Dakota Territory was settled by a diverse population as people moved west to the Great Plains. Historian Stephanie Roper notes that, “Although Black people were never numerous, they entered the territory with the first white settlers and made a significant contribution to the land and its people.” After the Civil War, many freed slaves took advantage of the Homestead Act and moved to Dakota Territory to start new lives.
Though his name is not widely known today, Senator William Windom was a strong advocate for underserved populations, including Native Americans and newly freed slaves. On this date in 1879, Windom presented a resolution in Congress to encourage freed slaves to take advantage of the Homestead Act. The resolution did not receive overwhelming support. In June, Windom gave a speech in the Senate, acknowledging that some people were fearful of an influx of Black immigrants. He mentioned how, when a few hundred Black immigrants moved to Indiana, a Senator from that state labeled it an “infamous conspiracy against the Democratic Party.” In 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment granted Black men the right to vote, and the Indiana Senator called for a committee to investigate why Black immigrants were settling there. He portrayed the migration as a conspiracy by Northern leaders to undermine the democracy of northern states by importing Black voters.
Windom strongly defended the right of freed slaves to benefit from the Homestead Act. He closed by saying, “As to the future of the exodus, I can only say that every witness whose opinion was asked upon this point declared that it has only begun, and that what we have seen in the past is nothing compared to what is to come.”
While there is no official estimate of the number of freed slaves who moved to the Great Plains, they played a key role in North Dakota’s development. Historian Richard Edwards notes that Blacks “were a small number compared to the vast numbers of white homesteaders. But they formed a significant group, and their history, I think, is important for us to remember. Their significance was not necessarily measured just by the numbers.”
Dakota Datebook by Dr. Carole Butcher
Sources:
- Stephanie Abbot Roper. “African Americans in North Dakota, 1800-1940.” Masters Thesis, University of North Dakota. 1993. Page 35.
- Homestead.Org. “The Blair Colony: Freed Slaves Homesteading in the Dakota Territory.” https://www.homestead.org/homesteading-history/norvel-blair-colony-freed-slaves-homesteading/ Accessed 12/10/2024.
- Homestead.Org. “The Exodusters: The Roots of African American Homesteading.” https://www.homestead.org/homesteading-history/exodusters-the-roots-of-african-american-homesteading/ Accessed 12/10/2024.
- Internet Archive. “The Exodus: Speech of the Honorable William Windom of Minnesota, in the United States Senate, Monday, June 14, 1880.
- National Archives. “13th Amendment to the Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865).” https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/13th-amendment Accessed 12/10/2024.
- Miller Center. “William Windom.” https://millercenter.org/president/garfield/essays/windom-william-1881-secretary-of-the-treasury Accessed 12/10/2024.
- SDPB. “Black Settlers on the Great Plains.” https://www.sdpb.org/images-of-the-past/2021-02-25/black-settlers-of-the-great-plains Accessed 12/10/2024.
