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Part Eighteen: The Country Goes West

Westward Settlement:
The 1850s saw renewed interest in migrations to the sparsely populated west. After the increased access between the eastern seabord and the Midwestern states, people tired of the urbanization of the northern cities moved further west in search of land and wealth. Soon, small towns sprung up along the Platte, Kanza[1], and Arkansaw rivers as settlers continued to move west. Many of these settlers in the northern part of what would become Kearny Territory were descendants of French and the surviving towns' names reflect their French heritage. Meanwhile, the southern area was mostly settled by southerners who were seeking to start up farms in the newly opened lands.

Further north, settlers bound for Oregon Territory during the 1850s often did not make the full journey and instead built their homes along the tributaries of the northern Missouri River. These towns caused the population of the Unorganized Territory to boom, and representatives from the territory lobbied in Washington for incorporation into official territories. In 1851, Congress and President Scott passed legislation to officially created organized territories. The area would be divided into three parts. The border of the state of Houston was extended northward to the Missouri and everything east of that became Kearny Territory. In addition, the 42nd northern parallel that formed the border between California and the United States was continued east to the border of Kearny Territory. The area to the north became Dakhota Territory while the area to the south was merged into New Mexico Territory, as it was most easily reachable from Santa Fe.

These settlements brought many hardships, especially in Dakhota Territory. Besides moving west of the Missouri River, there had been no agreements made between the native populations and the United States government on American settlers in the area. As such, the natives sometimes resorted to raiding American settlements if necessary. Scott being the military man he was, authorized the construction of military outposts along the rivers to protect settlers from native incursions. Some major forts established during the 1850s include Fort Collins and Bent's Fort in Colorado, Fort Laramie in Pahsapa, and Fort Washita in Calhoun.[2] Some of these forts have become historic sites, while others have developed into cities of their own, but all of them are a testament to the settling of the Great Plains and the western United States.

The Issue of Slavery:
With the incorporation of the western territories into the nation, the debate over the expansion of slavery intensified in Congress. Cuba was admitted as a slave state, making the balance in Congress nineteen slave states to seventeen free states. While this balance seemed to favor slavery in the territories, the senators of Missouri and Delaware were divided on the issue as European immigrants came to those states and the urban population increased. This created a deadlock on slavery legislation for much of Scott's presidency.

However, there was another reason for this deadlock. Up until 1851, most of the bills that had been proposed were to decide the issue for the entire Unorganized Territory, with a few proposing the border between free and slave states extend west from the northern border of Missouri or at the 42nd parallel north. With the division of the territory, it became possible to decide on each territory individually. With the epxansion of New Mexico Territory and the many settlers coming from Tejas and Houston, slavery was allowed in the territory.

But with the uncertainty of whether the United States would gain California or any territory south of the Rio Bravo, the Missouri Compromise that was passed in 1820 was brought into review. This brought the possiblity of slavery into both Kearny and Dakhota Territory. While there was not much doubt over whether Dakhota would become a free territory, Kearny Territory presented an opportunity for the southern states to gain the concessions they had been looking for. The dispute over Calhoun Territory would not be resolved during Scott's administration, and the resolution of the dispute would bring much animosity between the northern and southern states.

[1]The Kansas River.
[2]All these forts existed in OTL.