34th United States Congress
The Thirty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D. C. from March 4, 1855, to March 4, 1857, during the last two years of Franklin Pierce's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Seventh Census of the United States in 1850; the Whig Party, one of the two major parties of the era, had collapsed, although many former Whigs ran as Republicans or as members of the "Opposition Party." The Senate had a Democratic majority, the House was controlled by a coalition of Representatives led by Nathaniel P. Banks, a member of the American Party. March 30, 1855: Elections were held for the first Kansas Territory legislature. Missourians crossed the border in large numbers to elect a pro-slavery body. July 2, 1855: The Kansas territorial legislature convened in Pawnee and began enacting proslavery laws.
November 21, 1855: Large-scale Bleeding Kansas violence began with events leading to the Wakarusa War between antislavery and proslavery forces. December 3, 1855 – February 2, 1856: The election for Speaker of the House was "the longest and most contentious Speaker election in its history," due to "Sectional conflict over slavery and a rising anti-immigrant mood in the nation contributed to a poisoned and deteriorating political climate." No party had controlled a majority of the seats, more than 21 members vied for the post of Speaker. The election took 133 ballots and two months with Nathaniel P. Banks winning over William Aiken Jr. by 103 to 100 votes. "Banks, a member of both the nativist American Party and the Free Soil Party, served a term as Speaker before Democrats won control of the chamber in the 35th Congress." January 24, 1856: President Franklin Pierce declared the new Free-State Topeka government in Bleeding Kansas to be in rebellion. January 26, 1856: First Battle of Seattle: Marines from the USS Decatur drove off Indian attackers after an all-day battle with settlers.
February, 1856: Tintic War broke out in Utah February 18, 1856: The American Party nominated their first Presidential candidate, former President Millard Fillmore. May 21, 1856: Lawrence, Kansas and burned by pro-slavery forces. May 22, 1856: Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina attacking Senator Charles Sumner, beating him with a cane in the hall of the Senate, for a speech Sumner had made attacking Southerners who sympathized with the pro-slavery violence in Kansas. Sumner was unable to return to duty for 3 years. May 24, 1856: Pottawatomie massacre June 2, 1856: Battle of Black Jack August 30, 1856: Battle of Osawatomie November 4, 1856: U. S. presidential election, 1856: Democrat James Buchanan defeated former President Millard Fillmore, representing a coalition of "Know-Nothings" and Whigs, John C. Frémont of the fledgling Republican Party. November 17, 1856: On the Sonoita River in present-day southern Arizona, the United States Army established Fort Buchanan to help control new land acquired in the Gadsden Purchase.
January 9, 1857: The 7.9 Mw Fort Tejon earthquake affects Central and Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX. August 18, 1856: Guano Islands Act, ch. 164, 11 Stat. 119 January 26, 1855: Point No Point Treaty signed in the Washington Territory. July 1, 1855: Quinault Treaty signed and Quileute ceded their land to the United States; the count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of this Congress. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section. During the elections for this Congress, opponents to the Democrats used the Whig party label inconsistently and not at all in some states. Hence in this Congress, in accordance with the practice of the Senate and House, representatives not associated with the Democratic Party or the American Party are labeled as "Opposition." This is the first example in U. S. history of a form of coalition government in either house of Congress. The parties that opposed the Democrats formed the majority.
The Know-nothings caucused with the Opposition coalition. President: Vacant President pro tempore: Jesse D. Bright, until June 9, 1856 Charles E. Stuart (D, June 9, 1856 – June 10, 1856 Jesse D. Bright, June 11, 1856 – January 6, 1857 James M. Mason, from January 6, 1857 Speaker: Nathaniel P. Banks Democratic Caucus Chairman: George Washington Jones This list is arranged by chamber by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, Representatives are listed by district. Senators were elected by the state legislatures every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election. In this Congress, Class 1 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1856. Skip to House of Representatives, below The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers; the count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
Replacements: 6 Democrats: 2 seat net loss Opposition: 4 seat net gain deaths: 4 resignations: 5 contested election: 1 Total seats with changes: 10 Lists of committees and their party leaders. Agriculture Assault on Charles Sumner (S
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party active in the middle of the 19th century in the United States. Four presidents belonged to the party while in office, it emerged in the 1830s as the leading opponent of Jacksonian democracy, pulling together former members of the National Republican and the Anti-Masonic Party. It had some links to the upscale traditions of the long-defunct Federalist Party. Along with the rival Democratic Party, it was central to the Second Party System from the early 1840s to the mid-1860s, it formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic Party. It became a formal party within his second term, receded influence after 1854. In particular terms, the Whigs supported the supremacy of Congress over the presidency and favored a program of modernization and economic protectionism to stimulate manufacturing, it appealed to entrepreneurs, planters and the emerging urban middle class, but had little appeal to farmers or unskilled workers. It included many active Protestants and voiced a moralistic opposition to the Jacksonian Indian removal.
