Minnesota
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State flag
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MINNESOTA,
one of the West North Central states of the U.S., bounded
on the N by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario, on the
E by Lake Superior and Wisconsin, on the S by Iowa, and on the W
by South Dakota and North Dakota. The Red River of the North forms
much of the W border, and the Mississippi R. forms part of the SE
border.
Minnesota entered the Union on May 11, 1858, as the 32d state.
Minnesota’s economy has long been dominated by the development
of its varied natural resources. By the 1990s, although it remained
a leading agricultural state, Minnesota had developed a diversified
economy, dominated by services and manufacturing. The name of the
state is taken from the Minnesota R. and is a Sioux Indian phrase
meaning “cloudy water.” Minnesota is called the
North Star State.
| MINNESOTA STATE FACTS |
| DATE OF STATEHOOD: |
May 11, 1858; 32d state |
| CAPITAL: |
Saint Paul |
| MOTTO: |
L’Étoile du
nord (The star of the north) |
| NICKNAME: |
North Star State |
| STATE SONG: |
“Hail! Minnesota” (words
by Truman E. Rickard and Arthur E. Upson; music by Truman E. Rickard) |
| STATE TREE: |
Red pine |
| STATE FLOWER: |
Pink and white lady’s-slipper |
| STATE BIRD: |
Common loon |
| POPULATION (2000 census): |
4,919,479; 21st among the states |
| AREA: |
225,182 sq km (86,943 sq mi); 12th largest
state; includes 18,974 sq km (7326 sq mi) of inland water |
| HIGHEST POINT: |
Eagle Mt., 701 m (2301 ft) |
| LOWEST POINT: |
183 m (602 ft), at the shore of Lake
Superior |
| ELECTORAL VOTES: |
10 |
| U.S. CONGRESS: |
2 senators; 8 representatives |
| GOVERNOR: |
Tim Pawlenty (Rep.) Took office January 2003 |
Minnesota, with an area of 225,182 sq km (86,943 sq mi), is
the 12th largest state in the U.S.; 4.7% of the land is
owned by the federal government. The state is roughly rectangular
in shape, and its extreme dimensions are about 660 km (about 410
mi) from N to S and about 560 km (about 350 mi) from E to W. The highest
point in Minnesota is 701 m (2301 ft) at Eagle Mt. in the NE corner
of the state; the lowest elevation is 183 m (602 ft) at the shore
of Lake Superior. The approximate mean elevation is 366 m (1200
ft). Minnesota’s shoreline on Lake Superior is about 300
km (about 186 mi) long.
The terrain of Minnesota was to a large extent formed
by glacial
action; all of the present-day state, except for a small portion
of the SE, was once covered by an ice mass. The Superior Upland
region of NE Minnesota is a S extension of the Canadian Shield.
It is composed of hard rocks that resisted leveling by glacial erosion
and is hence the state’s most rugged area. The region abounds
in rock basins, which were scoured in the bedrock by glaciers and
were filled with water as the glaciers melted, creating numerous
lakes.
The Western Great Lakes Lowland, a region of generally
level
plains, occupies most of the remainder of the state. Lakes, marshes,
and bogs are particularly numerous in the N half of the lowland.
Along the W boundary of the state is the broad, flat plain that
once formed the bed of the ancient glacial Lake Agassiz, an area
with fertile soil. In the S, the plain is better drained, and rich
farmlands dominate the landscape.
Along the S boundary lie two areas of Dissected Till Plains,
a region of rolling hills formed by erosion of glacial deposits.
In the SW, rocky ridges of ancient quartzite break the surface.
In the SE corner lies the Driftless Region, the only unglaciated
part of Minnesota. Tributaries of the Mississippi R. have eroded
the surface, producing a rugged, scenic area with steep bluffs and
deep valleys.
