Newton Edmunds

Newton Edmunds

Newton Edmunds (born May 31, 1819 in Hartland , New York , † February 13, 1908 in Yankton , South Dakota ) was an American politician and from 1863 to 1866 the 2nd Territory Governor of the Dakota Territory .

Early years

Newton Edmunds came to Michigan with his family in 1832 . There he was employed by the land surveying authority. On their behalf, he came to the Dakota Territory in 1861. When the Indian Wars began there in 1862, he became the commander of a unit of the militia force. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him to succeed William Jayne as territorial governor.

The Dakota Territory

The present state of North Dakota was part of the Dakota Territory created on March 2, 1861. The territory, in turn, had been established from parts of the Minnesota and Nebraska Territories and existed until 1889. By 1868, the territory included the present-day states of North Dakota , South Dakota , Wyoming and Montana . In 1868 new territories were created and the Dakota Territory was reduced to what is now the states of North and South Dakota. Between 1861 and 1883, Yankton was the capital of the area. Then Bismarck became the new capital. In the 1880s a movement arose to include this area, which was welcoming more and more settlers from Europe, as a state in the USA. Before that came about, the territory was divided into two parts. There were two reasons for this: On the one hand, the two main settlement areas in the north and south were separated from each other by a huge gap. The other reason was political. The Republican Party pushed for two states in the hope of increasing its majority in the US Congress. In February 1889, President Grover Cleveland signed law creating two new states, North and South Dakota. On November 2, 1889, the separation between North and South Dakota was completed. On that day, both states joined the American Union as new states. Constitutions had already been drawn up beforehand and now came into force. Between 1861 and 1889, the Dakota Territory was administered by a total of ten Territorial Governors, who were appointed by the federal government or the President of the United States.

Territorial Governor

Edmunds held his new office between 1863 and 1866. In 1865 he managed to conclude an agreement with the Indians, which, at least for the time being, meant the end of the fighting. Domestically, the school system was further expanded and the legal system improved under Edmunds. He campaigned for the development of agriculture, the introduction of sheep breeding in 1865 is particularly worth mentioning. In addition, the tax system was reformed. Domestically, Edmunds met with rejection with his peace policy towards the Indians. His fiercest opponent was Walter A. Burleigh, who succeeded in getting Edmund's recall in Washington. On August 8, 1866, Edmunds was recalled by President Andrew Johnson . His successor Andrew Jackson Faulk was the father-in-law of Walter Burleigh.

Another résumé

After his removal, Edmunds remained in the Dakota Territory as a businessman and politician. He continued to be a member of peace commissions that negotiated with the Indians. He was also involved in the planning of a railway between Yankton and Sioux City. Together with a partner, he founded the Yankton State Bank. In the 1880s, Edmunds supported the movement for the territory to join the United States. Finally, in 1891, he and his sons founded the Yankton National Bank. Despite his old age, Edmunds remained active in business until his death.

Web links

• Edmund in the State of North Dakota Historical Society
• Newton Edmunds in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Edmunds in the South Dakota Hall of Fame