Party founders chose the "Whig" name to echo the American Whigs of the 18th century who fought for independence. The political philosophy of the American Whig Party was not related to the British Whig party. Historian Frank Towers has specified a deep ideological divide: The Whig Party nominated several presidential candidates in 1836. General William Henry Harrison of Ohio was nominated in 1840, former Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky in 1844, General Zachary Taylor of Louisiana in 1848, General Winfield Scott of New Jersey in 1852 and the last nominee, former President Millard Fillmore from New York in 1856. In its two decades of existence, the Whig Party had two of its candidates and Taylor, elected president and both died in office. John Tyler succeeded to the presidency after Harrison's death in 1841, but was expelled from the party that year. Millard Fillmore, who became President after Taylor's death in 1850, was the last Whig President; the party fell apart because of internal tension over the expansion of slavery to the territories.
With deep fissures in the party on this question, the anti-slavery faction prevented the nomination for a full term of its own incumbent President Fillmore in the 1852 presidential election—instead, the party nominated General Scott. Most Whig Party leaders quit politics or changed parties; the Northern voter base gravitated to the new Republican Party. In the South, most joined the Know Nothing Party, which unsuccessfully ran Fillmore in the 1856 presidential election, by which time the Whig Party had become defunct having endorsed Millard Fillmore's candidacy; some former Whigs became Democrats. The Constitutional Union Party experienced significant success from conservative former Whigs in the Upper South during the 1860 presidential election. Whig ideology as a policy orientation persisted for decades, played a major role in shaping the modernizing policies of the state governments during Reconstruction; the name "Whig" repeated the term that Patriots used to refer to themselves during the American Revolution.
It indicated hostility to the king. Despite the identical name it did not directly derive from the British Whig Party; the American Whigs were modernizers who saw President Andrew Jackson as "a dangerous man on horseback"—like a king—with a "reactionary opposition" to the forces of social and moral modernization. The Democratic-Republicans who formed the Whig Party, led by Kentucky Senator Henry Clay, drew on a Jeffersonian tradition of compromise, balance in government and territorial expansion combined with national unity and support for a Federal transportation network and domestic manufacturing. Casting their enemy as "King Andrew", they sought to identify themselves as modern-day opponents of governmental overreaching. Despite the apparent unity of Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans from 1800 to 1824, the American people preferred partisan opposition to popular political agreement; as Jackson purged his opponents, vetoed internal improvements and killed the Second Bank of the United States, alarmed local elites fought back.
In 1831, Henry Clay started planning a new party. He defended national rather than sectional interests. Clay's plan for distributing the proceeds from the sale of lands in the public domain among the states was intended to serve the nation by providing the states with funds for building roads and canals, which would stimulate growth and knit the sections together. However, his Jacksonian opponents distrusted the federal government and opposed all federal aid for internal improvements and they again frustrated Clay's plan. Jacksonians promoted opposition to the National Bank and internal improvements and support of egalitarian democracy, state power and hard money; the Tariff of Abominations of 1828 had outraged Southern feelings—the South's leaders held that the high duties on foreign imports gave an advantage to the North. Clay's own high tariff schedule of 1832 further disturbed them as did his stubborn defense of high duties as necessary to his American System. However, Clay moved to pass the Compromise of 1833, which met Southern complaints by a gradual reduction of the rates on imports to a maximum of twenty percent.
