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South Dakota is a Midwestern state in the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota (Sioux) American Indian tribes. South Dakota was admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889. (North Dakota was admitted on the same day.) Located in the north-central United States, South Dakota is bisected by the Missouri river, dividing the state into two socially and economically distinct halves, known to residents as "east-river" and "west-river." In the southwestern portion of the state rise the Black Hills, a group of low, pine-covered mountains. A region of great religious importance to local American Indians as well as a major draw for the state tourism industry, the Black Hills are also the location of Mt. Rushmore, probably the best-known location in the state and a widely-used unofficial symbol of South Dakota. Historically dominated by an agricultural economy and a rural lifestyle, South Dakota has recently sought to diversify its economy in an effort to attract and retain residents. The state is still largely rural, though, with one of the lowest population densities in the United States. The centrally-located city of Pierre serves as the state capital, and Sioux Falls, with 145,000 people, is the largest city in the state.
History
Human beings have lived in what is today South Dakota for at least several thousand years. French and other European explorers in the 1700s encountered a variety of groups including the Omaha and Arikara (Ree), but by the early 1800s the Sioux (Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota) were dominant. In 1743, the LaVerendrye brothers buried a plate near the site of modern day Pierre, claiming the region for France as part of greater Louisiana. In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon. President Thomas Jefferson organized a group called the Corps of Discovery, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (commonly referred to as "Lewis and Clark Expedition"), to explore the newly-acquired region. In 1817, an American fur trading post was set up at present-day Fort Pierre, beginning continuous American settlement of the area. Through much of the 19th century, exploratory expeditions such as those of Lewis and Clark and Joseph Nicollet coincided with an increasing presence of the U.S. Army. In 1855, the U.S. Army bought Fort Pierre but abandoned it the following year in favor of Fort Randall to the south. Settlement by Americans and Europeans was, by this time, increasing rapidly, and in 1858, the Yankton Sioux signed the 1858 Treaty, ceding most of present-day eastern South Dakota to the United States.
An increasing population in Dakota Territory caused the territory to be divided in half and admitted to the union as the states of South Dakota and North Dakota on November 2, 1889. Both areas wanted to be the first to become a state, so President Benjamin Harrison Harrison directed his Secretary of State James Blaine to shuffle the papers and obscure from him which he was signing first, and the actual priority went unrecorded. South Dakota is usually noted as being the 40th state, with North Dakota as the 39th, because of alphabetical order. On December 29, 1890, the Wounded Knee Massacre occurred on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Commonly cited as the last major armed conflict between the United States and the Sioux Nation, the massacre resulted in the deaths of an estimated 300 Sioux, many of them women and children. 25 U.S. soldiers were also killed in the conflict.
Economic stability returned with the U.S. entry into World War II in 1941, as demand for the state's agricultural and industrial products grew as the nation mobilized for war. In 1944, the Pick-Sloan Plan was passed as part of the Flood Control Act of 1944 by the U.S. Congress, resulting in the construction of six large dams on the Missouri river, four of which are at least partially located in South Dakota. Flood control, hydroelectricity and recreational opportunities such as boating and fishing are provided by the dams and their reservoirs. In recent decades, South Dakota has transformed from a state dominated by agriculture to one with a more diversified economy. The tourism industry has grown considerably since the completion of the interstate system in the 1960s, with the Black Hills being especially impacted. The financial service industry began to grow in the state as well, with Citibank moving its credit card operations from New York to Sioux Falls in 1981, a move that was followed by several other financial companies. Despite a growing state population and recent economic development, many rural areas have been struggling over the past 50 years with locally declining populations and the emigration of educated young adults to larger cities, such as Rapid City or Sioux Falls, or other states. Timeline
Population History
Note: Most of present-day North and South Dakota was acquired as part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, and was included in Louisiana (soon renamed Missouri) Territory. The part generally west of the Missouri River remained in Missouri Territory until becoming part of Nebraska Territory, formed in 1854. The portion east of the Missouri became successively part of Michigan Territory (1834), Wisconsin Territory (1836), Iowa Territory (1838), and Minnesota Territory (1849). After Minnesota became a State in 1858, this area remained unorganized until Dakota Territory was established in 1861, including all of the present-day Dakotas as well as most of Montana and the northern half of Wyoming. After 1868 Dakota Territory corresponded to the present two States, plus an area transferred to Nebraska in 1882. South Dakota (like North Dakota) was admitted as a State on November 2, 1889 with essentially its present boundaries. Present-day South Dakota had no census coverage in 1850. The population given for 1860 is for the whole of Dakota Territory as organized in 1861, essentially comprising present-day South and North Dakota east of the Missouri River; no determination has been made to assign the 1860 total to what became the two separate States. In 1860, some forts and settlements in the present State also were enumerated in Nebraska Territory. The 1870 and 1880 populations consist of the totals of those counties of Dakota Territory located wholly or primarily in what is now South Dakota, plus (in 1870) an estimated portion of the Territory's unorganized part. The total population of Dakota Territory was 14,181 in 1870 and 135,177 in 1880. Considerable portions of the State were not covered by the census until 1900.. Total for 1860 is for entire Dakota Territory as organized in 1861, essentially comprising present-day South and North Dakota east of the Missouri River. Totals for 1870 and 1880 are totals of those counties of Dakota Territory located wholly or primarily in what is now South Dakota; in addition, 1870 total includes an estimated share (899) of the population of the Territory's unorganized portion (2,091). Certain Indian reservations not reported by county in 1880, 1890, or 1900 are shown as separate entries after the counties; only one of these was enumerated in 1880. Total for 1890 includes 4 Indians in prison, not reported by county or reservation. In 1890 the population (4,206) of the entire Standing Rock Indian Reservation was credited to North Dakota, although much of it was in South Dakota. Research Tips
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