Editing Montana (section)

==Etymology==
The name Montana comes from the Spanish word {{Lang|es|montaña}}, which in turn comes from the Latin word {{Lang|la|montanea}}, meaning "mountain" or more broadly "mountainous country".<ref name="Society1910">{{cite book|author=Montana Historical Society|title=Contributions to the Historical Society of Montana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yS9EAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA47|year=1910|publisher=Rocky Mountain Publishing Company|page=47}}</ref>{{sfn|Malone|Roeder|Lang|1991|pp=95–96}} {{Lang|es|Montaña del Norte}} ('Northern Mountain') was the name given by early Spanish explorers to the entire mountainous region of the west.{{sfn|Malone|Roeder|Lang|1991|pp=95–96}} The name Montana was added in 1863 to a bill by the [[United States House Committee on Territories]] (chaired at the time by [[James Mitchell Ashley|James Ashley]] of [[Ohio]]) for the territory that would become [[Idaho Territory]].{{sfn|Sanders|1910|pp=15–60}}

The name was changed by representatives [[Henry Wilson]] (Massachusetts) and [[Benjamin F. Harding]] (Oregon), who complained that "Montana" had "no meaning".{{sfn|Sanders|1910|pp=15–60}} Alternative names included Jefferson.{{sfn|Sanders|1910|pp=56}} When Ashley presented a bill to establish a temporary government in 1864 for a new territory to be carved out of Idaho, he again chose [[Montana Territory]].{{sfn|Library of Congress|1864}} This time, representative [[Samuel S. Cox|Samuel Cox]], also of Ohio, objected to the name.{{sfn|Library of Congress|1864}} Cox complained that the name was a [[misnomer]] given that most of the territory was not mountainous, and thought a [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] name would be more appropriate than a Spanish one.{{sfn|Library of Congress|1864}} Other names, such as [[Shoshone]], were suggested, but the Committee on Territories decided that they had discretion to choose the name, so the original name of Montana was adopted.{{sfn|Library of Congress|1864}}