Some Pioneers and Pilgrims on the Prairies of Dakota, Or, From the Ox Team to the Aeroplane, jointly authored by H. B. Reese and John B. Reese, is a compelling chronicle of the pioneers who ventured into the vast prairies of Dakota, from the early days of ox-drawn wagons to the advent of modern aviation. Through captivating stories of courage and resilience, the authors paint a vivid portrait of the pioneer spirit that shaped the history of the Dakota region, honoring the indomitable human spirit and its quest for a better life.
"Some Pioneers and Pilgrims at the Prairies of Dakota," authored by way of John B. Reese and H. B. Reese, stands as an enlightening and evocative exploration of the pioneers who ventured into the untamed frontiers of Dakota. This collaborative work serves as a testament to their literary prowess and dedication to keeping the rich history of this area. The book offers a terrific adventure through the lives of folks who braved the challenges of the Dakota prairies at some stage in a transformative generation. John B. Reese and H. B. Reese, through their narrative capabilities and deep know-how of records, provide readers with a bright portrait of the pioneers and their aspirations. Their storytelling paints a bright photo of the pains and triumphs of these early settlers, capturing the essence in their pioneering spirit and resilience inside the face of adversity. Through the pages of this book, readers are transported to the sizeable and uncharted landscapes of Dakota, in which they could enjoy the hardships, the joys, and the goals of those pioneers. "Some Pioneers and Pilgrims on the Prairies of Dakota" is a precious historical resource, offering perception into the social, cultural, and economic aspects of this period.
American democratic ideals, civic republicanism, public morality, and Christianity were the dominant forces at work during South Dakota’s formative decade. What? In our cynical age, such a claim seems either remarkably naïve or hopelessly outdated. Territorial politics in the late-nineteenth-century West is typically viewed as a closed-door game of unprincipled opportunism or is caricatured, as in the classic film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, as a drunken exercise in bombast and rascality. Now Jon K. Lauck examines anew the values we like to think were at work during the founding of our western states. Taking Dakota Territory as a laboratory for examining a formative stage of western politics, Lauck finds that settlers from New England and the Midwest brought democratic practices and republican values to the northern plains and invoked them as guiding principles in the drive for South Dakota statehood. Prairie Republic corrects an overemphasis on class conflict and economic determinism, factors posited decades ago by such historians as Howard R. Lamar. Instead, Lauck finds South Dakota’s political founders to be agents of Protestant Christianity and of civic republicanism—an age-old ideology that entrusted the polity to independent, landowning citizens who placed the common interest above private interest. Focusing on the political culture widely shared among settlers attracted to the Great Dakota Boom of the 1880s, Lauck shows how they embraced civic virtue, broad political participation, and agrarian ideals. Family was central in their lives, as were common-school education, work, and Christian community. In rescuing the story of Dakota’s settlers from historical obscurity, Prairie Republic dissents from the recent darker portrayal of western history and expands our view and understanding of the American democratic tradition.
In the 1930s, at the height of the Great Depression, the federal government put thousands of unemployed writers to work in the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Out of their efforts came the American Guide series, the first comprehensive guidebooks to the people, resources, and traditions of each state in the union. The WPA Guide to South Dakota is a candid, detailed, and lively introduction to the state and its people. Much has changed since the book's first publication in 1938, when the authors noted, "South Dakota has been, and still is, a pioneer state." But the book vividly recaptures the era when no driver's licenses were required, when liquor could not be sold on election days until after 5:00 PM, when Pierre's recreational groups included polo riders and skeet shooters, when the Morrell packing plant at Sioux Falls offered free tours on weekdays. This unique guide has much more than nostalgia to offer today's readers. Twenty-eight auto tours and nine city tours tell the stories of the state's people and places and offer a fascinating alternative to freeway travel. Essays on major themes such as native peoples, history, architecture, transportation, and recreation provide an authentic self-portrait of 1930s South Dakota in humorous, loving, and literary prose. A new introduction by historian John E. Miller shares the story behind the American Guide series and celebrates those distinctly South Dakotan qualities preserved in this decades-old volume-qualities that hold true today. This time-traveler's guide to South Dakota is an evocative reminder of the state's history and a challenge to contemporary readers who seek to find how that past lives on in the present day. Book jacket.
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.
