Letters received by the Department of Justice from the Territory of Dakota

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Summary

This collection shows the development of a population explosion in the Dakota Territory, leading to the eventual statehood of North and South Dakota in 1889. The collection includes letters and res...

This collection shows the development of a population explosion in the Dakota Territory, leading to the eventual statehood of North and South Dakota in 1889. The collection includes letters and resolutions from the Legislative Assembly of the Dakota Territory, setting the terms on which the Legislative Assembly would meet; creating new judicial districts; defining land and voting rights; and granting citizenship, as well as discussing the Territory's allegiance to the United States, the Republican Party and President Ulysses S. Grant. Other correspondence discusses new rules and procedures, including a rule limiting witness testimony, as well as parameters for basic court procedures, such as granting parole and setting court fees. A telegram asking what fee the Department of Justice is willing to pay for a hanging demonstrates the very different notion of justice at the time. There are also handwritten pleadings, affidavits, and findings of fact, as well as letters from United States Attorneys discussing criminal cases. Homestead applications and relationships with the Native Americans are also prominent issues, especially U.S. court jurisdiction over crimes involving Native Americans. The collection also shows the complications of staffing and running offices on the frontier. There are commissions for U.S. Marshalls and U.S. Attorneys, as well as documents showing several requests for leaves of absence. Requisitions and expenditures of funds are discussed. Charges were also sometimes brought against judges as revealed by documents in this collection. The collection also includes a register of letters received by the Department of Justice relating to the Dakotas.

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