2. Ch. 7 - Vocabulary
• steamboat – a boat powered by a steam engine;
Steamboats were the main mode of travel for
newcomers moving to Minnesota during the
territorial period.
• U.S. Congress – the group of people who make laws
for the United States; It has elected representatives
from all states and territories. It is divided into two
groups – the Senate and the House of
Representatives.
3. • governor – the head of the executive branch in a
state or territory
• immigrant – a person who comes into a country to
live there
– to emigrate - is to leave your country to reside
somewhere else (“e” for exit)
– to immigrate – is to enter and reside in a new country
(“i” for come in)
• Example: My great-grandparents emigrated from
Norway. They immigrated to the United States.
4. • state – a geographic area with boundaries, residents,
and a government with a constitution and laws; The
United States has fifty state, and they share some
governing power with the federal government.
• recruiter – somebody who encourages new people
to join a group or take action
• constitution – a written document outlining how the
government of a state or country is organized
• federalism – a system of government in which power
is divided between a federal, or national,
government and various state governments
5. Minnesota’s Newcomers pp. 125-126
• During the 1850s, (the territorial years) the
population shifted from being mostly American
Indians (Dakota and Ojibwe) to being mostly
European Americans. This population shift
happened very quickly. By 1855, the European
Americans outnumbered the American Indians.
• Between 1849-1858, Minnesota was the fastest
growing place in the United States.
• Newcomers arrived by the steamboat load.
6. Transportation in Early Minnesota
• Before the 1800s, travel in MN was by foot or
canoe. By the 1850s, there were more choices:
– steamboats started to make stops in St. Paul (from
April – November)
– in the winter, people could take a horse-drawn
stagecoach from Galena, IL
– oxcarts were used mostly by the Metis
7. The New England Schoolteacher
• In 1847, Harriet Bishop arrived in St. Paul by
steamboat. She was the first school teacher in MN.
• At that time, St. Paul
– consisted mostly of log huts,
– the streets were bumpy and muddy,
– there were only about a dozen families with kids, and
– half the parents couldn’t read.
– Students wrote on slates with chalk because they had no
pencils or paper.
8. Harriet Bishop - A School for St. Paul
• Bishop’s new school was an old blacksmith
shop.
• Rats and snakes lurked in the corners.
• The first class had nine students, but only two
of them spoke English.
• One student spoke three languages and
became Bishop’s interpreter.
9. Harriet Bishop - Strong Feelings
• Harriet Bishop was involved in many community
activities to help “civilize” the people of MN.
– She called her students “a field to be cultivated” and “a
garden of untrained flowers to be tended.”
– She set up St. Paul’s first Sunday School.
– She organized a group whose members were against
alcohol.
– She led women’s groups in community projects.
• Because many newcomers (like Harriet Bishop)
were from New England, MN was often called the
New England of the West.
10. People are People – It’s Complicated
• Harriet Bishop – GOOD – She helped shape
the community of St. Paul. She created
opportunities for women and helped people.
• Harriet Bishop – BAD – She wrote a book
about the Dakota War of 1862 in which she
called Dakota soldiers “savages,” “inhuman
monsters,” and “heartless wretches.”
11. Three Branches of Government
Federal Level
The U.S. Capitol The White House The U.S.
Supreme Court
Legislative
makes laws
Executive
enforces laws
Judicial
interprets laws
Congress President Supreme Court
(9 justices)
Senate /
House of
Representatives
Vice President /
Cabinet
Other Lower
Federal Courts
12. Minnesota Becomes a Territory
• In 1848, sixty-one men met in Stillwater and
decided to send fur trader, Henry Sibley (from
Mendota) to Washington, D.C. to request that the
U.S. Congress create a new territory called
Minnesota.
• If approved as a territory
– a governor would be appointed,
– citizens could elect reps to make laws for MN, and
– courts could be created.
Becoming a territory was the first step to statehood.
13. • In 1849, Minnesota became a U.S. territory.
• MN elected Henry Sibley as a delegate to Congress.
• President Zachary Taylor appointed Alexander Ramsey
(from PA) to serve as territorial governor.
• One of Sibley’s and Ramsey’s first goals was to get the
Dakota to give up their land in southern MN, which
they accomplished in 1851 with the Treaties of
Traverse des Sioux and Mendota.
14. The Northwest Ordinance (1787) told how lands in the Northwest
Territory could become territories and later, states.
Federal Requirement MN Met Requirement
must have 5,000 adults 1849 – 4,535 adults
region must elect non-
voting rep to Congress
and members to serve in
territorial legislature
1848 – 61 men met in Stillwater
and elected Henry Sibley to go
to Congress; they also elected a
territorial legislature
US Congress must pass a
law creating the territory
March 3, 1849 – an act of
Congress created Minnesota
Territory
15. Turning Point
• Treaties were signed in 1851.