More than half of Minnesota is drained by the Mississippi
R., which has as one of its sources Lake Itasca in the N part of
the state. The main tributaries of the Mississippi here are the
Minnesota R., which crosses the state from W to E, and the Crow
Wing and Saint Croix rivers. The N and NW areas drain toward Hudson
Bay by way of the Red River of the North and the Rainy R., and the extreme
NE area drains to Lake Superior by the Saint Louis and other, smaller
rivers. The SW corner lies within the Missouri R. Basin, the chief
tributary here being the Rock R.
Minnesota has in excess of 20,000 lakes; inland water covers
more than 8% of the state’s total area. The lakes
are especially numerous in the N and central parts of the state.
The largest lake lying entirely within the state is Red Lake (divided
into upper and lower sections). Other large lakes are Lake of the
Woods and Rainy Lake, both astride the Canadian border, and Winnibigoshish,
Mille Lacs, Leech, and Vermilion lakes. About 5700 sq km (about
2200 sq mi) of Lake Superior is part of Minnesota.
Minnesota has a humid continental climate, characterized by
wide daily and seasonal temperature variations. Summers are warm
in the S and cool in the N; winters are cold throughout the state.
The average July temperature is about 22.2° C (about 72° F).
The recorded temperature in the state has ranged from –50.6° C
(–59° F) in 1903 to 45.6° C (114° F)
in 1936. Annual precipitation averages about 813 mm (about 32 in)
in the SE, decreasing uniformly across the state to 483 mm (19 in)
in the NW. About three-quarters of the annual total comes during
the warm half of the year. Winter snowfall is heavy, ranging from
508 mm (20 in) in the SW to 1778 mm (70 in) in the NE, and tornadoes
sometimes occur in spring and summer.
| MINNESOTA AVERAGE CLIMATE |
| |
Minneapolis–Saint Paul |
International Falls |
| Average January temperature range |
–16.1° to –6.1° C |
3° to 21° F |
–22.8° to –10.6° C |
–9° to 13° F |
| Average July temperature range |
16.1° to 27.8° C |
61° to 82° F |
11.7° to 25.6° C |
53° to 78° F |
| Average annual temperature |
6.7° C |
44° F |
2.8° C |
37° F |
| Average annual precipitation |
660 mm |
26 in |
660 mm |
26 in |
| Average annual snowfall |
1168 mm |
46 in |
1524 mm |
60 in |
| Mean number of days per year with appreciable precipitation |
113 |
132 |
| Average daily relative humidity |
70% |
72% |
| Mean number of clear days per year |
100 |
81 |
Forests cover about one-third of the total land area of Minnesota;
more than four-fifths of this is of commercial value. Mixed forests
of spruce, fir, poplar, and birch cover most of the N and NE parts
of the state. In central Minnesota, pine becomes more plentiful,
along with birch and hemlock. Large areas of the N forest have been
extensively logged and are now occupied by second-growth trees,
shrubs, and low-growing plants, including blueberries and blackberries.
In the SE are found hardwood forests, dominated by oak and hickory
trees. This is the remnant of a band that extended to the Canadian
border and separated the mixed forests of the NE from the tall grass
prairies that covered the SW and W at the time of settlement. Heavy
growths of prairie grass and other grass are found in some uncultivated
areas.
Deer thrive in the cutover areas and are found in most
counties
in Minnesota. Black bear, moose, and timber wolf inhabit the N forests.
Smaller mammals include fox, muskrat, beaver, Canadian lynx, mink, and
raccoon. Game fish—including trout, pike, muskellunge, and bass, as
well as many varieties of waterfowl—abound
in the state’s numerous lakes and streams.
Minnesota contains some of the most extensive iron-ore
deposits
in the U.S. Reserves are in the Mesabi, Vermilion, and Cuyuna ranges
of the NE. High-grade ores have been depleted, and most production
comes from low-grade taconite ores. Manganese is found in the ores
of the Cuyuna Range. Other important minerals include sand and gravel,
clay, raw materials for cement, and building stone from the granite and
quartzite outcrops in the SW.
