Nevada became the 36th state as President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation. (To achieve statehood, Nevada had sent its draft constitution to Washington, D.C., where it was misplaced. To get the proclamation signed before Election Day, territorial governor James Nye sent another copy by telegraph at a cost of $3,416.77 for 16,543 words. Allowing for inflation, in 2016 dollars, that would be about $50,000.)