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Nebraska is a Great Plains state of the United States.
Nebraska gets its name from a Native American (Oto)
word meaning "flat water", after the Platte River that
flows through the state. Once considered part of the Great
American Desert, it is now a leading farming state.
 Nebraskans have practiced scientific farming to turn the
Nebraska prairie into a land of ranches and farms. Much of
the history of the state is the story of the impact of the
Nebraska farmer.
Nebraskans are sometimes colloquially
referred to as "Cornhuskers" which is the state nickname.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act became law on May 30, 1854; it
established the U.S. territories of Nebraska and Kansas.
The territorial capital of Nebraska was Omaha.
In the 1860s, the first great wave of homesteaders poured
into Nebraska to claim free land granted by the federal
government. Many of the first farm settlers built their
homes out of sod because they found so few trees on the
grassy land.
Nebraska became the 37th state in 1867, shortly after the
Civil War. At that time, the capital was moved from Omaha
to Lancaster, later renamed Lincoln after the recently
assassinated President Abraham Lincoln.
Arbor Day began in Nebraska, and the National Arbor Day
Foundation is still headquartered in Nebraska City.
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