Colorado Territory

The Colorado Territory was a historic, organized territory of the United States that existed between 1861 and 1876. Its boundaries were identical to the current State of Colorado. The territory ceased to exist when Colorado was admitted to the to the Union as a state on August 1, 1876. The territory was organized in the wake of the 1859 Colorado Gold Rush, which had brought the first large concentration of white settlement to the region. The organic act was passed by Congress and signed by lame-duck president James Buchanan in the spring of 1861 during the thick of the secessions by the Southern states that precipitated the American Civil War. The organization of the territory helped solidy Union control over a mineral rich area of the Rocky Mountains. Statehood was regarded as fairly imminent, but territorial ambitions for statehood was thwarted at the end of in 1865 by a veto by Andrew Johnson. Statehood for the territory was a recurring issue during the Ulysses Grant administration, with Grant advocated statehood against a less willing Congress during Reconstruction.

Related Topics:
Organized territory - United States - 1861 - 1876 - State of Colorado - August 1 - 1859 - Colorado Gold Rush - Organic act - Congress - James Buchanan - Southern - American Civil War - Union - Rocky Mountains - 1865 - Veto - Andrew Johnson - Ulysses Grant - Reconstruction

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