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South Dakota Farmers Alliance Records

Finding Aid

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Collection Summary

Identifier

MA 11

Title

South Dakota Farmers Alliance records

Creator

South Dakota Farmers Alliance

Dates

1887, undated

Extent

0.42 linear feet (1 document case)

Language

English

Repository

South Dakota State University Archives and Special Collections, Hilton M. Briggs Library, Brookings, South Dakota.

Access note

This collection is open to researchers without restrictions. The materials in the Archives do not circulate and may be used in-house only.

Preferred Citation

Name of item . South Dakota Farmers Alliance records. MA 11. South Dakota State University Archives and Special Collections, Hilton M. Briggs Library, Brookings, South Dakota.

Abstract

The Farmers Alliance was an organized agrarian economic movement amongst U.S. farmers that flourished in the 1880s. Despite its failure, it is regarded as the precursor to the United States Populist Party, which grew out of the ashes of the Alliance in 1892. This collection is composed of an address and proceeding from December 1887 convention of the South Dakota Farmers Alliance.

Historical Note

In Chicago, Milton George, the editor of the Western Rural, had been denouncing railroads as discriminatory and a menace to the nation. He organized what became known as the National Farmers' Alliance. In February 1881, farmers in Yankton County obtained a charter for the first alliance in Dakota Territory. Spurred by a drop in wheat prices in 1884, the number of territorial alliances grew and mass meetings in Clark, Huron, Mellette and Redfield were soon denouncing railroads and demanding their regulation. In January 1885, a territorial railroad commission was created, although vigorous opposition left the new agency without any power to establish freight rates.

In February 1885, alliance delegates from 11 counties in Dakota gathered in Huron to form the Dakota Farmers' Alliance, affiliated with the National Farmers' Alliance. The movement grew rapidly and by mid-summer the number of local alliances in the territory had tripled.

Contents Note

The South Dakota Farmers Alliance Records consists of an address of President Loucks, proceedings from a convention in 1887, and an advertisement for A Book for Farmers.

Related Resources

H. L. Loucks and the Dakota ruralist: voices of reform by Thom Guarnieri
Publication Date: Thesis (M.S.)--Journalism and Mass Communications Dept., South Dakota State University, 1981.
Call Number: Archives: LB2385 .G932

H.L. Loucks correspondence with R.F. Pettigrew collection
South Dakota State University Archives and Special Collections, Hilton M. Briggs Library, Brookings, South Dakota.
Call Number: Manuscript collections MA 23

The great conspiracy of the house of Morgan and how to defeat it by H.L. Loucks
Publication Date: [Watertown, S.D. : H.L. Loucks], c1916.
Call Number: SD Collection: HG2481 .L6g

Key Words

Agriculture -- Economic aspects

Farmers Alliance. (S.D.)

Loucks, Henry Langford, 1846-1928

Populist Party. (S.D.)

South Dakota Farmer's Alliance

Container List

View container list on Open Prairie

South Dakota Farmers Alliance Records Container List. MA 11

Box Folder Description Date(s)
1 1 Address of President H. L. Loucks Before the Annual Meeting 1887
1 2 Book for Farmers, A— Dunning's Farm Ledger and Historical Account undated
1 3 Proceedings of the Annual Convention 1887

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to researchers without restrictions. The materials in the Archives do not circulate and may be used in-house only.

Researchers conducting extensive research are asked to make an advance appointment to access archival material. Please call or e-mail prior to visiting the collection and indicate as much detail as possible about a particular topic and intended use.

South Dakota State University supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted as a result of their fragile condition or by contractual agreements with donors.

Copyright note

Copyright restrictions apply in different ways to different materials. Many of the documents and other historical materials in the Archives are in the public domain and may be reproduced and used in any way. There are other materials in the Archive carrying a copyright interest and must be used according to the provisions of Title 17 of the U.S. Code. The Archive issues a warning concerning copyright restrictions to every researcher who requests copies of documents. Although the copyright law is under constant redefinition in the courts, it is ultimately the responsibility of the researcher to properly use copyrighted material.

Arranged and Described by

Crystal J. Gamradt, 1998 June 24.