What is now North Dakota was inhabited for thousands of years by variousNative American tribes, including theMandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara along theMissouri River; theOjibwe andCree in the northeast; and several Sioux groups (theAssiniboine,Yankton,Wahpeton, andTeton) across the rest of the state. European explorers and traders first arrived in the early 18th century, mostly in pursuit of lucrative furs.
The United States acquired the region in the early 19th century, gradually settling it amidgrowing resistance by increasingly displaced natives. TheDakota Territory, established in 1861, became central toAmerican pioneers, with theHomestead Act of 1862 precipitating significant population growth and development. The traditional fur trade declined in favor of farming, particularly of wheat. The subsequent Dakota Boom from 1878 to 1886 saw giant farms stretched across the rolling prairies, with the territory becoming a regional economic power. TheNorthern Pacific andGreat Northern railway companies competed for access to lucrative grain centers; farmers banded together in political and socioeconomic alliances that were core to the broaderPopulist Movement of the Midwest. North and South Dakota wereadmitted to the Union on November 2, 1889, as the 39th and 40th states. PresidentBenjamin Harrison shuffled the statehood papers before signing them so that no one could tell which became a state first; consequently, the two states are officially numbered in alphabetical order.[3] Statehood marked the gradual winding-down of the pioneer period, with the state fully settled by around 1920.[4] Subsequent decades saw a rise in radical agrarian movements and economic cooperatives, of which one legacy is theBank of North Dakota, the only state-run bank in the U.S.
Beginning in the mid-20th century, North Dakota's richnatural resources became more critical to economic development; into the 21st century,oil extraction from theBakken formation in the northwest has played amajor role in the state's prosperity. Such development has led to population growth (along with high birth rates) and reduced unemployment, with North Dakota having thesecond-lowest unemployment rate in the U.S., afterHawaii.[5][6][7][8] It ranks relatively well in metrics such as infrastructure,quality of life, economic opportunity, and public safety. It is believed to host the geographic center of North America,Rugby, and is home to what was once the tallest artificial structure in theWestern Hemisphere, theKVLY-TVmast.