According to the 2000 census, Minnesota had 4,919,479 inhabitants,
an increase of 12.4% over 1990. The average population
density was 61.8 people per sq mi of land area. Whites made up 89.4% of
the population (down from 94.4% in 1990) and blacks 3.5% (up
from 2.2% in 1990); additional population groups included 54,967
American Indians and Alaska Natives, 141,968 Asians, and 1979 Native
Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders. (These figures do not include
the 1.7 % of the population who reported more than one
race.) Prominent among the state’s American Indian groups
were the Sioux. A total of 143,382 persons, or about 2.9% of
the population, reported Hispanic background, almost triple the
number in 1990. A large number of Minnesotans are descendants of
immigrants from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and other northern European countries.
In rural areas, particularly, many of these ethnic groups have formed
distinct communities. The state’s largest cities in 2000
were Minneapolis; Saint Paul, the capital; Duluth; Rochester; and
Bloomington.
According to the 1990 census, Lutherans (33.9%) formed
the largest single religious group in 1990, followed by Roman Catholics
(29.2%), Methodists (4.3%), and Baptists (3.5%).
In 1990 about 70% of Minnesota’s residents lived
in areas defined as urban, and the rest lived in rural area.
| POPULATION OF MINNESOTA SINCE 1850 |
| Year of Census |
Population |
Classified As Urban |
| 1850 |
6,000 |
0% |
| 1860 |
172,000 |
9% |
| 1880 |
781,000 |
19% |
| 1900 |
1,751,000 |
34% |
| 1920 |
2,387,000 |
44% |
| 1940 |
2,792,000 |
50% |
| 1960 |
3,414,000 |
62% |
| 1980 |
4,076,000 |
67% |
| 1990 |
4,375,099 |
70% |
| 2000 |
4,919,479 |
-- |
| POPULATION OF TEN LARGEST CITIES IN MINNESOTA |
| |
2000 Census |
1990 Census |
| Minneapolis |
382,618 |
368,383 |
| Saint Paul |
287,151 |
272,235 |
| Duluth |
86,918 |
85,493 |
| Rochester |
85,806 |
70,745 |
| Bloomington |
85,172 |
86,335 |
| Brooklyn Park |
67,388 |
56,381 |
| Plymouth |
65,894 |
50,889 |
| Eagan |
63,557 |
47,409 |
| Coon Rapids |
61,607 |
52,978 |
| Burnsville |
60,220 |
51,288 |
Minnesota was settled in turn by New Englanders, Scandinavians, and Central Europeans, groups known for their traditional stress
on education. Schools in the state often serve as local centers
of cultural and social life.
The first school in Minnesota was founded about 1820. The
public school system was authorized by a law passed in the 1849
territorial legislature. Gradually, the state created school districts, and in 1885 compulsory education laws were passed.
In the late 1980s, public education facilities included
1564
elementary and secondary schools, with a total yearly enrollment
of about 528,500 elementary pupils and 211,000 secondary students.
Approximately 72,600 children attended private schools. In the same
period, Minnesota had 81 institutions of higher learning, with a
combined enrollment of about 253,100 students. The largest of these
institutions is the University of Minnesota, with campuses at
Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Crookston, Duluth, Morris, and Waseca.
Academically
affiliated with the university is the world-famous Mayo Graduate
School of Medicine, at Rochester. Other important colleges and
universities
include the State University System of Minnesota, with campuses
at Bemidji, Mankato, Marshall, Minneapolis, Moorhead, Saint Cloud,
Saint Paul, and Winona; Carleton College (1866) and Saint Olaf College
(1874), at Northfield; Gustavus Adolphus College (1862), at St.
Peter; Hamline University (1854) and Macalester College (1874),
at St. Paul; and Saint John’s University (1857), at Collegeville.
Minneapolis and St. Paul—the Twin Cities—form
the principal cultural hub of the state. The museums here include
the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, which has extensive collections, and
the Walker Art Center, both in Minneapolis; and the Minnesota
Historical Society History Center, with exhibits relating to the
history of the state, and the Science Museum of Minnesota, both
in St. Paul. The large Minnesota Zoological Garden is in Apple Valley,
and the Runestone Museum, in Alexandria, contains exhibits allegedly
proving the Vikings’ presence in Minnesota. The University
of Minnesota Library, with more than 4 million volumes, is one of
the largest university libraries in the U.S. The James Jerome Hill
Reference
Library contains a large collection of Americana, and the Mayo Clinic
Library in Rochester has many old and rare medical books. Best known
among the Twin Cities’ many theaters are the Children’s Theater
Company and the Guthrie Theater Company, founded in 1963.
