NORTH DAKOTA 



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NORTH DAKOTA 



D NORTH DAKOTA D 



State Capitol 



Congressional 

 Districts 



Roman \\ 

 Cathohcl Lutheran 



People per square mile by decades 



ricultural College 



the inferior courts and appellate jurisdiction. 

 In 1915, capital punishment was abolished. All 

 judges and the superintendent of public instruc- 

 tion are elected by a nonpartisan vote. Since 

 1914, judges have been subject to recall. 



Counties are administered by boards of com- 

 missioners. Any village or city having over 500 

 inhabitants may adopt the commission form of 

 government, under which the voters may exer- 

 cise the right of initiative and referendum. All 

 city and village elections have nonpartisan 

 nominations by petition. 



North Dakota is among the few states in 

 which the sale or manufacture of intoxicants 

 is prohibited by the constitution; liquors may 

 not be sold even for medicinal uses. There 

 are strict laws controlling railroads and cor- 

 porations. In 1915, a state budget board con- 

 sisting of the governor, attorney-general, au- 

 ditor and five other members, was created, and 

 mothers' pension laws were passed. 



Histofy. .Settlement and Territorial Govern- 

 ment. The territory was acquired in the Lou- 

 isiana Purchase in 1803 but remained unorgan- 

 ized for about thirty years. French Canadians 

 had settled at Pembina as early as 1781, and 

 traders of the Hudson's Bay Company estab- 

 lished posts in the Red River Valley about 

 1793. Lord Selkirk, considering the region Brit- 

 ish territory, erected a fort near Pembina in 

 1810. Several American explorers visited the 

 territory in the early nineteenth century, in- 

 cluding Lewis, Clark, Fremont and Warner. 

 In 1851, the Sioux Indians ceded a portion of 

 the territory to the government and these lands 

 were opened for settlement. That part of the 

 present state of North Dakota east of the Mis- 

 souri River was included successively in the Ter- 

 ritory of Michigan, organized in 1834, Wiscon- 

 sin Territory in 1836, Iowa Territory in 1838, 

 and Minnesota Territory in 1849. The western 

 section of the present state, with parts of the 

 states of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, be- 

 came a part of Nebraska Territory in 1854. 



On March 2, 1861, the Territory of Dakota 

 was created, including the present states of 

 North Dakota and South Dakota and parts of 

 Wyoming and Idaho. Two years later, when 

 Idaho Territory was formed, the boundaries of 

 the Dakotas were fixed at their present limits. 

 The development of the territory was retarded 

 by the War of Secession without, and the In- 

 dian hostilities within, its borders. The worst 

 of the Sioux wars occurred in 1864 and 1865, 

 and for many years there were occasional at- 

 tacks. After 1866, the population increased, 