Controlling the Senate for a while, Whigs passed a censure motion denouncing Jackson's arrogant assumption of executive power in the face of the true will of the people as represented by Congress. The Whig Party began to take shape in 1833. Clay had run as a National Republican against J
Territorial era of Minnesota
The territorial era of Minnesota lasted from the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 to Minnesota's achieving statehood in 1858. The Minnesota Territory itself was formed only in 1849 but the area had a rich history well before this. Though there was a long history of European presence in the area before 19th century, it was during the 19th century that the United States began to establish a firm presence in what would become Minnesota. Many of the facets of Minnesota culture that are perceived as the area's early history in fact originated after this period. Notably, the heavy Scandinavian immigration for which the state is known, the pioneering days chronicled by author Laura Ingalls Wilder occurred after statehood in the 19th century. Unlike these years, the first half of the 19th century was characterized by sparsely populated communities, harsh living conditions, to some degree, lawlessness; this era was a period of economic transition. The dominant enterprise in the area since the 17th century had been the fur trade.
The Dakota Sioux, the Ojibwe, tribes hunted and gathered pelts trading with French and American traders at Grand Portage and other sites. This trade declined during the early 19th century as demand for furs in Europe diminished; the lumber industry grew replacing furs as the key economic resource. Grain production began to develop late during this time as an emerging economic basis as well. Saw mills, grain mills, around Fort Snelling and Saint Anthony Falls in east-central Minnesota became magnets for development. By the end of the era east-central Minnesota had replaced northern Minnesota as the economic center of the area; this era was as a period of cultural transition. At the time the U. S. took possession of the region, Native Americans were by far the largest ethnic groups. Their role in the fur trade gave them a steady stream of income and significant political influence as the French and Americans asserted territorial claims on the area. French and British traders had mixed with native society in the area for many decades peacefully contributing to the society and creating new ethnic groups consisting of mixed-race peoples.
As the Americans established outposts in the area and the fur trade declined, the dynamics changed dramatically. The economic influence of the Native Americans diminished and American territorial ideology sought to limit their influence. Large waves of immigration in the 1850s suddenly changed the demographics so that within a few years the population shifted from predominantly native to predominantly people of European descent; the native and mixed-race populations continued to influence the territory's culture and politics at the end of the territorial era, though by the time statehood was achieved that influence was in steep decline. Heavy immigration from New England and New York led to Minnesota's being labeled the "New England of the West". During the 17th century a Native American tribe known as the Ojibwe, or Chippewa, reached Minnesota as part of a westward migration. Having come from a region around Maine, they were experienced at dealing with European traders. Tensions rose between the Ojibwe and the Santee, or Eastern Dakota, who were dominant in the area, during the ensuing years.
French exploration in Minnesota is known have begun in the 17th century with explorers like Radisson, Le Sueur. After France signed a treaty with a number of tribes to allow trade in the area, French settlements began to appear. Trader Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut explored the western area of Lake Superior helping to advance trade and leading to the establishment of Fond du Lac. Roman Catholic priest Louis Hennepin, captured by the Sioux in 1680 while exploring North America with famed explorer La Salle and named Saint Anthony Falls; the next account of an expedition into Minnesota's interior was that of Captain Jonathan Carver of Connecticut who reached Saint Anthony Falls in 1766. In the 18th century trader Peter Pond explored the Minnesota River valley noting significant European settlement in the region in addition to the natives. Explorers searching for the fabled Northwest Passage and large inland seas in North America continued to pass through this region. Fort Beauharnois was built by the French in 1721 on Lake Pepin to facilitate exploration.
In the 17th century a lucrative trade developed between Native Americans who trapped animals near the Great Lakes and traders who shipped the animal furs to Europe. For two centuries this trade network was the prime economic driver in the area. A notable result of this trade network was the Métis people, a mixed-race community descended from Native Americans and French traders, as well as other mixed-race peoples. In particular during the latter 18th century numerous French and English traders in the Minnesota region purchased Sioux wives in order to establish kinship relationships with the Sioux so as to secure their supply of furs from the tribes; the British Hudson's Bay Company was formed in 1670 to capitalize on the Native American fur trade near Hudson Bay. The company came to dominate the North American trade in the 18th century; the North West Company of Montreal was formed in 1779 to compete with Hudson's Bay Company establishing their western headquarters and key exchange point at Grand Portage in what is now Minnesota.