Minneapolis–St.
Paul also supports the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and several dance
companies, as well as the Minnesota Opera. The Minnesota Orchestra,
which was founded in 1903 and known until 1968 as the Minneapolis
Symphony Orchestra, is among the nation’s finest. The St.
Olaf College Choir is also well reknowned.
Minnesota has several landmarks commemorating the Indians
who inhabited the region before white settlement; these include
Pipestone National Monument, which contains quarries from which
Indians extracted the stone they used for making peace pipes. Grand
Portage National Monument on Lake Superior is the site of a late
18th-century fur-trading post. Near the Twin Cities lies Fort Snelling,
a restored military post principally erected in the 1820s.
Minnesota’s many thousands of lakes and streams furnish ample
opportunities for water-sports enthusiasts. The scenic forested
landscape is also popular with hikers and campers, and the abundance
of fish and game attracts thousands of anglers and hunters. During
the winter, ice-skating, skiing, and snowmobile races are favorite
recreations. The United States Hockey Hall of Fame is in Eveleth.
Professional sports teams, all based in Minneapolis–St.
Paul, include the Twins (major league baseball), the Vikings (football), and the Timberwolves (basketball).
In the early 1990s, Minnesota had 102 AM radio stations, 146
FM radio stations, and 27 TV stations. In the same period, the state
had 25 daily newspapers, with a total daily circulation of about
949,900. The first radio station to go on the air was WLB in Minneapolis
in 1922, and the first newspaper, the Minnesota Pioneer,
appeared in 1849. The leading newspapers today are the Star Tribune,
in Minneapolis, and the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Minnesota is governed under its original constitution, which
was adopted in 1857 and became effective the following year when
Minnesota was admitted to the Union as a state. A constitutional
amendment may be proposed by the state legislature or by a constitutional
convention. To become effective, it must be approved by a majority
of voters in a general election.
The chief executive of Minnesota is a governor, who is popularly
elected to a term of four years. Other major state officials, all
elected to 4-year terms, are the lieutenant governor (who succeeds
the governor upon the latter’s death, removal from office,
or incapacity to serve), secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, and attorney general.
Minnesota’s legislature consists of a 67-member senate and a 134-member house of representatives. Senators are elected
to 4-year terms and representatives to 2-year terms. The legislature
ordinarily meets in January in odd-numbered years for 120 legislative
days. A special session may be called by the governor.
Minnesota’s court of last resort is the supreme court,
which is made up of a chief justice and six associate justices,
all of whom are elected to 6-year terms. The major trial courts
are district courts, with a total of 241 judges, all elected to
6-year terms. At the lower level are probate, county, and municipal
courts.
Minnesota has 87 counties, which are governed typically by
a board of commissioners, consisting of five members elected to
4-year terms. The state also has about 850 cities and 1800 townships.
Minnesota sends two senators and eight representatives to the
U.S. Congress. The state has ten electoral votes in presidential
elections.
Minnesota politics was dominated by the Republicans in the
early 20th century, but during the 1930s a powerful third party
emerged—the Farmer-Labor party. In 1944, the Farmer-Labor
party and the Democrats merged into the Democratic-Farmer-Labor
(DFL) party, and from 1975 to 1995 the state’s Republican
party was known as the Independent-Republican party. Since the 1940s,
the two major parties have more or less shared control of state
politics.
