South Dakota

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Template:US state South Dakota is a Midwestern state in the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota (Sioux) American Indian tribes. South Dakota was admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889. North Dakota was admitted on the same day (see Trivia, below).

South Dakota is bordered to the north by North Dakota, to the south by Nebraska, to the east by Iowa and Minnesota, and to the west by Wyoming and Montana. It is one of the six states of the Frontier Strip. It is probably best known as the location of Mount Rushmore.

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History

Human beings have lived in what is today South Dakota for at least several thousand years. French and other European explorers in the 1700s encountered a variety of groups including the Omaha and Arikara (Ree), but by the early 1800s the Sioux (Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota) were dominant. In 1743, the LaVerendrye brothers buried a plate near the modern capital Pierre (pronounced as "peer") claiming the region for France as part of greater Louisiana. In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon, though the native peoples inhabiting most of this area were not aware of the transaction.

President Thomas Jefferson organized a group called the Corps of Discovery, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (commonly referred to as "Lewis and Clark"), to explore the newly-acquired region. In 1817, an American fur trading post was set up at present-day Fort Pierre, and this was the beginning of continuous American settlement of the area. Through much of the 19th century, exploratory expeditions such as those of Lewis and Clark and Joseph Nicollet coincided with an increasing presence of the U.S. Army. In 1855, the U.S. Army bought Fort Pierre but abandoned it the following year in favor of Fort Randall to the south. Settlement by Americans and Europeans was, by this time, increasing rapidly, and in 1858, the Yankton Dakota Sioux resigned to signing the 1858 Treaty, ceding most of present-day eastern South Dakota to the United States. Of this, Yankton leader Strike-the-Ree said "The white men are coming like maggots. It is useless to resist them.... Many of our brave warriors would be killed, our women and children left in sorrow, and still we would not stop them."

Land speculators founded two of eastern South Dakota's largest present-day cities, Sioux Falls in 1856 and Yankton in 1859. In 1861, Dakota Territory was recognized by the United States government (this initially included North Dakota, South Dakota, and parts of Montana and Wyoming). Settlers from Scandinavia, Germany, Ireland, and Russia, as well as elsewhere in Europe and from the eastern U.S. states, increased from a trickle to a flood, especially after the completion of an eastern railway link to the territorial capital of Yankton in 1872, and the discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874 during a military expedition led by George A. Custer. This expedition took place despite the fact that all of Dakota Territory west of the Missouri River (along with much of Nebraska, Montana, and Wyoming) had been granted to the Sioux by the Treaty of 1868 as part of the Great Sioux Nation. The Sioux declined to grant mining rights or land in the Black Hills, and war broke out after the U.S. failed to stop white miners and settlers from entering the region.

Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were major resistance leaders — but the Americans, with greater numbers and superior weaponry, who were also aided by the sharp decline in numbers of the buffalo (a major food source of the Sioux), were unstoppable. Indeed, between 1878 and 1886, the Euro-American settler population of eastern Dakota Territory tripled. The last major incident in this struggle occurred on December 29, 1890, at Wounded Knee Creek in present-day western South Dakota when U.S. soldiers massacred as many as 300 Sioux, mostly women and children.

Just over a year earlier, on November 2, 1889, Dakota Territory had become the modern states of North Dakota and South Dakota after a dispute between settlers in northern and southern regions over the location of the state capital (originally Yankton but surreptitiously moved to the present-day capital of North Dakota, Bismarck).

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Geography

South Dakota is situated in the middle of the Great Plains and is bisected by the Missouri River.

Eastern South Dakota was shaped by glaciers during the last ice age. Many boulders and mounds of sediment dropped by glaciers are still present in many parts of the state. The land is very flat and is well suited for farming and ranching. This region is generally covered by grasslands and gentle rolling hills. A distinguishing feature of eastern South Dakota is the Coteau des Prairies. This highlands area was created by many glaciers dropping sediments that measure up to 900 feet deep.

The western half is mostly grasslands, but is more rugged and is dotted with high plateaus. In the Southwest section of the state lie the Black Hills and Badlands. The Black Hills is a small group of low mountains located in the southwest corner of the state and is valued for it's beauty and mined for it's ores.


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Politics

Image:Wiki southdakota.jpg South Dakota politics are generally dominated by the Republican Party, and the state has not supported a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964 — especially notable when one considers that George McGovern, the Democratic nominee in 1972, was from South Dakota. In 2004, George W. Bush won the state's three electoral votes with 59.9% of the vote.

