The spirit of 1889 : restoring the lost promise of the high plains and northern rockies / Samuel Western.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Western, Samuel, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Group identity--Great Plains.

Group identity.

Group identity--Dakota Territory.

Group identity--Idaho.

Political culture--Great Plains.

Political culture.

Political culture--Idaho.

Political culture--Dakota Territory.

Social values--Great Plains.

Social values.

Social values--Idaho.

Physical Description:

xix, 197 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lawrence, Kansas : University Press of Kansas, [2024]

Summary:

"This book explores the loss of the commonweal inclusivity once found in the Great Plains and Northern Rockies. The book demonstrates how the original states of the Dakota 1861 Territory-North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho-focused on classic republican values. When statehood approached, the constitutional conventions held in August 1889 furthered a commonwealth agenda. The delegates banned child labor, promoted suffrage, curbed the power of railroads and grain monopolies, mandated state ownership of running water, opened voting eligibility, and (later) created state-owned banks. Today, these five states, the 89ers, as the book calls them, are not only among the most politically conservative, but lean toward authoritarianism. Legislators restrict voting, disenfranchise Native Americans, limit protests, squash public education, and curb immigration. These are in direct contradiction of the values found in the 1889 constitutions"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

A reckoning in August

The poison seed

Yield and pounds do not a community make: The case for stewardship agriculture

Cities of the Plains: the cost of demonizing anything urban

Dismantling the cult of commodity prosperity: breaking the cycle of victimhood and resentment.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Western, Samuel. Spirit of 1889

ISBN:

9780700637041

0700637044

9780700637058

0700637052

OCLC:

1423772574