Title: Minnesota Became the 32nd State
Headings: 

Content: Minnesota Became the 32nd State





Western Expansion & Reform (1829-1859)




Advertisement for steamship travel to St. Paul, Minnesota


Minnesota Became the 32nd State
May 11, 1858
Despite the convenient access to the state, immigration was slow until the second half of the 19th century, when people in the east started to hear about Minnesota's woodlands and fertile prairie. Between 1850 and 1857, the state population skyrocketed from 6,077 to more than 150,000. Long before that, the Ojibwa (Chippewa) and Dakota (Sioux) tribes made the land their home. For them state borders were nonexistent, so their territory extended well beyond what is today Minnesota. The French claimed the territory in the mid-1600s. It became U.S. territory through the Treaty of Paris (1783) and the Louisiana Purchase (1803). page 2 of 3
Library Of Congress | Legal Notices | Privacy | Site Map | Contact Us