Dakota: Wants to be a state (1888)
Satire of how few people lived in the Dakotas. "One of the population of Dakota taking census of the rest" Nevertheless, in 1889 it became two new states.
The Dakota Territory was split in two and divided into North and South in 1889. Later that year, on November 2, North Dakota and South Dakota were admitted to the Union as the 39th and 40th states. More on the politics of new western states from sparsely populated territories from Heather Cox Richardson.
Title: Wants to be a state. One of the population of Dakota taking census of the rest
Date Created/Published: 1888.
Creator(s): Opper, Frederick Burr, 1857-1937, artist "One of Opper's earliest cartoons" on verso.
Published in: Puck's Library, no. 18, Dec. 1888, p. 30.
Summary: Caricature of Dakota farmer counting animals, birds, fish and insects by notching a stick.
Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-55993