When Missouri prepared to enter the Union in 1820, various boundaries were discussed before it was finally decided to go with a boundary that had already been formally surveyed, so the Sullivan line was picked. However the Missouri Constitution muddied the debate with phrase: "to the intersection of the parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids of the River Des Moines". As it happened, there were no rapids where Sullivan came to the Des Moines River. However, the
Des Moines Rapids on the
Mississippi River were just in a straight line east of Sullivan's eastern terminus. In the
Indian Removal Act of 1830, Sullivan's lines were used for the removal of almost all Native Americans from the eastern portion of the United States (in such events as the
Trail of Tears). In 1832, at the conclusion of the
Black Hawk War, the Sauk and Meskwaki conceded the eastern section of Iowa and the western section of
Illinois. In the terms the stretch between the end of the Sullivan Line and the Mississippi was conceded (in what was called
Half Breed Tract because it was to be set aside for mixed race residents). In 1836, the western boundary of the Sullivan Line latitude was extended west to the Missouri River just south of
Hamburg, Iowa when the federal government relocated the already relocated tribes further west in the
Platte Purchase. The land was annexed to Missouri. The western extension did not have the same quirks as the first survey since the
solar compass had made it easier to make accurate east–west surveys. However the quirks of the eastern portion of the Sullivan Line were to stir passions as Iowa prepared to enter the Union. Missouri, citing evidence from surveyor
Joseph C. Brown, who had established the meridian grid for the
Louisiana Purchase, said using the Kaw Point starting point was invalid and that the survey should have been based on the mouth of the
Ohio River. Using that calculation, he said that Missouri's border should extend about even further into Iowa (with the town of
Keosauqua, Iowa, specifically coming into play). In 1839, the
Clark County, Missouri sheriff went into this new stretch to collect taxes. When the residents of Iowa refused to pay, he is said to have cut down three trees to collect
honey bee beehives in lieu of taxes. He was arrested. Residents from both sides threatened to fight, before the governors agreed to let the
United States Supreme Court settle the matter. Also, in 1839,
Latter Day Saints followers of
Joseph Smith, regrouped at
Nauvoo, Illinois, on the Mississippi River after having been kicked out of Missouri in the
Mormon War. Nauvoo lies in a straight line with the Sullivan Line. In 1844 after Smith was
killed, his followers began their trek west that was to ultimately lead them to
Utah. The first Iowa leg of the trail is just north of the Sullivan Line. ==Retracement Surveys==