Grand Portage, with its two wharves and numerous warehouses, became one of Britain's four main fur trading posts, along with Niagara and Michilimackinac. British ships crossed Lake Superior transporting supplies to the region and bringing back valuable furs. After Grand Portage became property of the U. S. in 1783 the British operations, suc
32nd United States Congress
The Thirty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D. C. from March 4, 1851, to March 4, 1853, during the last two years of Millard Fillmore's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Sixth Census of the United States in 1840. Both chambers had a Democratic majority. March 20, 1852: Uncle Tom's Cabin published July 1, 1852: Henry Clay was the first to lie in state in the United States Capitol rotunda November 2, 1852: U. S. presidential election, 1852: Democrat Franklin Pierce defeated Whig Winfield Scott March 2, 1853: An act providing for administering the oath of office to William R. King, Vice President elect of the United States of America. Sess. 2, Ch. 93, 10 Stat. 180 March 2, 1853: Washington Territory was formed from Oregon Territory. President: Vacant President pro tempore: William R. King, until December 20, 1852 David R. Atchison, from December 20, 1852 Speaker: Linn Boyd This list is arranged by chamber by state.
Senators are listed by class and Representatives by district. Senators were elected by the state legislatures every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election. In this Congress, Class 1 meant their term began with this Congress, facing re-election in 1856; the names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers. The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress. Replacements: 8 Democrats: 1 seat net gain Whigs: 1 seat net loss deaths: 3 resignations: 6 interim appointments: 3 Total seats with changes: 13 replacements: 6 Democrats: 1 seat net loss Whigs: 1 seat net gain deaths: 2 resignations: 5 Total seats with changes: 7 Lists of committees and their party leaders. Agriculture Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate Claims Commerce Contested Election of 1850 Distributing Public Revenue Among the States District of Columbia Emigrant Route and Telegraphic Line to California Ether Discovery Finance Foreign Relations French Spoilations Indian Affairs Judiciary Manufactures Mexican Boundary Mexican Boundary Commission Mexican Claims Commission Military Affairs Militia Naval Affairs Ordnance and War Ships Patents and the Patent Office Pensions Post Office and Post Roads Printing Private Land Claims Public Buildings and Grounds Public Lands Purchase of Catlin's Collection of Indian Scenes Retrenchment Revolutionary Claims Roads and Canals Tariff Regulation Territories Seventh Census Whole Accounts Agriculture Bounty Land Act of 1850 Claims Commerce District of Columbia Elections Engraving Expenditures in the Navy Department Expenditures in the Post Office Department Expenditures in the State Department Expenditures in the Treasury Department Expenditures in the War Department Expenditures on Public Buildings Foreign Affairs Indian Affairs Invalid Pensions Manufactures Mileage Military Affairs Militia Naval Affairs Patents Post Office and Post Roads Public Buildings and Grounds Public Expenditures Public Lands Revisal and Unfinished Business Revolutionary Claims Roads and Canals Rules Standards of Official Conduct Territories Ways and Means Whole Enrolled Bills Democratic Democratic Architect of the Capitol: Thomas U.
Walter, appointed June 11, 1851 Librarian of Congress: John Silva Meehan Chaplain: Clement M. Butler Secretary: Asbury Dickens elected December 12, 1836 Sergeant at Arms: Robert Beale, elected December 9, 1845 Chaplain: Littleton F. Morgan, elected December 1, 1851 James Gallagher, elected December 6, 1852 Clerk: John W. Forney Doorkeeper: Zadock W. McKnew Reading Clerks: Sergeant at Arms: Adam J. Glossbrenner Postmaster: John M. Johnson United States elections, 1850 United States Senate elections, 1850 and 1851 United States House of Representatives elections, 1850 United States elections, 1852 United States presidential election, 1852 United States Senate elections, 1852 and 1853 United States House of Representatives elections, 1852 Martis, Kenneth C.. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Martis, Kenneth C.. The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Statutes at Large, 1789-1875 Senate Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress House Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress Biographical Directory of the U.
