The Saga of Dakota Territory's First Railroad
Springer International Publishing (Verlag)
978-3-031-71016-2 (ISBN)
This book focuses on a key case study in the history of American territories, public works, transportation and the constitutional system of checks and balances. The saga of Yankton County's attempt to bring the first railroad into Dakota Territory in 1873 covers 25 years of territorial history, leading up to statehood for South Dakota in 1889. Garry investigates the array of unusual facts and occurrences within the story of the Dakota Southern, which was the first railroad stretching into the Territory. Lawsuits worked themselves all the way up to the Supreme Court. The most notorious shooting in the territory occurred in connection with railroad disputes The failure of Yankton to pay interest on the bonds used to finance the railroad-a failure initially prompted by a court injunction against such payment-may have delayed statehood for the entire territory.
But the primary focus of this railroad story revolves around the way it highlights the predictions and observations of two of America's most noted thinkers: Alexis de Tocqueville and James Madison. It shows the tension between Tocqueville's impressions of the enterprising, risk-taking, and association-minded nature of Americans and Madison's warnings about a federal government exercising unprecedented powers and having expanded beyond adequate checks. It works through the abstract observations of Tocqueville and Madison with tangible examples that are still relevant today.
Patrick M. Garry is Professor of Law at the University of South Dakota School of Law, USA. He has published widely on US constitutional history.
Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: A Fulfillment of Predictions.- Chapter 3: The Territorial System.- Chapter 4: A Missouri River Port.- Chapter 5: Planning the Railroad.- Chapter 6: Territorial Corruption.- Chapter 7: Federal Corruption.- Chapter 8: The Supreme Court Case.- Chapter 9: More Pain to Come.- Chapter 10: The South Dakota Statehood Movement.- Chapter 11: Yankton's Railroad Gets Swallowed.- Chapter 12: Conclusion.
Garry provides a well written overview of a typical story in the development of the American railroad network one that, thanks to Dakota s territorial status, differs from the norm and offers useful insights into the enduring legacy of James Madison. (Albert Churella, The Journal of Transport History, Vol. 46 (1), June, 2025)
| Erscheinungsdatum | 15.10.2024 |
|---|---|
| Zusatzinfo | XIII, 173 p. 10 illus. |
| Verlagsort | Cham |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 148 x 210 mm |
| Themenwelt | Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte |
| Schlagworte | Constitution • Dakota • Legal History • Madison • Public works • Railroad • territorial • Tocqueville • Yankton |
| ISBN-10 | 3-031-71016-9 / 3031710169 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-3-031-71016-2 / 9783031710162 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
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