There are only five reliably Democratic counties in the state — most of them with primarily American Indian populations. Republicans have won the last seven gubernatorial elections and have controlled the legislature, with one brief interruption, for over thirty years. Democrats, however, have been successful in winning election to Congress from South Dakota, including former Senators Tom Daschle, James Abourezk and George McGovern; current Senator Tim Johnson; and current Representative Stephanie Herseth.

While President Bush received a lower vote percentage in 2004 than he did in 2000, he still received a very strong 60% of the popular vote. Part of the deviation had to do with record turnout driven by the intense Senate campaigns that year. Republicans hold a 9% registration advantage over Democrats, and hold large majorities in both the state House of Representatives and Senate. Additionally, all but one of the statewide elected constitutional officers are Republicans.

Senator Tom Daschle, the Democratic leader of the Senate and a fixture of South Dakota politics for more than a quarter century, lost his seat in a historic political upset by former U.S. Representative John Thune. The 2004 election defeat marks the first time since 1952 a sitting Senate leader lost a bid for re-election. South Dakota, however, has a history of replacing powerful members of the Senate. Former Commerce Committee Chairman Larry Pressler lost to then-Congressman Tim Johnson in 1996, and 1972 Democratic Presidential nominee George McGovern was defeated by Senator James Abdnor in 1980. Abdnor was, in turn, defeated by Daschle. Daschle is considering a bid for the presidency in 2008.

The state is divided, culturally and politically, by the Missouri River, which bisects the state. The area east of the Missouri River (or "East River"), is generally more moderate, with views that are more in line with those found in its Midwestern neighbors Iowa and Minnesota. "West River," however, is more conservative and libertarian, with views that are generally more in line with those found in its western neighbors Montana and Wyoming. On the whole, however, the state is quite conservative. For example, South Dakota is considered one of the most politically "pro-life" states in the United States (see South Dakota reproductive rights controversy).

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Demographics

Historical populations
Census
year 		Population
1860 4,837
1870 11,776
1880 98,268
1890 348,600
1900 401,570
1910 583,888
1920 636,547
1930 692,849
1940 642,961
1950 652,740
1960 680,514
1970 665,507
1980 690,768
1990 696,004
2000 754,844
Image:South Dakota population map.png

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2005, South Dakota has an estimated population of 775,933, which is an increase of 5,312, or 0.7%, from the prior year and an increase of 21,093, or 2.8%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 19,199 people (that is 56,247 births minus 37,048 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 3,222 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 3,957 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 735 people.

The racial makeup of the state is:

The five largest ancestry groups in South Dakota are: German (40.7%), Norwegian (15.3%), Irish (10.4%), Native American (8.3%), English (7.1%).

German-Americans are the largest ancestry group in most parts of the state, especially in the east, although there are also large Scandinavian populations in some counties. American Indians, largely Sioux, are predominant in several counties.

6.8% of South Dakota's population were reported as under 5, 26.8% under 18, and 14.3% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.4% of the population.

The median income for a household in the state is $35,282. The per capita income for the state is $17,562. 13.2% of the population is below the poverty line.

Image:National-atlas-indian-reservations-south-dakota.gif

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Rural flight

South Dakota, in common with five other Midwest states (Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Iowa), is feeling — along with these other states — the brunt of falling populations. 89% of the total number of cities in these six states have fewer than 3,000 people; hundreds have fewer than 1000. Between 1996 and 2004, almost half a million people, nearly half with college degrees, left the six states. "Rural flight" as it is called has led to offers of free land and tax breaks as enticements to newcomers.

The effect of rural flight has not been spread evenly through South Dakota, however. Although most rural counties and small towns have lost population, the Sioux Falls area and the Black Hills have gained population. This growth has compensated for losses in the rest of the state; therefore, South Dakota's total population continues to increase.