S. Congress U. S. House of Representatives: House History U. S. Senate: Statistics and Lists Congressional Directory for the 32nd Congress, 1st Session. Congressional Directory for the 32nd Congress, 2nd Session
North Dakota
North Dakota is a U. S. state in northern regions of the United States. It is the nineteenth largest in area, the fourth smallest by population, the fourth most sparsely populated of the 50 states. North Dakota was admitted to the Union on November 3, 1889, along with its neighboring state, South Dakota, its capital is Bismarck, its largest city is Fargo. In the 21st century, North Dakota's natural resources have played a major role in its economic performance with the oil extraction from the Bakken formation, which lies beneath the northwestern part of the state; such development has led to reduced unemployment. North Dakota contains the tallest human-made structure in the KVLY-TV mast. North Dakota is a Midwestern state of the United States, it lies at the center of the North American continent. The geographic center of North America is near the town of Rugby. Bismarck is the capital of North Dakota, Fargo is the largest city. Soil is North Dakota's most precious resource, it is the base of the state's great agricultural wealth.
But North Dakota has enormous mineral resources. These mineral resources include billions of tons of lignite coal. In addition, North Dakota has large oil reserves. Petroleum was discovered in the state in 1951 and became one of North Dakota's most valuable mineral resources. In the early 2000's, the emergence of hydraulic fracturing technologies enabled mining companies to extract huge amounts of oil from the Bakken shale rock formation in the western part of the state. North Dakota's economy is based more on farming than are the economies of most other states. Many North Dakota factories manufacture farm equipment. Many of the state’s merchants rely on agriculture. Farms and ranches cover nearly all of North Dakota, they stretch from the flat Red River Valley in the east, across rolling plains, to the rugged Badlands in the west. The chief crop, wheat, is grown in nearly every county. North Dakota flaxseed, it is the country’s top producer of barley and sunflower seeds and a leader in the production of beans, lentils, oats and sugar beets.
Few white settlers came to the North Dakota region before the 1870's because railroads had not yet entered the area. During the early 1870's, the Northern Pacific Railroad began to push across the Dakota Territory. Large-scale farming began during the 1870's. Eastern corporations and some families established huge wheat farms covering large areas of land in the Red River Valley; the farms made such enormous profits. White settlers, attracted by the success of the bonanza farms, flocked to North Dakota increasing the territory's population. In 1870, North Dakota had 2,405 people. By 1890, the population had grown to 190,983. North Dakota was named for the Sioux people; the Sioux called meaning allies or friends. One of North Dakota's nicknames is the Peace Garden State; this nickname honors the International Peace Garden, which lies on the state's border with Manitoba, Canada. North Dakota is called the Flickertail State because of the many flickertail ground squirrels that live in the central part of the state.
North Dakota is in the U. S. region known as the Great Plains. The state shares the Red River of the North with Minnesota to the east. South Dakota is to the south, Montana is to the west, the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are to the north. North Dakota is near the middle of North America with a stone marker in Rugby, North Dakota marking the "Geographic Center of the North American Continent". With an area of 70,762 square miles, North Dakota is the 19th largest state; the western half of the state consists of the hilly Great Plains as well as the northern part of the Badlands, which are to the west of the Missouri River. The state's high point, White Butte at 3,506 feet, Theodore Roosevelt National Park are in the Badlands; the region is abundant in fossil fuels including crude oil and lignite coal. The Missouri River forms Lake Sakakawea, the third largest artificial lake in the United States, behind the Garrison Dam; the central region of the state is divided into the Missouri Plateau.
The eastern part of the state consists of the flat Red River Valley, the bottom of glacial Lake Agassiz. Its fertile soil, drained by the meandering Red River flowing northward into Lake Winnipeg, supports a large agriculture industry. Devils Lake, the largest natural lake in the state, is found in the east. Eastern North Dakota is overall flat. Most of the state is covered in grassland. Natural trees in North Dakota are found where there is good drainage, such as the ravines and valley near the Pembina Gorge and Killdeer Mountains, the Turtle Mountains, the hills around Devil's Lake, in the dunes area of McHenry County in central North Dakota, along the Sheyenne Valley slopes and the Sheyenne delta; this diverse terrain supports nearly 2,000 species of plants. North Dakota has a continental climate with cold winters; the temperature differences are significant because of its far inland position and being in the center of the Northern Hemisphere, with equal distances to the North Pole and the Equator.
