SHSND Home > North Dakota History > Unit 3: Commerce Culture, and Conflict, 1800-1878 > Creating Dakota Territory > Gov. Edmunds' Letters

Unit 3: Set 2. Creating Dakota Territory - Gov. Edmunds' Letters

Introduction | Territorial Documents | Celebration | Gov Letters | Oaths | Activity

Edmunds' Letters: Jan. 29, 1865 | Feb. 2, 1865 | Feb. 3, 1865 | Dec. 24, 1864

Governor Newton EdmundsGovernor Jayne and the first legislature established the basic framework of government.Governor Jayne resigned less than two years after taking office. On November 2, 1863, Newton Edmunds was appointed by President Lincoln as the second territorial governor. The territorial government was not yet operating smoothly: there were no public schools, few roads to connect the distant settlements, no tax collection, and no systematic law enforcement. Edmunds' task was to make the government and the territory function so as to make it appealing to settlers and business. His frustration at the absence of appointed officials who may not have found Dakota an appealing place to work is apparent in the letter dated February 3, 1865 to Dakota's representative to Congress Walter W. Burleigh.

Read more about the Governors of Dakota Territory at: http://www.history.nd.gov/exhibits/governors/.

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