TThe most prominent national politician from Minnesota
after World War II was the DFL leader Hubert H. Humphrey, who was U.S.
vice-president from 1965 to 1969; his protégé Walter F. Mondale held
the vice-presidency from 1977 to 1981. Since the 1930s, Minnesota has
usually cast its electoral votes for the Democratic nominee in
presidential elections. Independent presidential candidate H. Ross
Perot made strong showings in Minnesota in 1992 and 1996, and in 1998
the state gave the Reform party its first major victory, electing Jesse
Ventura (1951- ) to the governorship; Ventura severed his ties with the
national Reform organization a little more than a year later and chose
not to run for reelection in 2002.
The area that is now Minnesota was an important hunting ground
for French, and later British, fur trappers. Permanent American
settlement, which began in the early 19th century, focused on the
rich exploitation of the area’s agricultural and forest
lands. To this was added, in the 1880s, large-scale iron-ore mining.
By the end of the 19th century, wheat, which had been the major
crop, was being replaced by corn and dairy farming; today Minnesota
remains a major national agricultural producer. The North Country
continues to furnish vast forest and mineral wealth, as well as
recreational opportunities. Manufacturing, which largely utilizes
the resources of the region, has grown to be an important sector
of the state economy.
| MINNESOTA STATE ECONOMY (early 1990s) |
| STATE BUDGET |
| General revenue |
$11.0 billion |
| General expenditure |
$10.4 billion |
| Accumulated debt |
$3.8 billion |
| STATE AND LOCAL TAXES, PER CAPITA |
$2305 |
| PERSONAL INCOME, PER CAPITA |
$14,389 |
| POPULATION BELOW POVERTY LEVEL |
10.2% |
| ASSETS, INSURED COMMERCIAL BANKS (637) |
$50.9 billion |
 |
| LABOR FORCE (CIVILIAN NONFARM) |
2,091,000 |
| Employed in services |
26% |
| Employed in wholesale and retail trade |
25% |
| Employed in manufacturing |
19% |
| Employed in government |
16% |
|
| MAJOR INDUSTRIES |
% CONTRIBUTED TO GSP* |
| Commercial, financial, and professional services |
52% |
| Manufacturing and construction |
25% |
| Government |
10% |
| Transportation, communications, and public utilities |
9% |
| Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries |
4% |
| Mining |
less than 1% |
* Gross State Product = total value of goods and services produced in a year.
Sources: U.S. government publications |
| PRINCIPAL PRODUCTS OF MINNESOTA (early 1990s) |
| |
Quantity Produced |
Value |
| FARM PRODUCTS |
|
$7.8 billion |
|
| CROPS |
|
$4.0 billion |
| Corn |
19.4 million metric tons |
$1.6 billion |
| Soybeans |
4.9 million metric tons |
$1.0 billion |
| Hay |
6.0 million metric tons |
$558 million |
| Wheat |
3.8 million metric tons |
$347 million |
| Sugar beets |
4.9 million metric tons |
$223 million |
| Barley |
1.1 million metric tons |
$93 million |
| Vegetables |
845,000 metric tons |
$85 million |
| Oats |
699,000 metric tons |
$51 million |
|
| LIVESTOCK AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS |
|
$3.8 billion |
| Milk |
4.5 million metric tons |
$1.3 billion |
| Hogs |
778,000 metric tons |
$948 million |
| Cattle |
521,000 metric tons |
$934 million |
| Turkeys |
386,000 metric tons |
$298 million |
| Eggs |
2.5 billion |
$120 million |
|
| MINERALS |
|
$1.4 billion |
| Iron ore |
41.0 million metric tons |
$1.2 billion |
| Sand, gravel |
30.6 million metric tons |
$83 million |
| Stone |
8.0 million metric tons |
$46 million |
|
| |
|
Annual Payroll |
| MANUFACTURING |
|
$11.6 billion |
| Industrial machinery and equipment |
|
$2.1 billion |
| Fabricated metal products |
|
$1.1 billion |
| Printing and publishing |
|
$1.1 billion |
| Food and kindred products |
|
$896 million |
| Instruments and related products |
|
$852 million |
| Electronic equipment |
|
$752 million |
| Paper and allied products |
|
$455 million |
| Lumber and wood products |
|
$453 million |
| Rubber and plastics products |
|
$346 million |
| Stone, clay, and glass products |
|
$293 million |
| Chemicals and allied products |
|
$243 million |
|
| OTHER |
|
$34.8 billion |
| Services |
|
$9.5 billion |
| Government |
|
$8.3 billion |
| Retail trade |
|
$4.3 billion |
| Wholesale trade |
|
$3.8 billion |
| Finance, insurance, and real estate |
|
$3.3 billion |
| Transportation, communications, and public utilities |
|
$2.8 billion |
| Construction |
|
$2.2 billion |
| Sources: U.S. government publications |
|
|
Farming accounts for about 4% of the annual gross
state product in Minnesota. The state has some 88,000 farms, which
average 138 ha (341 acres) in size. Slightly less than half the
yearly farm income of Minnesota derives from the marketing of livestock
and livestock products. Milk production dominates, but beef cattle and
hog marketing are also important. The major crops are corn, soybeans,
hay, wheat, sugar beets, oats, and barley. Minnesota is one of the
leading U.S. states in the production of oats, spring wheat, hay, and
sunflower seeds. Other significant agricultural commodities
are potatoes, apples, green peas and other vegetables, turkeys, and
chicken eggs.