As such, summers are subtropical, but winters are cold enough to ensure plant hardiness is low. Native American peoples lived in what is now North Dakota for thousands of year
South Dakota
South Dakota is a U. S. state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who compose a large portion of the population and dominated the territory. South Dakota is the seventeenth largest by area, but the fifth smallest by population and the 5th least densely populated of the 50 United States; as the southern part of the former Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889 with North Dakota. Pierre is the state capital and Sioux Falls, with a population of about 187,200, is South Dakota's largest city. South Dakota is bordered by the states of North Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska and Montana; the state is bisected by the Missouri River, dividing South Dakota into two geographically and distinct halves, known to residents as "East River" and "West River". Eastern South Dakota is home to most of the state's population, the area's fertile soil is used to grow a variety of crops. West of the Missouri, ranching is the predominant agricultural activity, the economy is more dependent on tourism and defense spending.
Most of the Native American reservations are in West River. The Black Hills, a group of low pine-covered mountains sacred to the Sioux, are in the southwest part of the state. Mount Rushmore, a major tourist destination, is there. South Dakota has a temperate continental climate, with four distinct seasons and precipitation ranging from moderate in the east to semi-arid in the west; the state's ecology features species typical of a North American grassland biome. Humans have inhabited the area for several millennia, with the Sioux becoming dominant by the early 19th century. In the late 19th century, European-American settlement intensified after a gold rush in the Black Hills and the construction of railroads from the east. Encroaching miners and settlers triggered a number of Indian wars, ending with the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. Key events in the 20th century included the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, increased federal spending during the 1940s and 1950s for agriculture and defense, an industrialization of agriculture that has reduced family farming.
While several Democratic senators have represented South Dakota for multiple terms at the federal level, the state government is controlled by the Republican Party, whose nominees have carried South Dakota in each of the last 13 presidential elections. Dominated by an agricultural economy and a rural lifestyle, South Dakota has sought to diversify its economy in areas to attract and retain residents. South Dakota's history and rural character still influence the state's culture. South Dakota is in the north-central United States, is considered a part of the Midwest by the U. S. Census Bureau; the culture and geography of western South Dakota have more in common with the West than the Midwest. South Dakota has a total area of 77,116 square miles, making the state the 17th largest in the Union. Black Elk Peak named Harney Peak, with an elevation of 7,242 ft, is the state's highest point, while the shoreline of Big Stone Lake is the lowest, with an elevation of 966 ft. South Dakota is bordered to the north by North Dakota.
The geographical center of the U. S. is 17 miles west of Castle Rock in Butte County. The North American continental pole of inaccessibility is between Allen and Kyle, 1,024 mi from the nearest coastline; the Missouri River is the longest river in the state. Other major South Dakota rivers include the Cheyenne, Big Sioux, White Rivers. Eastern South Dakota has many natural lakes created by periods of glaciation. Additionally, dams on the Missouri River create four large reservoirs: Lake Oahe, Lake Sharpe, Lake Francis Case, Lewis and Clark Lake. South Dakota can be divided into three regions: eastern South Dakota, western South Dakota, the Black Hills; the Missouri River serves as a boundary in terms of geographic and political differences between eastern and western South Dakota. The geography of the Black Hills, long considered sacred by Native Americans, differs from its surroundings to such an extent it can be considered separate from the rest of western South Dakota. At times the Black Hills are combined with the rest of western South Dakota, people refer to the resulting two regions divided by the Missouri River as West River and East River.
Eastern South Dakota features higher precipitation and lower topography than the western part of the state. Smaller geographic regions of this area include the Coteau des Prairies, the Dissected Till Plains, the James River Valley; the Coteau des Prairies is a plateau bordered on the east by the Minnesota River Valley and on the west by the James River Basin. Further west, the James River Basin is low, flat eroded land, following the flow of the James River through South Dakota from north to south; the Dissected Till Plains, an area of rolling hills and fertile soil that covers much of Iowa and Nebraska, extends into the southeastern corner of South Dakota. Layers deposited during the Pleistocene epoch, starting around two million years ago, cover most of eastern South Dakota; these are the youngest rock and sediment layers in the state, the product of several successive periods of glaciation which deposited a large amount of rocks and soil, known as till, over the area. The Great Plains cover most of the western two-thirds of South Dakota.
