Changes

==History==

==History==

Parts of what is now Nebraska lay along the [[Oregon Trail | Oregon]], Mormon, and California Trails. Fort Kearney in particular was an important stop for those travelers.<ref>[http://www.theus50.com/nebraska/]</ref>

Parts of what is now Nebraska lay along the [[Oregon Trail|Oregon]], Mormon, and California Trails. Fort Kearney in particular was an important stop for those travelers.<ref>[http://www.theus50.com/nebraska/]</ref>

On May 30, 1854, Congress passed the [[Kansas-Nebraska Act]] [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/kanneb.htm], which created the territories of [[Kansas]] and Nebraska, divided at the 40th parallel, and gave them [[popular sovereignty]],<ref>[http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112391/kansas-nebraska_act.htm]</ref> that is, the right to decide whether to allow slavery or not. This act had been proposed by Senator [[Stephen Douglas]] of [[Illinois]], and angered slavery opponents because it allowed for the possibility of slavery north of the line drawn in the 1820 [[Missouri Compromise]]. The Kansas-Nebraska Act led to violence in Kansas, known as Bleeding Kansas. Despite the fact that such violence did not take place in Nebraska, Nebraska had to wait until March 1, 1867 to enter the Union.

On May 30, 1854, Congress passed the [[Kansas-Nebraska Act]] [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/kanneb.htm], which created the territories of [[Kansas]] and Nebraska, divided at the 40th parallel, and gave them [[popular sovereignty]],<ref>[http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112391/kansas-nebraska_act.htm]</ref> that is, the right to decide whether to allow slavery or not. This act had been proposed by Senator [[Stephen Douglas]] of [[Illinois]], and angered slavery opponents because it allowed for the possibility of slavery north of the line drawn in the 1820 [[Missouri Compromise]]. The Kansas-Nebraska Act led to violence in Kansas, known as Bleeding Kansas. Despite the fact that such violence did not take place in Nebraska, Nebraska had to wait until March 1, 1867 to enter the Union.

==Miscellaneous Facts==

==Miscellaneous Facts==

Nebraska was the only state to use the electric chair as its sole method of [[Capital punishment|execution]].<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,206131,00.html]</ref>, although now it uses lethal injection after a ruling by the Nebraska Supreme Court stated the electric chair was unconstitutional <ref> [http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/methods-execution] </ref>

Nebraska was the only state to use the electric chair as its sole method of [[Capital punishment|execution]].,<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,206131,00.html]</ref> although now it uses lethal injection after a ruling by the Nebraska Supreme Court stated the electric chair was unconstitutional <ref>[http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/methods-execution]</ref>

In the world of sports, the football team of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is the state's pride and joy, having won five national championships.<ref>[http://sharkfeet.tripod.com/history.htm]</ref>

In the world of sports, the football team of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is the state's pride and joy, having won five national championships.<ref>[http://sharkfeet.tripod.com/history.htm]</ref>

Nebraska is the only state to have a unicameral Legislative body (since 1934/7 when it was decided in a constitutional amendment to remove the house of representatives to cut costs); along with a nonpartisan (Parties are not listed as part of the election, although there is no question of which party a person is from) election format; and is also the smallest at 49 senators. <ref> [http://nebraskalegislature.gov/about/ou_facts.php] </ref>

Nebraska is the only state to have a unicameral Legislative body (since 1934/7 when it was decided in a constitutional amendment to remove the house of representatives to cut costs); along with a nonpartisan (Parties are not listed as part of the election, although there is no question of which party a person is from) election format; and is also the smallest at 49 senators.<ref>[http://nebraskalegislature.gov/about/ou_facts.php]</ref>

==Notable Nebraskans==

==Notable Nebraskans==