US Senator. Born in Ludlow, Windsor County, Vermont, his family relocated to Wisconsin when he was young, and there he attended the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison, Wisconsin. In 1869 he moved to the Dakota Territory, where he worked initially as a surveyor, then he entered the Territorial Bar in 1871. He established a law practice in Sioux Falls, and became involved in real estate. He served a term in the Dakota Territorial Legislature, and two terms on Territorial Council before he was elected as a Democrat to represent the Dakota in the United States House of Representatives in 1880. He served a single term in Congress from 1881 to 1883, and was unsuccessful in his bid for re-election. When South Dakota was admitted to the Union in 1889, he was elected along with Republican Gideon C. Moody was the state's first to Senators two the United States Senate. He served two terms from 1889 to 1901, and switch his Party from Democrat to Republican in 1896, joining with a caucus that was known as "The Silver Republicans" for their strenuous support of silver for the financial standard backing United States monetary funds (which would have benefited the states such as South Dakota that had extensive silver mining). During his time in the Senate he served as Chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs. His switching of Partys hurt him politically, and he lost his re-election bid to Senator Robert J. Gamble. His post-Senate career was marked by a time practicing law in New York City, New York and his return to Sioux Falls. He became an outspoken critic of President Woodrow Wilson and his policies. When he criticized in 1917 the United States involvement in World War I, and publicly urged young men to evade conscription, he was arrested and charged with sedition under the newly passed Espionage Act of 1917. He enlisted famous lawyer Clarence Darrow as his defense attorney, who managed to delay the case long enough for the charges to be eventually dropped. When he passed away in 1926 he donated his residence to the city of Sioux Falls, which operates it in the present day as the Pettigrew House and Museum.

US Senator. Born in Ludlow, Windsor County, Vermont, his family relocated to Wisconsin when he was young, and there he attended the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison, Wisconsin. In 1869 he moved to the Dakota Territory, where he worked initially as a surveyor, then he entered the Territorial Bar in 1871. He established a law practice in Sioux Falls, and became involved in real estate. He served a term in the Dakota Territorial Legislature, and two terms on Territorial Council before he was elected as a Democrat to represent the Dakota in the United States House of Representatives in 1880. He served a single term in Congress from 1881 to 1883, and was unsuccessful in his bid for re-election. When South Dakota was admitted to the Union in 1889, he was elected along with Republican Gideon C. Moody was the state's first to Senators two the United States Senate. He served two terms from 1889 to 1901, and switch his Party from Democrat to Republican in 1896, joining with a caucus that was known as "The Silver Republicans" for their strenuous support of silver for the financial standard backing United States monetary funds (which would have benefited the states such as South Dakota that had extensive silver mining). During his time in the Senate he served as Chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs. His switching of Partys hurt him politically, and he lost his re-election bid to Senator Robert J. Gamble. His post-Senate career was marked by a time practicing law in New York City, New York and his return to Sioux Falls. He became an outspoken critic of President Woodrow Wilson and his policies. When he criticized in 1917 the United States involvement in World War I, and publicly urged young men to evade conscription, he was arrested and charged with sedition under the newly passed Espionage Act of 1917. He enlisted famous lawyer Clarence Darrow as his defense attorney, who managed to delay the case long enough for the charges to be eventually dropped. When he passed away in 1926 he donated his residence to the city of Sioux Falls, which operates it in the present day as the Pettigrew House and Museum.