South Dakota Application
- How have groups in South Dakota used their civil rights to gain
political rights?
- How have groups in South Dakota used their political rights to
limit the government?
Activities
- Students will research the influence of the Progressive
Era on South Dakota politics.
Have students read the following passage from South Dakota: A
Journey Through Time, pgs. 64-65:
“A constitutional convention was called to meet in Sioux Falls
on July 4, 1889. More than statehood was on the minds of South
Dakota people that summer. The new constitution prohibited the sale
of liquor. This caused a lot of debate among people. There was
another big debate over woman suffrage. Many women, as well as men,
wanted women to get the vote. But many men, as well as women,
thought the time was not yet right for it.
No state allowed women to vote in general elections. The Sioux
Falls delegates failed to include woman suffrage in the constitution
that they wrote. Instead, they scheduled a special election to
decide the issue the following year. That brought a large number of
woman suffrage supporters to South Dakota. The best known one was
Susan B. Anthony who traveled all over the state to give speeches.
She visited Redfield, Huron, Mitchell, Madison, Sioux Falls,
Brookings, De Smet, Watertown, Pierre, Aberdeen, and other towns. In
the end, the proposal failed. Women had to wait till 1918 to finally
get the vote.
South Dakota voters approved their new state constitution in
October. Statehood became officials on November 2, 1889. North
Dakota came in on the same day. In order to avoid favoritism,
President Harrison shuffled the papers on his des before signing
them. No one could tell whether South Dakota was the thirty-ninth or
fortieth state. Since North Dakota is ahead of South Dakota in the
alphabet, it got recognized as number thirty-nine and South Dakota
as number forty.”
Have students read letter from Susan B. Anthony dated December
21st, 1897 (South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center) link
Have students study the following pictures from the South Dakota
Cultural Heritage Center:
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Museum of the South Dakota State Historical
Society, Pierre, SD |
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Museum of the South Dakota State Historical
Society, Pierre, SD |
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Museum of the South Dakota State Historical
Society, Pierre, SD |
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Museum of the South Dakota State Historical
Society, Pierre, SD |
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Have students write a letter to the editor of an
1890 newspaper stating their position on a topic from the Progressive
Era (woman suffrage, prohibition).
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Students can debate the pros and cons of
extending current day voting rights to 16 year olds, resident
aliens. Kid’s Voting
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The Class will develop an 1890 newspapers
(editorial, feature articles, editorial cartoons, plight of the
native Americans, national, state and local news)
Assessment
Using a rubric, students will be evaluated on
their contributions to the newspaper
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