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Religion

The religious affiliations of the people of South Dakota are:

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Official state objects

Image:Mountrushmore.jpg

State bird: Ring-necked Pheasant
State flower: Pasque flower
State tree: Black Hills Spruce
State nicknames: Mount Rushmore State (official), Coyote state & Sunshine state (same nickname as Florida)
State slogan: "Great Faces. Great Places."
State mineral: Rose quartz
State insect: Honey bee - Apis Mellifera L.
State animal: Coyote
State soil: Houdek
State fish: Walleye
State gemstone: Fairburn agate
State dessert: Kuchen
State drink: Milk
State bread: Native American fry bread
State grass: Western Wheatgrass
State Sport: rodeo
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Important cities

Image:National-atlas-south-dakota.png

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Other features

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Famous South Dakotans

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Colleges and universities

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Transportation

South Dakota license plates are numbered by county, with the first digit referring to the county of origin. Such a numbering system allows one to easily determine where the vehicle was registered. Counties 1–9 are ranked, roughly, by population., and counties 10–67 are numbered alphabetically.

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Trivia

A bill for statehood for North and South Dakota (and Montana and Washington) was passed on February 22, 1889 during the Administration of Grover Cleveland. It was left to his successor Benjamin Harrison to sign proclamations formally admitting North and South Dakota to the Union on November 2, 1889. However, the rivalry between the northern and southern territories presented a dilemma: upon the President's signature on the proclamation, only one state would gain the distinction of being admitted before the others. So Harrison directed his Secretary of State James Blaine to shuffle the papers and obscure from him which he was signing first, and the priority went unrecorded.

Harney Peak, in the Black Hills, is the highest point between the Rocky Mountains and the French Alps. More than 70,000 people hike to its 7242 ft summit each year. The ashes of Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy, the first white man to climb Harney Peak, are sealed in a crypt at the top of the mountain.

The deepest mine in the United States, the Homestake gold mine (now defunct) is in the Black Hills of South Dakota, near the town of Lead. Its shaft plunges more than 8000 feet beneath the surface. From 1969 to 1993, it was home to the Homestake Chlorine Solar Neutrino Experiment, famous for detecting the solar neutrino problem. The South Dakota State Legislature and governor recently passed legislation giving the mine to the National Science Foundation for use as an underground research laboratory.

South Dakota is home to the largest naturally heated indoor swimming pool in the world. Evans Plunge, heated from natural mineral springs, is in Hot Springs.

The Black Hills of South Dakota was one of the sites considered for the permanent home of the United Nations.

The largest and most complete fossil of Tyrannosaurus rex ever found was uncovered near Faith in 1990. Named "Sue," the remains are over 90% complete and are currently on display at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois.

Citibank rechartered itself as a South Dakota bank in 1981 to take advantage of a new law that set South Dakota's maximum permissible interest rate on loans to 25%, then the highest in the nation (New York had refused to raise its interest rate even after prolonged lobbying). However, South Dakota's dreams of becoming a major financial center were dashed when Delaware matched its move the next year, and banks in search of the right to charge high interest rates flocked to Delaware instead.

The 1990 movie Dances With Wolves directed by and starring Kevin Costner as Lt. John Dunbar was shot entirely in South Dakota.

Three US Navy ships have been named USS South Dakota in honor of the state.

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Reproductive Rights Controversy

In recents years, efforts had been made in the South Dakota State Legislature to pass legislation that would ban abortion with the prime underlying goal being the initiation of a legal challenge to Roe v. Wade. This culminated in 2006 with the passage of H.B. 1215.

See South Dakota reproductive rights controversy.

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See also

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External links

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Template:South Dakota

Template:United Statesang:Sūþ Dakota ast:Dakota del Sur bg:Южна Дакота ca:Dakota del Sud cs:Jižní Dakota da:South Dakota de:South Dakota et:Lõuna-Dakota es:Dakota del Sur eo:Suda Dakoto eu:Hego Dakota fr:Dakota du Sud ga:Dakota Theas ko:사우스다코타 주 id:South Dakota os:Хуссар Дакотæ is:Suður-Dakóta it:Dakota del Sud he:דקוטה הדרומית ka:სამხრეთი დაკოტა kw:Dakota Dheghow lv:Dienviddakota lt:Pietų Dakota hu:Dél-Dakota mk:Јужна Дакота nl:South Dakota ja:サウスダコタ州 no:Sør-Dakota nn:Sør-Dakota pl:Dakota Południowa pt:Dakota do Sul ru:Южная Дакота sq:South Dakota simple:South Dakota sl:Južna Dakota sr:Јужна Дакота fi:Etelä-Dakota sv:South Dakota th:มลรัฐเซาท์ดาโคตา vi:South Dakota uk:Південна Дакота zh:南達科他州

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