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Nebraska Revisited
Hailed for its Great Plains, the State of Nebraska got its name from the the Native American word “oto” meaning “flat water”, after the Platte River which is a channel of the Missouri River that runs through the state. Nebraska borders with South Dakota at the north, Iowa in the northest, Missouri in the southeast, Kansas at the south, Colorado in at the southwest and Wyoming at the west. Nebraska ranks 16th-largest state in the country with a total of 200,520 km², majority of which is land.
The state’s teritory was defined when the by the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed in to law thriteen years before its admitance to the Union in May 30, 1854, together with the state of Kansas. During the 1860s, after the passing of the Homestead law issuing the grand of free lands to include the lands of Nebraska, the first wave of people moved to the state. Due to the lack of trees, the first settlers managed to build their home out of sod. Nebraska was the 37th state to be admitted to the Union in March 1, 1867. The state capital was Omaha which was later moved to Lancaster, which was renamed Lincoln after the assassinated President Abraham Lincoln.
Among all the states in America, Nebraska is the only state adopting the unicameral legislature system; that is without the division of the house and the sanate. The members of the legistature though is called senators. Unique to the Nebraskan government is the nonpartisan system wherein senators are elected with no party beside the names at the ballot. The speaker as well as the committee chairs are also chosen onpenly thus giving parties the opportunity to have a seat in the position. Three-fifths majority majority can override the governor’s veto unlike the two-thirds on other state.
In 2000, Nebraska has 1,711,263 people, 38th in the whole country. The people of Nebraska is composed of White, Black, Asian, Native Americans, Hispanics, mixed races ang others. White dominates the population with almost 90%. The rest is divided on the rest of the reces. Religion is dominated by Christian: 28% Catholic and 61% of which are Protestants, which is further divided into several Protestant Churches. The rest of the population are non-religious. Five ancestry groups dominate the state of Nebraska. They are German (38.6%), Irish (12.4%), English (9.6%), Swedish (4.9%), and Czech (4.9%). Agriculture is mainly sourced from cattle, corn, hogs, soybeans, wheat, sorghum. Main industry is food processing, machinery, electric equipment, printing and publishing
Nebraska is rich with sites and recreational areas. Very popular to the travelers is the Heritage Highway. Located at the southern part of Nebraska, the Heritage Highway streches from Edison at the west and ends at Brownville. The 238-mile road features an exiting variety of views from winding rivers, tall grass prairies, lake, farmlands, and historic settlements, and hills. You can either adventure it by canoe, riverboats, and other water vessels. Hiking, biking, and water sports are available at the area.
Located at the eastern border of the state is another site that travelers should not miss. The Lewis and William Clark Byway feature historic waterways, large plain lands and croplands, and wooded bluffs. Other scenic byways that are located across Nebraska are Outlaw Trail Scenic Byway and Bridges to Buttes Byway at the north, 385 – Gold Rush Byway and the Western Trails Historic and Scenic Byway at the west, Loup Rivers Scenic Byway, Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway, and Lincoln Highway Scenic Byway at the central part of the state. All these package breathtaking views of great plain lands, lakes, and river ways that could give each traveler the reason to keep coming back.
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