The first leaders were Yankton politicians, but all came from southern Dakota and all were Republicans. With few exceptions, they were conservative, middle-class business and professional men—bankers, lawyers, ministers, railroad employees, and newspaper editors. They were Republicans because Dakota was a one-party region—a result of the long years of territorial status when the Republican party had control of the United States government.
The idea of splitting the northern region off from the southern one started with this group, but not because of political power in Washington, D. Division seemed natural. The railroads ran east and west, so that southern and northern Dakota had little contact with each other.
When Robinson described the decision to ultimately split the territory into two when admitting it into the Union though, he noted that it was pushed hard by the Republican Indiana senator who would become the 23rd U. Finally, the program of division, with southern Dakota becoming a state and northern Dakota a territory, was dropped in favor of a bill to admit two states.
Senator Benjamin Harrison of Indiana pushed it hard and the large population of Dakota in , North Dakota alone had , inhabitants and South Dakota , made further denial seem unjust and irresponsible. In the presidential campaign of the Republican platform called for admission of two states. Ordway and the Dakota Democrats finally dropped their single-state bill. When the bill finally passed the House of Representatives, some of the members threw books and papers into the air in celebration and there was a general handshaking of congratulation.
A step toward equality of status had been taken. Fact Checks. Congress split the Dakotas into two separate states in order to give Republicans four more senators. Mixture About this rating. That meant that southern Dakota had the population necessary to join as a state, all on its own, years before the northern part of the state did. Meanwhile, a year after the Dakota territory was formed, the Homestead Act passed.
This new law encouraged settlement in the West, as did railroads that connected new farmers to markets for their crops. But the trade routes supported by these railroads connected North and South Dakota to different commercial hubs, says Bucklin. The northern part of Dakota territory became more closely tied to Minneapolis-St. Paul, via Fargo and Bismarck.
In contrast, the southern counties along the Missouri and Big Sioux rivers were more closely tied by trade to Sioux City, and from there to Omaha or over to Chicago. These diverging economic ties left residents of different parts of the territory less connected to each other. In terms of politics, the way the territory system was set up, legislators were appointed by the federal government in Washington, D. The capital grab, which moved the capital even farther from the majority of the population, only fueled more resentment from the south.
By that point, South Dakotans had the necessary population for statehood and quickly moved to become an independent state. SHSND In , Benjamin Harrison became president of the United States. President Harrison was a Republican and favored statehood for Dakota. In fact, the Republican Party, which wanted more power in the U. Senate, put on pressure to divide Dakota into two states. In order to become a state, a territory was required to have a population of at least 60, In , southern Dakota had a population of over ,, and northern Dakota had a population of over ,
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