November 2: North Dakota and South Dakota Become States (1889)
Prayer Idea
Pray for the people and governments of North Dakota and South Dakota.
History Note
Most of the land that became North Dakota and South Dakota was part of the Louisiana Purchase. Dakota Territory was organized in 1861. The name Dakota comes from one branch of the Oceti Sakowin Oyate people, commonly known as the Sioux. As American settlers moved into the Dakota Territory, they displaced the Indigenous people who were already living there.
By 1889 Dakota Territory had enough settlers to become a state. Due to economic and cultural factors, people in the northern and southern parts of the territory applied for statehood separately. This would also give each section two U.S. senators and one U.S. representative.
Benjamin Harrison signed paperwork to admit North Dakota and South Dakota as states on November 2, 1889. According to tradition, Harrison shuffled the paperwork as he was signing it, so no one knows if North Dakota or South Dakota became a state first.
Some famous Americans with North Dakota connections are President Theodore Roosevelt, entertainer Lawrence Welk, and baseball player Roger Maris. Those with South Dakota connections include author Laura Ingalls Wilder, statesman George McGovern, and journalist Tom Brokaw.
Photos by Katherine Welles / Shutterstock .com and Dave Smallen / Shutterstock.com.
Learn More
This video looks at how North Dakota and South Dakota became states.
Find more resources at Homeschool History.
