South Dakota Admitted to the Union
South Dakota was admitted to the United States as the 40th state on November 2, 1889, alongside North Dakota, which became the 39th state. This event followed a complex history marked by the presence of Native American tribes, such as the Sioux, who had inhabited the region long before European exploration. The area was initially part of the Dakota Territory, which also included parts of what are now Montana and Wyoming, and was reduced in size before statehood was achieved. The journey to statehood was complicated by disputes over the location of the capital, ultimately leading to South Dakota and North Dakota being admitted as separate entities.
Prior to statehood, European explorers like Meriwether Lewis and William Clark traversed the region during their famous expedition in the early 1800s. Following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, fur trappers and settlers began to enter the area, although significant settlements did not materialize until later. The discovery of gold in the Black Hills spurred a significant influx of settlers, despite it being within the Sioux Reservation. The resulting tensions culminated in conflicts, notably the famous Battle of Little Big Horn. Ultimately, the construction of railroads and the arrival of immigrants facilitated South Dakota’s integration into the United States.
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South Dakota Admitted to the Union
South Dakota Admitted to the Union
Along with North Dakota, South Dakota joined the Union on November 2, 1889. The proclamation issued by President Benjamin Harrison made South Dakota the 40th state (North Dakota was officially the 39th state). The region comprising the two states had been united as the Dakota Territory, and had it not been for the protracted and bitter wrangling over the choice of a capital city it might well have been admitted to the Union as a single state.
Native peoples are known to have lived in South Dakota, at least in the part that lies east of the Missouri River, prior to 1200. These people are known as Mound Builders, from their custom of building mounds of earth in which to bury their dead. The Arikara people were living in villages and farming near the Missouri River when the first Europeans of whom there is record, Louis Joseph and François de Varennes de La Várendrye, passed through South Dakota in 1742 and 1743. Starting out from Manitoba, Canada, these two sons of the French-Canadian explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes de La Várendrye were searching-unsuccessfully-for a route to the Pacific Ocean. In 1913 children found a lead plate buried in 1743 on a hill overlooking the Missouri River, opposite what is now the city of Pierre, by the brothers to establish a French claim to the region.
After 1750 the Dakota (or Santee Sioux) tribe, for whom the state is named, became numerous in South Dakota as the increasing number of settlers in Minnesota forced them westward. The movement of settlers into the South Dakota area was slow, however. Fur trappers began to filter in during the latter part of the century, when the region was under Spanish rule. In 1803 the United States acquired title to the land as part of the Louisiana Purchase. For the first time in more than half a century, explorers penetrated the region. At President Thomas Jefferson's behest, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led an expedition that explored the vast unknown territory acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. During the westward journey from St. Louis to the Pacific coast of Oregon, the Lewis and Clark expedition crossed South Dakota in 1804, and again on its return trip in 1806.
The success of the expedition prompted more trappers to seek their fortunes in new territory. Trading posts sprang up all over South Dakota, particularly on the banks of the Missouri River. One of the leading posts, Fort Pierre, was established in 1817. It was rebuilt by a subsidiary of the American Fur Company in 1832, a year after that same company had inaugurated steamboat travel on this section of the Missouri River. The fur trade boomed during the next two decades, but no significant permanent settlements were established. In 1856 an attempt was made by land speculators to create a settlement in southeastern South Dakota, at the falls of the Big Sioux River. A Sioux uprising in neighboring Minnesota in 1862, however, forced the settlers to flee.
Gradually the native tribes, forced to relinquish title to various parts of their lands, were relocated onto government reservations. One of the most famous tribal leaders who resisted was the powerful Sioux chief Sitting Bull, victor of the 1876 engagement at Little Big Horn. However, in 1881 he decided that he could no longer hold out, and surrendered to the United States authorities. By the end of the 19th century, there was no longer any significant native resistance.
Access to South Dakota was improved tremendously by the construction of a railroad line from Sioux City, Iowa, which reached Yankton, South Dakota, in 1872. The railroad was extended northward through the eastern part of the state, and reached Watertown in 1878. Many immigrants from northern Europe and Scandinavia made their way across the country to settle in the area of South Dakota east of the Missouri River. In addition, reports of gold lured many to the Black Hills of western South Dakota.
Members of an expedition led by General George A. Custer discovered the precious metal there in July 1874, and thereby set in motion a gold rush. Because the Black Hills were within the Sioux Reservation established by treaty between the United States government and the Sioux in 1868, the government tried to prevent people from entering the area while it attempted to persuade the Sioux to cede the territory. When the Sioux refused and a geological expedition in 1875 reported that the gold deposits were valuable, the government ceased its attempts to keep miners from the Black Hills. The following two years saw the peak of the rush.
This invasion of their lands was deeply resented by the Sioux, and hostilities flared. Custer himself was killed, as were all of the men in his command, at Little Big Horn. In other battles, however, the Sioux were defeated and in 1877 they were forced to cede the Black Hills region to the government. Even more valuable gold deposits were found in the vicinity of Deadwood and Lead, where in 1876 the Homestake Lode was discovered. In operation for over a century now, the Homestake Mine is one of the largest in the world.
The prelude to statehood began in 1868, when the Dakota Territory, which originally included Montana and Wyoming, was reduced in size to contain what is now North Dakota and South Dakota. Due to a conflict between the two regions over where the capital should be located, they were admitted as separate states, each with their own capital. The admission of South Dakota, with its capital at Pierre, was proclaimed by President Benjamin Harrison on November 2, 1889.