West of the Missouri Rive
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system on the North American continent, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. Its source is Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota and it flows south for 2,320 miles to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains all or parts of 32 U. S. two Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian mountains. The main stem is within the United States; the Mississippi ranks as the fifteenth-largest river by discharge in the world. The river either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana. Native Americans have lived along its tributaries for thousands of years. Most were hunter-gatherers, but some, such as the Mound Builders, formed prolific agricultural societies; the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century changed the native way of life as first explorers settlers, ventured into the basin in increasing numbers.
The river served first as a barrier, forming borders for New Spain, New France, the early United States, as a vital transportation artery and communications link. In the 19th century, during the height of the ideology of manifest destiny, the Mississippi and several western tributaries, most notably the Missouri, formed pathways for the western expansion of the United States. Formed from thick layers of the river's silt deposits, the Mississippi embayment is one of the most fertile regions of the United States. During the American Civil War, the Mississippi's capture by Union forces marked a turning point towards victory, due to the river's strategic importance to the Confederate war effort; because of substantial growth of cities and the larger ships and barges that replaced steamboats, the first decades of the 20th century saw the construction of massive engineering works such as levees and dams built in combination. A major focus of this work has been to prevent the lower Mississippi from shifting into the channel of the Atchafalaya River and bypassing New Orleans.
Since the 20th century, the Mississippi River has experienced major pollution and environmental problems – most notably elevated nutrient and chemical levels from agricultural runoff, the primary contributor to the Gulf of Mexico dead zone. The word Mississippi itself comes from Misi zipi, the French rendering of the Anishinaabe name for the river, Misi-ziibi. In the 18th century, the river was the primary western boundary of the young United States, since the country's expansion westward, the Mississippi River has been considered a convenient if approximate dividing line between the Eastern and Midwestern United States, the Western United States; this is exemplified by the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the phrase "Trans-Mississippi" as used in the name of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition, it is common to qualify a regionally superlative landmark in relation to it, such as "the highest peak east of the Mississippi" or "the oldest city west of the Mississippi". The FCC uses it as the dividing line for broadcast call-signs, which begin with W to the east and K to the west, mixing together in media markets along the river.
The Mississippi River can be divided into three sections: the Upper Mississippi, the river from its headwaters to the confluence with the Missouri River. The Upper Mississippi runs from its headwaters to its confluence with the Missouri River at St. Louis, Missouri, it is divided into two sections: The headwaters, 493 miles from the source to Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The source of the Upper Mississippi branch is traditionally accepted as Lake Itasca, 1,475 feet above sea level in Itasca State Park in Clearwater County, Minnesota; the name "Itasca" was chosen to designate the "true head" of the Mississippi River as a combination of the last four letters of the Latin word for truth and the first two letters of the Latin word for head. However, the lake is in turn fed by a number of smaller streams. From its origin at Lake Itasca to St. Louis, the waterway's flow is moderated by 43 dams. Fourteen of these dams are located above Minneapolis in the headwaters region and serve multiple purposes, including power generation and recreation.
The remaining 29 dams, beginning in downtown Minneapolis, all contain locks and were constructed to improve commercial navigation of the upper river. Taken as a whole, these 43 dams shape the geography and influence the ecology of the upper river. Beginning just below Saint Paul and continuing throughout the upper and lower river, the Mississippi is further controlled by thousands of wing dikes that moderate the river's flow in order to maintain an open navigation channel and prevent the river from eroding its banks; the head of navigation on the Mississippi is the Coon Rapids Dam in Minnesota. Before it was built in 1913, steamboats could go upstream as far as Saint Cloud, depending on river conditions; the uppermost lock and dam on the Upper Mississippi River is the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock an
Media related to Minnesota Territory at Wikimedia Commons