Minnesota’s extensive forests have been cut since
the 1840s. Conservation procedures and tree farming have helped
to restore the forest and maintain the lumber industry. Needle-leaf
forests of pine trees with stands of fir, spruce, tamarack, and
birch are found in the NE. To the E and S is a region of broad-leaf
forests containing elm, maple, basswood, ash, and oak. Overall,
more hardwood than softwood timber is produced. Commercial fishing
is of minor importance in Minnesota. Lake commercial catches include
herring, smelt, and lake trout. Minor catches of pike, catfish,
whitefish, carp, and others from rivers and lakes add to the industry.
The mining industry, which now accounts for less than 1% of
the annual gross state product in Minnesota, is dominated by one
mineral—iron ore. Minnesota is the major iron-ore producing
state in the U.S., usually accounting for some 80% of the
nation’s annual production. Most production is from pit
mines and consists of low-grade taconite ore. The Hull-Rust-Mahoning
mine near Hibbing is one of the world’s largest open-pit
mines. Minnesota also has several varieties of high-grade granite.
Other minerals found in the state include sand and gravel, gold,
platinum, and diamonds. Minnesota formerly led the U.S. in manganese
production, but the industry is now dormant.
Enterprises engaged in manufacturing account for about 21% of
the annual gross state product in Minnesota and employ some 399,000
workers. The leading sectors, as measured by annual payroll, are
the making of industrial machinery and fabricated metal products.
Food processing is dominated by dairy production, canning, flour
milling, and sugar refining. Other important industries include
printing and publishing and the making of electronic equipment,
precision instruments, paper and allied products, lumber and other
wood items, and rubber and plastics products. The principal centers
of industrial production are the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan
area, Duluth, Austin, and Winona. In recent years, manufacturing
has become more widely dispersed, locating in smaller towns.
Minnesota is visited each year by more than 12 million tourists,
who contribute over $4.9 billion to the state economy.
Tourism centers on the forest and lake areas of the N part of the
state and on the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Voyageurs
National Park is the largest park in the state. Two national monuments
also attract visitors. In addition, the state maintains a system
of 123 parks, recreation areas, and forests. Itasca State Park,
containing a source of the Mississippi R., is among the most widely
visited.
Minneapolis and St. Paul are the principal hubs of both the
state and regional transportation networks. Some 208,250 km (some
129,400 mi) of federal, state, and local roads serve all parts of
Minnesota. Included in this total are 1465 km (910 mi) of interstate
highways. The state’s railroads have about 7450 km (4630
mi) of Class I track. Duluth on Lake Superior is the state’s
major port and is one of the busiest ports on the entire Great Lakes
system. Other lake ports include Two Harbors, Silver Bay, and Taconite
Harbor. The Twin Cities serve as a N terminus for Mississippi R.
traffic. The state has 381 airports, 26 heliports, and 64 seaplane
bases. Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport, Minnesota’s
busiest air terminal, is the major regional gateway.
