Social Studies - Oklahoma, Part 3

Question 1: Describe the accomplishments of Wilma Mankiller.

Answer 1: Wilma Mankiller is primarily known for her role as the first woman to serve, and later the first woman to be elected, as the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. Wilma Mankiller was originally elected to the position of deputy chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1983, and she assumed the position of principal chief when Principal Chief Ross Swimmer resigned in 1985. She was then elected to the position of principal chief in 1987 and again in 1991. During her time as principal chief, Mankiller managed to acquire the funds necessary to carry out a number of projects aimed at increasing the number of tribal businesses and improving the community's resources. Mankiller also helped to strengthen the Cherokee Nation's relations with the federal government, helped to discourage gender bias within the Cherokee Nation, and wrote two books about her life and the history of the Cherokee people.

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Question 2: Briefly describe the Louisiana Purchase, and explain the role that it played in the U.S. acquisition of the lands that are now Oklahoma.

Answer 2: The Louisiana Purchase refers to an agreement between the United States and France in which the United States agreed to purchase from France all of the land between the Mississippi River and the area that is now located near the western border of the states of Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. This agreement allowed the United States to acquire over 828,000 square miles of land in exchange for $15 million (which was a relatively low price, even at the time.) The Louisiana Purchase agreement, also known as the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, was signed by representatives of President Thomas Jefferson in Paris on April 30, 1803. The French transferred ownership of New Orleans to the United States on December 20, 1803, before the rest of the land, because acquiring New Orleans was the primary concern of the U.S. However, the remainder of the land, including the land that now makes up most of the state of Oklahoma, was officially transferred to the U.S. on March 10, 1804.

Question 3: Explain the role that the annexation of Texas played in the U.S. acquisition of the Oklahoma panhandle.

Answer 3: The Annexation of Texas refers to an event in U.S. history in which the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution that allowed Texas to join the United States and become the 28th state in the nation. This gave the U.S. a legitimate claim to some of the land that Mexico controlled because the Republic of Texas had claimed ownership of that land before it had joined the United States. Mexico, however, refused to surrender the land that Texas claimed, and the U.S., at first, attempted to purchase the land from Mexico for $25 million. Mexico refused the offer, and the U.S., as a result, dispatched a small force to claim some of the land that Mexico would not surrender. This action forced the Mexicans to defend the land that they controlled and ultimately caused the Mexican-American War. After the war, the U.S. obtained control of all of the land to which Texas had previously claimed ownership, and a small portion of this land ultimately became the Oklahoma panhandle.

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