First and Second United States Empires : Governors and Territorial Government, 1784-1912 / Jack Ericson Eblen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Eblen, Jack Ericson, author.

Series:

University of Pittsburgh Press Digital Editions

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--Territories and possessions.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (viii, 344 pages) : illustrations, maps.

Place of Publication:

Pittsburgh : University of Pittsburgh Press, 1968.

Summary:

In the late eighteenth century the fledgling republic of the United States was faced with the problem of devising a form of government to oversee its vast land possessions north and west of the Ohio River. To fill this need, Thomas Jefferson drafted the Ordinance of 1784, which evolved into the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Deliberately modeled on the British colonial system, it granted territorial governors broad autocratic powers. It defined government in the Northwest, and all other subsequent territories in the public domain. Eblen defines two historical periods (empires): 1787-1848; and 1849-1912; based on government land acquisition. This book describes the nature of government in all the contiguous territories of the United States, offering an original and comprehensive view of the role and meaning of territorial government, and the administration of the Western territories.

Contents:

Front Matter

Table of Contents

Introduction

I Origins of the United States Colonial System: The Ordinance of 1787

II The Beginnings of Territorial Government

III Territorial Government during the District Stage

IV Local Government during the District Stage

V Transformation and Standardization of the First Empire

VI Federal Supervision during the Second Stage

VII Second-Stage Accommodation and Statehood

VIII Indian Affairs

IX The Governors

Epilogue

Selected Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780822975724