The Spirit of 1889: Restoring the Lost Promise of the High Plains and Northern Rockies

In August 1889, the five states that were once part of the 1861 Dakota Territory—North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho—drafted their state constitutions in preparation for inclusion in the United States. These constitutions were models of progressive and pragmatic values for their time. Wyoming, for instance, was the first state to grant women’s suffrage. In addition to suffrage, delegates from these states banned...