• By 1852 (even though the treaties said they
were supposed to wait until 1854), European
Americans began to pour in and started to
claim land they hoped to buy from the U.S.
government when MN became a territory.
• They were trespassing on land that was still in
the possession of native people and this was a
treaty violation.
• The U.S. government let it happen because
they were eager for MN to become a state.
16. Treaties for Land in Northern MN
• European Americans were also eager to move
into northern MN. This was Ojibwe land.
• In 1854, the Ojibwe ceded much of northeastern
MN to the U.S. government.
• In 1855, the government bought a big chunk of
north-central MN.
• By the 1860s, much of northwestern MN was
ceded.
• Many of the Ojibwe reservations created by these
treaties still exist – Grand Portage, Fond du Lac,
Leech Lake, and White Earth.
17. • The new arrivals from Europe and New
England saw moving to MN as an opportunity
for a better life and a chance to own land.
18. One Swedish Immigrant
• Hans Mattson grew up in Sweden and arrived in
MN in 1853.
• He came by ship to the East Coast and then, at
age 20, led a group of Swedish immigrants to a
spot near Red Wing, MN.
• The First Winter – weather was cold and harsh,
the roads were bad and it was hard to get around
• Building a Home – log house; bought supplies in
Red Wing but more didn’t arrive until April when
the ice broke up on the Mississippi
19. Attracting Newcomers
• Recruiters spread the word about how great
MN was and so encouraged more immigrants
to come. Often, however, they exaggerated
the territory’s good points or lied.
• One lie was that the cold climate made
disease unheard of. (The theory was that the
cold killed the germs. HA!)
20. A Community Grows
• Mattson wrote a series of letters that were
published in a Swedish-language newspaper. They
described MN and urged other Swedes to come.
In 1855, the Swedes formed the township of Vasa
near Red Wing.
• Many Norwegians came into the area as well
because land and jobs were scarce in Norway.
• Families from southern Ireland came because of
famine.
• The biggest immigrant group during the 1850s
was the Germans who fled war in their homeland.
21. • The immigrants formed communities where
they continued to speak their native
languages (Swedish, Norwegian, German) and
named their towns to remind them of home.
• Vasa, Scandia – Swedish
• New Ulm, Heidelberg – German
• St. Patrick – Irish
• New Prague – Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic)
22. Statehood for Minnesota
Because its population was exploding, the people of
Minnesota went on a campaign for statehood and
petitioned that Congress admit them as a state.
There were advantages to being a state. States
were more independent than territories because
the federal government had less control. Also,
– as a state, MN could control its own finances and
budget,
– it could deal with private companies (like railroads),
and
– it could send more reps to the U.S. Congress and thus
have more influence on national affairs.
23. • Before MN could become a state, it needed a
constitution to explain how state government
would operate.
• But the constitutional convention held in St. Paul in
1857 didn’t go well. The Democrats and
Republicans couldn’t agree and so wrote their own
separate constitutions.
24. • But they finally agreed and in October 1857,
the MN voters approved the new constitution.
• On May 11, 1858, the U.S. Congress passed a
law making MN the 32nd state.
• Henry Sibley became the state’s first governor.
• The Civil War was just around the corner.
25. Requirements for Becoming a State
Federal Requirement MN Met Requirement
Congress must pass a law
allowing a territory to proceed in
process to become a state
in 1857, Congress passed such
a law
a group of citizens must write a
state constitution
in 1857 in St. Paul, the MN
constitution was finally
approved
voters must approve the
constitution and elect
government officials
MN approved the constitution
and elected Henry Sibley as
governor in October 1857
Congress must pass a law
admitting the state into the Union
on May 11, 1858 Congress
passed a law admitting MN as
the 32nd state
26. Same Name, Different Powers
• The U.S. Constitution explains how the federal
government is set up and governs what federal
laws can be made.
• Each state has its own state constitution which
explains how the state’s government is set up and
governs what state laws can be made.
• The MN Constitution
– set the state’s boundaries, gave the right to vote to
“free white male citizens,” and divided power
between Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches.
27. MN Branches of Government
• In MN, who is the head of the Executive
Branch?
• In MN, the state legislature makes up the
Legislative Branch and consists of two parts –
what are they?
• In MN, the Judicial Branch is headed by what?
28. Understanding Federalism
• Federalism is a system of government in which
power is divided between levels so that no
one level has complete power
FEDERAL
STATE
COUNTY TOWNSHIP CITY
