Nebraska celebrates 155th anniversary of statehood

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Pull out the party favors and ice cream cake. Nebraska turned 155 years old on Tuesday.

Nebraska became the 37th state admitted into the Union on March 1, 1867. Nebraska was the first state to join the U.S. after the Civil War, with President Andrew Johnson signing the statehood proclamation after two previous presidential vetoes.

Before statehood, Nebraska was formed as a territory in 1854 by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The original size was nearly five times the state's current dimensions.

Nebraska's statehood was part of a contentious battle between Johnson and Congress, with the two locked in a bitter feud following the Civil War.

Nebraska's proposed constitution restricted voting to free white males, which was opposed by a group of U.S. senators in Washington.

When the Nebraska Legislature voted to remove the voting provision, Johnson put pen to paper and admitted Nebraska into the Union.

The capital was moved from Omaha to Lancaster, which was later renamed Lincoln after the recently assassinated President Abraham Lincoln.