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8 November 1887 (1887-11-08) | ||||||||||
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The1887 Dakota Territory division referendum was anadvisory referendum held on 8 November 1887 which asked voters if they wished to split theDakota Territory into two states, North and South.[1]
The currentU.S. states ofNorth Dakota andSouth Dakota were originally part of theDakota Territory prior to receiving statehood. There are two conflicting narratives as to why the Dakota Territory was divided and given statehood. One narrative suggests that it was due to regionalist tensions,[2] whilst the other suggests that it was a political play by Gilded Age Republicans.[3][4]
The idea of a separate North and South due to regionalist tensions is best exemplified when the territorial governorNehemiah G. Ordway infamously moved the territorial capital fromYankton (today in South Dakota) toBismarck (today in North Dakota) in 1883 in a 'capital grab' to the more sparsely populated north, which fueled more resentment in the south.[2]
On 11 March 1887, theLegislative Assembly of the Territory of Dakota approved the holding of a referendum through anAct with theLong title ofan Act to Submit to the Legal Voters of the Territory of Dakota the Question of the Division of the Territory. The Act set the date of the 8 November 1887 for the holding of the referendum and was to be conducted as a general election. The act proposed a division along the 7thstandard parallel, with the ballot giving voters the choices of "For division" or "Against division".[5]
The results came were announced by theGovernor of the Dakota Territory,Louis K. Church on 10 January 1888 with 37,784 favouring division and 32,913 being opposed.[1]
