Changes

===Railroads and white settlement===

===Railroads and white settlement===

[[File:John R. Thomas Oklahoma judge.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Portrait of Judge [[J. R. Thomas]], who notably gave the death sentence to whites in Indian Territory who tortured and murdered Seminoles.]]

[[File:John R. Thomas Oklahoma judge.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Portrait of Judge [[J. R. Thomas]], who notably gave the death sentence to whites in Indian Territory who tortured and murdered Seminoles.]]

Railroads brought new economic opportunities, and for the first time led to an influx of white settlers; soon the Indians were outnumbered.  Hunters (both white and Indian) slaughtered the buffalo (bison)  herds, a primary food source of  some tribes.  Crime and lawlessness became rampant.  The tribes appealed to the federal government for help, which was granted in 1871 with the establishment of a federal court to deal with issues in the territory.  This new court usurped the power of less powerful Indian courts. The [[Dawes Act of 1887]] gave Indians title to land individually (rather than tribally), and they started to sell it off.   

Railroads brought new economic opportunities, and for the first time led to an influx of white settlers; soon the Indians were outnumbered.  Hunters (both white and Indian) slaughtered the buffalo (bison)  herds, a primary food source of  some tribes.  Crime and lawlessness became rampant.  The tribes appealed to the federal government for help, which was granted in 1871 with the establishment of a federal court to deal with issues in the territory.  This new court usurped the power of less powerful Indian courts. The Dawes Act of 1887 gave Indians title to land individually (rather than tribally), and they started to sell it off.   

By the 1880s many Americans were looking for a new start and sought to use the [[Homestead Act]] as the legal right to settle the unassigned lands in Oklahoma.  The federal government unsuccessfully attempted to disallow this.  Eventually the government relented and the Land Run of 1889 opened the lands of Oklahoma to white settlement on April 22, 1889. Over 50,000 homesteaders arrived and at noon raced to claim 160 acre homesteads.  Those settlers who made an illegal head start were called "sooners".<ref>Edward Everett Dale and Morris L. Wardell, ''History of Oklahoma'' (1948), 249-250 explain their actions were highly illegal.</ref>  

By the 1880s many Americans were looking for a new start and sought to use the [[Homestead Act]] as the legal right to settle the unassigned lands in Oklahoma.  The federal government unsuccessfully attempted to disallow this.  Eventually the government relented and the Land Run of 1889 opened the lands of Oklahoma to white settlement on April 22, 1889. Over 50,000 homesteaders arrived and at noon raced to claim 160 acre homesteads.  Those settlers who made an illegal head start were called "sooners".<ref>Edward Everett Dale and Morris L. Wardell, ''History of Oklahoma'' (1948), 249-250 explain their actions were highly illegal.</ref>