October is Archives Month, when archives around the country celebrate the records in their holdings and recognize the archivists who assess, collect, organize, preserve, and provide access to information of lasting value. The North Dakota State Archives is part of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
For years, many residents in Dakota Territory wanted to split it into two halves, but it wasn’t until the Enabling Act, passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Grover Cleveland in February of 1889, that Dakota Territory was allowed to split into the separate states of North and South Dakota.
The act called for the territory to divide “on the line of the seventh standard parallel produced due west to the western boundary.” On July 4 of that year, territorial delegates gathered on either side of that boundary line to create state constitutions for what would become North and South Dakota.
In North Dakota, the 75 men worked on writing the foundational document for about a month and a half. Various topics of interest included the wording of the preamble, statewide prohibition, voting rights, and the establishment and location of public institutions, such as the capitol, state universities, a reform school, and the state hospital. Many points were debated and under inspection by both the men writing them and the public around them.
Near the end, as revisions were being recorded and reframed, the Bismarck Tribune reported that they weren’t sure when the convention would end, though “if none of the ground is fought over again,” it was assumed to be soon. It added, “There are rumors of war…and it may be that the adjournment is farther off than it appears.”
Shortly thereafter, on August 17, the document was signed. On this date, which was then the first Tuesday in October, the constitution was ratified at an election. That is why October 1, 1889, is the date shown on North Dakota’s official state seal.
On November 2, North and South Dakota were admitted to statehood by President Benjamin Harrison. He mixed up the papers, so no one knew which state was admitted first. Alphabetically, North Dakota is the 39th state to enter the Union, and South Dakota is the 40th. Montana and Washington, which were also designated to become states, became the 41st and 42nd states, on November 8 and November 11, respectively. The original North Dakota State Constitution now resides at the State Archives. It has been digitized and can be viewed online in all its handwritten glory.
Dakota Datebook by Sarah Walker
Sources:
- Jamestown Weekly Alert, November 7, 1889, p1
- Jamestown Weekly Alert, August 15, 1889, p1
- Jamestown Weekly Alert, July 18, 1889, p1
- Dickinson Press, August 10, 1889, p2
- Griggs Courier, August 23, 1889, p1
- Dickinson Press, October 19, 1889, p2
- Bismarck Weekly Tribune, August 23, 1889, p6
- https://news.prairiepublic.org/show/dakota-datebook-archive/2022-05-22/omnibus-billhttps://blog.statemuseum.nd.gov/remembering-july-4-1889 ND State Constitution: https://findhistory.nd.gov/proficiowebmodule/MADetailF.aspx?rID=31732/-PRIORITY&db=fileunit&list=parent&dir=SALSTATE
- https://www.history.nd.gov/archives/stateagencies/conscon1889.html