Electricity-generating plants in Minnesota have a total
capacity
of about 8.8 million kw; the annual output of electricity is about
41.6 billion kwh. Hydroelectric power sources are of minor importance,
and nearly all electricity is generated by thermal and nuclear plants.
Minnesota is one of the leading states in the consumption of nuclear
fuels, deriving almost 30% of its yearly electricity from
this source. Coal is the main fossil fuel used in thermal
installations.
Large amounts of electricity are imported from North Dakota and
South Dakota.
The first known inhabitants of the area that is now Minnesota
were Indians of the Dakota branch of the Sioux nation. In the 16th
century the Ojibwa, or Chippewa, Indians, concentrated on the northern
part of the Atlantic coast, began a mass westward migration. In
the next century they started to invade the traditional home of
the Dakota Sioux. For the next 200 years the two Indian peoples
were in a constant state of war; the coming of whites was considered
of minor importance by the Sioux, who were more concerned with the Ojibwa
encroachment.
The first Europeans known to have seen the region were
the
French fur traders and explorers MÉdard Chouart, sieur
des Groseilliers (1618?–96?), and Pierre Esprit Radisson.
In 1679 the French explorer Daniel Greysolon, sieur Duluth (1636–1710),
led an expedition into what is now northern Minnesota, built a fort
on the shores of Lake Superior, and claimed the entire region in
the name of France. The Flemish priest Louis Hennepin in 1680 sighted
and named the Falls of Saint Anthony, at the site of what is now
Minneapolis. French traders later built forts at Lake Pepin, on
Prairie Island, and at Mankato. For a time many traders took Indian
wives and adopted their customs.
French influence in the area waned after 1763, when a part
of Minnesota was ceded to Great Britain by France under the terms
of the treaty that ended the French and Indian War. In 1783, following
the American Revolution, the area between the Great Lakes and the
Mississippi River became part of the newly established U.S.; the
area known as the Northwest Angle became U.S. territory because
of a misconception that the Mississippi River lay west of Lake of
the Woods. The land west of the Mississippi became U.S. property
as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. British trading companies
continued to dominate the Minnesota fur trade, however, and the
U.S. government made no effort to establish settlements in the region
until 1805. In that year the American soldier Zebulon M. Pike was
sent with a small party to extend federal authority over the area.
For a reputed price of 60 gallons of whiskey and several hundred
dollars worth of trade goods, the Sioux Indians sold the U.S. a
military camp site at the junction of the Minnesota and Mississippi
rivers.
Although the British and Canadian fur traders resisted the
spread of U.S. authority, they were forced to leave the region after
the War of 1812. In 1815 a U.S. statute restricted fur trading to
U.S. citizens, and the American Fur Co. of John Jacob Astor replaced
the British-owned Northwest Co. as the principal trading power in
Minnesota.
Some settlers moved into the region after 1815, and
federal
troops were sent to protect them and to guard the territorial borders.
The first military installation, Fort Saint Anthony (later renamed
Fort Snelling), was built in 1819, and the first large settlement,
Mendota, grew up near it. With the establishment in 1834 of the
main trading post of the American Fur Co. at Mendota, the fort,
which included an Indian agency, became the leading settlement of
the American Northwest. In 1837 the Indians sold the U.S. government
a triangle of land between the Mississippi and Saint Croix rivers. Soon
afterward the first lumbering camps began operation in the area, and
settlers from the eastern states began to arrive in great numbers.
On Aug. 26, 1848, a group of Minnesotans convened at
Stillwater
to plan the organization of the territory of Minnesota. In 1849
the territory was created with the same boundaries as the present-day
state, except for the western frontier; the land west of the
Mississippi and White Earth rivers was considered Indian tribal
property.
In 1851 several treaties were concluded with the Sioux, who
surrendered title to more than 11 million ha (28 million acres)
of land and retained only a narrow strip along the Minnesota River.
