
there were some. The federal government bought much of Nevada’s silver and
gold bullion to support its currency. What federal taxes there were at
the time that could be effectively collected went into Union coffers.
Therefore, Nevada’s creation as a TERRITORY on March 2, 1861 by the United
States Congress ensured that its riches would help the Union and not the
Confederate cause.
FACT: By the time Congress approved an Enabling Acting for Nevada on
March 21, 1864, the Civil War was winding down. The Union had won decisive
victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, and the South was in shambles.
President Lincoln sought reelection and faced a three-way race against
General John C. Fremont, the Radical Republican candidate, and General
George B. McClellan, a Democrat–he had earlier in the war relieved both
generals of their commands. New states, and their popular and electoral
vote, were needed to reelect Lincoln in support of his moderate,
reconstruction policies for the South. Among the proposed policies was the
13th Amendment abolishing slavery. If Nevada were a state, it could ratify
the amendment and help in the passage of the landmark humanitarian
legislation.
FICTION: Nevada was singled out to help save the Union. Actually
Enabling acts for three territories, Colorado, Nebraska, and Nevada, were
passed by Congress in March 1864. Nebraska’s constitutional convention
voted against statehood, while Colorado Territory’s voters did not approve
the proposed state constitution. Thus, Nevada Territory was the only
territory to come to the support of President Lincoln. Ironically, shortly
after Nevadans voted 8-1 in support of the state constitution, General
Fremont dropped out of the presidential race, and Nevada was no longer
critical to a Lincoln win. President Lincoln proclaimed Nevada a state on
October 31, a week before the national election, and then went on to carry
Nevada in a relatively easy win over General McClellan.
FICTION: While it is true that Nevadans gave the beleaguered president
three Republican Congressman to help rebuild the nation, ironically our two
U.S. Senators James W. Nye and William M. Stewart arrived in Washington,
D.C. too late to sign the 13th Amendment. Congressman Henry C. Worthington
did sign the amendment, and it was soon ratified by Nevada. Senator
Stewart would prove to be a key player in the drafting of the 15th
Amendment giving Black males the right to vote.
So Nevada was, in fact, the “Battle Born” state because of its entrance
into the Union during the Civil War, but not for the reasons we find in the
popular mythology. Historians recognize that the discovery of the Comstock
Lode in 1859 was one of many factors influencing Nevada’s territorial
status. However, making the leap to statehood because wealth from Nevada’s
mines was desperately needed to help the Union win the Civil War keeps
stubbornly recurring as perhaps our state’s #1 legend.
The Exhibit Gallery of the Nevada State Library and Archives, where the
original State Constitution is displayed, has an informative video entitled
“Battle Born” which creatively captures the reasons for granting Nevada
statehood in 1864.
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