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The Territory of Jefferson was an extralegal and unrecognized United States territory that existed from October 24, 1859 until the creation of the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861. The Jefferson Territory included land officially part of the Kansas Territory, the Nebraska Territory, the New Mexico Territory, the Utah Territory, and the Washington Territory, but the area was remote from the governments of those five territories. The government of the Jefferson Territory, while democratically elected, was never legally recognized by the United States government, although it managed the territory with relatively free rein for 16 months. Many of the laws enacted by the Jefferson Territorial Legislature were reenacted and given official sanction by the new Colorado General Assembly in 1861. ==Origins== On August 25, 1855, the Kansas Territory created Arapahoe County, a huge county that included the entire western portion Kansas to the Rocky Mountains. The boundaries of Arapahoe County were defined as: beginning at the northeast corner of New Mexico, running thence north to the south line of Nebraska and north line of Kansas; thence along said line to the east line of Utah Territory; thence along said line between Utah and Kansas territories, to where said line strikes New Mexico; thence along the line between said New Mexico and the territory of Kansas to the place of beginning. Occupied primarily by Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians with few white settlers, the county was never organized. The leaders of the Kansas Territory were preoccupied with the violent events of Bleeding Kansas, so little time or attention was available to attend to the needs of the far western portion of the territory. The question of whether to admit Kansas to the union as a slave state or free state dominated discussion in the populous eastern portion of the territory and led to three failed constitutional proposals between 1855 and 1858 (the Topeka, Lecompton and Leavenworth constitutions). The United States Congress was likewise preoccupied with threats of secession by the slave states. In July 1858, the Pike's Peak Gold Rush began with the discovery of gold at the Dry Creek Diggings in Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory (now Englewood in Arapahoe County, Colorado). The gold rush brought 100,000 gold seekers to the area known as the Pike's Peak Country, which included Arapahoe County as well as the unorganized southwestern corner of the Nebraska Territory and parts of the New Mexico and Utah territories. Kansas, with a growing divide between the eastern commercial centers and the central agricultural populations, had concerns over how the gold rush and the influx of miners to the Rockies could shift the base of power from the northeastern side of Kansas to the mountainous region in the west of the state. Meanwhile the miners, being from the capital of the territory, felt that the legislature was out of touch with their needs. They thought a new territory or state would have the benefit of being responsive to their economic situation and consolidate the population that was currently spread across four territories. Denver area leaders decided to pursue both a relationship with Kansas and a bid for separation by sending delegates to the Kansas Territorial Legislature and the United States Congress. On February 7, 1859 the Kansas Territorial Legislature replaced Arapahoe County with six new unorganized counties and appointed county commissioners for each. However since the commissioners were not provided a salary, they never took office. The settlers in the region attempted to organize a county on their own and on March 28, 1859, an election was held to elect officers. A total of 774 votes were cast, including 231 from Auraria and 144 from Denver City. A desire for a new territorial government kept the elected officials from taking their offices, as doing so would have given recognition to the Kansas Territorial government. In the meantime, Hiram J Graham, the local delegate to Congress, had successfully introduced a bill to establish a new territory in Pike's Peak Country. Though the bill did not pass, it nevertheless encouraged settlers to establish a separate government themselves.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jefferson Territory」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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