Under the terms of similar treaties made in 1854 and 1855, the Ojibwa
relinquished almost the entire northern half of the present state,
including the richest timberland of the region. Thereafter thousands
of settlers poured into the area. Minnesota was admitted to the
Union on May 11, 1858. Between the years 1850 and 1860 the population grew
from 5354 to more than 172,000.
The Sioux, resenting what they considered unfair treatment
by traders and Indian agents of the federal government, rose in
revolt in 1862. More than 500 settlers and U.S. soldiers were killed
before the Sioux were defeated decisively at the Battle of Woods
Lake in September 1862. The Sioux were deprived of title to their reservation
lands.
By 1870, Minnesota was a boom state; the population was
almost
500,000, and the area under cultivation exceeded 400,000 ha (1 million
acres), more than half of which was planted in wheat. Minneapolis
became one of the great flour-milling centers of the world.
Construction
needs within the state plus the demand for wood in the East made
lumbering the major industry. Railroads were extended to serve
industries and new towns and villages. Sponsored by the state and by
Minnesota
industries, offices were opened in the Atlantic states and in Europe
to attract settlers. The census of 1880 showed a population of 770,773,
more than 70 percent first- and second-generation Americans.
In 1884 mining operations on the Vermilion Range began. Some
years later mining began in the Mesabi Range. By the mid-1890s nearly
3 million metric tons of iron ore were mined annually. In 1911 the
Cuyuna Range produced its first shipment of iron ore. At the close
of World War I, Minnesota accounted for about 70 percent of all
U.S. iron-ore production.
In the late 19th century the high wheat production of Minnesota and other midwestern states began to depress prices in the wheat
market. Minnesota farmers began to grow corn and other cattle-feed
crops in order to avoid loss. Dairying and meat packing grew in
importance.
Minnesota became a center for agrarian and labor political movements
during the first decades of the 20th century. Several groups combined
to form the Farmer-Labor party in 1922. In 1936 the party won both
Minnesota seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, almost all state
offices, and control of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
The Farmer-Labor party subsequently lost its dominant position to
the Republican party. In 1944 the Democratic and Farmer-Labor parties
formed a coalition that has since been highly successful in state
politics.
Although Minnesota had previously provided more than half
the nation’s iron ore, both the supply and the demand for
high-grade ore dropped suddenly in the early 1950s. This resulted
in the iron industry’s development of low-grade taconite
ore, in which producers invested more than $1 billion by
1970. Taconite wastes threatened Lake Superior’s ecological
balance, however, and in the late 1970s producers were ordered to
relocate dumping sites. In the meantime, other industries—producing
chemicals, computers, heavy machinery, electronic and aerospace equipment, and processed food—had become prominent.
During the 1980s, the state expanded education and transportation
facilities and acted to improve pollution control and land-use management.
Minnesota in 1987 became the first state in the U.S. to require employers
to offer parental leave to both the mother and the father of a newborn
child. Minnesota was one of the leading agricultural states in the
early 1990s, but the eastern part of the state was dealt a serious
blow by the flooding of the Mississippi and other rivers of the
Midwest in 1993. Four years later, flooding of the Red River of
the North and its tributaries caused extensive damage throughout
the Red River valley in the west.
Political changes rocked the state in the late 1990s
and early 2000s. In 1998, Minnesota voters shocked the nation by
choosing a former professional wrestler, Jesse Ventura, the Reform
party candidate, as state governor. Colorful and controversial, Ventura
quarreled frequently with the media and with state legislators during
his one term in office; he was succeeded by a Republican, Tim Pawlenty
(1960– ), the former majority leader of the state house of
representatives. On Oct. 25, 2002, while running for a third term as
U.S. senator, Paul Wellstone (1944-2002) was killed along with his wife
and daughter, three campaign aides, and two crew members when their
chartered plane crashed in freezing rain near Eveleth, Minn. The DFL
hurriedly replaced Wellstone, one of the Senate’s foremost liberals,
with former Vice-President Mondale; he lost a close election to his
Republican rival, Norm Coleman (1949– ), the former mayor of St. Paul,
who had been defeated by Ventura for the governorship four years
earlier.