Oklahoma Organic Act

Oklahoma Organic Act
Great Seal of the United States
Other short titlesOrganic Act Oklahoma
Long titleAn Act to provide a temporary government for the Territory of Oklahoma, to enlarge the jurisdiction of the United States Court in the Indian Territory and for other purposes.
NicknamesOklahoma Organic Act of 1890
Enacted bythe 51st United States Congress
EffectiveMay 2, 1890
Citations
Public law51-182
Statutes at Large26 Stat. 81
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the Senate as S. 895 by Orville H. Platt (R–CT) on February 4, 1890
  • Passed the Senate on February 13, 1890 (27-16)
  • Passed the House on March 3, 1890 (154-96, in lieu of H.R. 6786)
  • Reported by the joint conference committee on April 20, 1890; agreed to by the House on April 21, 1890 (Agreed) and by the Senate on April 23, 1890 (50-5)
  • Signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison on May 2, 1890

An Organic Act is a generic name for a statute used by the United States Congress to describe a territory, in anticipation of being admitted to the Union as a state. Because of Oklahoma's unique history (much of the state was a place where aboriginal natives have always lived and after forced removal many other tribes were relocated here) an explanation of the Oklahoma Organic Act needs a historic perspective. In general, the Oklahoma Organic Act may be viewed as one of a series of legislative acts, from the time of Reconstruction, enacted by Congress in preparation for the creation of a united State of Oklahoma. The Organic Act created Oklahoma Territory, and Indian Territory that were Organized incorporated territories of the United States out of the old "unorganized" Indian Territory. The Oklahoma Organic Act was one of several acts whose intent was the assimilation of the tribes in Oklahoma and Indian Territories through the elimination of tribes' communal ownership of property.