April 22, 1889: Thousands rush to claim land in the Oklahoma Territory during the Land Rush of 1889



Before the Oklahoma territory was officially organized, it was home to the various native tribes that were forcibly relocated there by the federal government. The tribes that occupied the territory were as follows: Choctaw, Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Seminole, Quapaw, Seneca, Shawnee, Delaware, Kickapoo, Kiowas, Comanche, Wyandot, Arapahos, and Wichita. These tribes would continue to be relocated there throughout the 19th century. By the time the Civil War ended, whites were increasingly making the journey West to settle new lands. The western expansion was also an opportunity for recent immigrants and freed African Americans to claim land for their own. The need for new land grew so great that the government decided open up land formerly set aside for Native Americans to white settlement. In 1889, Congress passed the Indian Appropriation bill, which allowed settlers to claim any unassigned land in the Oklahoma territory. At noon on April 22, thousands raced across the territory in order to stake their claims. Some jumped the gun, and they were criticized for being “sooners.” This is now a common moniker for Oklahomans in the present day. By the end of the day, the towns of Oklahoma City and Guthrie were both established. By the end of 1889, at least 62,000 Americans flooded into the territory to claim land for themselves.

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