Chapter 7Minnesota’s Newcomers

Test: Monday, December 22, 2014

Parent Signature Due: Wednesday, December 17, 2014

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.

• 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.

• 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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.”

Three Branches of GovernmentFederal 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

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.

• 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.

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 ofCongress created Minnesota Territory

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.

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.

• 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.

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

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!)

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 Vasanear 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.

• 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)

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.

• 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.

• 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.

Requirements for Becoming a StateFederal Requirement MN Met Requirement

Congress must pass a lawallowing 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

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.

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?

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