Papers of the 2009 Dakota Conference

Papers of the Forty-first Annual DAKOTA CONFERENCE A National Conference on the Northern Plains “Abraham Lincoln Looks West” Augustana College Sioux Falls, South Dakota April 24-25, 2009 Complied by Lori Bunjer and Harry F. Thompson Major funding for the Forty-first Annual Dakota Conference was provided by Loren and Mavis Amundson CWS Endowment/SFACF, Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission, Carol Martin Mashek, Elaine Nelson McIntosh, Mellon Fund Committee of Augustana College, Rex Myers and Susan Richards, Blair and Linda Tremere, Richard and Michelle Van Demark, Jamie and Penny Volin, and the Center for Western Studies. The Center for Western Studies Augustana College 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface Abbott, Emma John Dillinger and the Sioux Falls Bank Robbery of 1934 Amundson, Loren H. Colton: The Town Anderson, Grant K. The Yankees are Coming! The Yankees are Coming! Aspaas, Barbara My Illinois Grandmother Speaks Bradley, Ed Civil War Patronage in the West: Abraham Lincoln’s Appointment of William Jayne as Governor of the Dakota Territory Braun, Sebastian F. Developing the Great Plains: A Look Back at Lincoln Browne, Miles A. Abraham Lincoln: Western Bred President Ellingson, William J. Lincoln’s Influence on the Settlement of Bend in the River (Wakpaipaksan) Hayes, Robert E. Lincoln Could Have Been in the Black Hills — Can You Believe This? Johnson, Stephanie R. The Cowboy and the West: A Personal Exploration of the Cowboy’s Role in American Society Johnsson, Gil In the Camera’s Eye: Lincoln’s Appearance and His Presidency Johnsson, Lillian Stories of Lincoln: Ghosts, Mysteries, and Conspirators Kilian, Tom The Only Man Whose Name We Know: Philander Prescott Lange, Gerald Saint Abraham, Martyr for the Truth? Or Just another Ambivalent Face on Mount Rushmore? Obama’s Test Lauck, Jon The Influence of Lincoln’s Midwest on South Dakota Lee, Shebby Bonanza Farming in the Red River Valley Martinez, David Remembering the Thirty-Eight: Abraham Lincoln and the “War on Barbarism” Rahja, Jean Lincoln: Savior of the Union, May He Rest in Peace Rusch, Arthur L, The Kidder Family of Vermillion: An American Tragedy Steensma, Robert C. Vikings, Coyotes, Aggies, and Utes: Fifty-Four Years in the Gardens and Deserts of Academe, Part One, the Augustana Years Tennant, Brad American Cousins: J. B. S. Todd and the Lincolns Thompson, Clarissa Abraham Lincoln’s Cabinet (1860-1864) Thompson, Harry F. Lincoln’s Pardon, Manfred’s Scarlet Plume, and the Search for Authenticity: New Scholarship About the American West Timm, John Arthur and Margaret Mellette Experience Lincoln’s Death Volk, David Mystery of the Tree Rings PREFACE Dedicated to examining contemporary issues in their historical and cultural contexts, the Dakota Conference on Northern Plains History, Literature, Art, and Archaeology is a signature event of the Center for Western Studies, which provides programming in Northern Plains studies at Augustana College. The Dakota Conference received two important national recognitions recently. The first is the endorsement by the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, Washington, DC, of the Forty-first Annual Dakota Conference. The second is the citation by the National Endowment for the Humanities of the conference’s tradition of encouraging both academic and lay scholars in the NEH’s awarding of a $300,000 Challenge Grant to the Center for Western Studies for its endowment. Titled “Abraham Lincoln Looks West,” the Forty-first Annual Dakota Conference considered the impact on the Northern Plains region of President Lincoln’s administration: appointing two Dakota Territory governors; encouraging settlement through the passage of the Homestead Act of 1862; pardoning (and executing) Dakota Sioux following the Dakota Conflict of 1862; and authorizing the transcontinental railroad in 1864. Each of these developments resulted in controversy and repercussions that affect both indigenous peoples and immigrant descendants to this day. Thirty of the sixty presentations at this year’s conference related to the Lincoln Bicentennial theme. Presenters came from fifteen states—California to Maryland and Oklahoma to North Dakota—as well as from each of the contiguous states around South Dakota. This year’s autograph party was attended by over twenty authors. Again this year, several students presented papers and/or chaired sessions. Although most presenters offered positive assessments of Lincoln’s presidency, some pointed out the negative effects of the Lincoln Administration’s policy toward Native Americans, notably Dr. Gary Clayton Anderson, University of Oklahoma, author of books about the Minnesota Dakota War of 1862, and Dr. Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, who has written about Lincoln’s Indian policy. Again, this year, the conference became a forum for the exchange of ideas among academic and non-academic scholars. Ed Bradley, an editor with The Papers of Abraham Lincoln, sponsored by the Illinois Preservation Agency and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, provided examples of the many kinds of writings by and to Lincoln. Timothy Good, representing the National Park Service, spoke about the Lincoln-Douglas Debates and their impact on Lincoln’s presidential policies. Thanks to each presenter and session chair, whose dedication to research and writing makes this conference possible. Please note that not all papers presented at the conference were submitted for inclusion here. Harry F. Thompson, Ph.D. Dakota Conference Director The Center for Western Studies JOHN DILLINGER AND THE SIOUX FALLS BANK ROBBERY OF 1934 Emma Abbott Tuesday March 6, 1934, began as a typical day for the citizens of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. A chill filled the air as they awoke, but this was not unusual. However, this would not be a usual morning. While the citizens headed to work and school, one of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s ‘most wanted’ criminals, John Dillinger, and his gang were making their way to Sioux Falls. This historic day began a little after ten o’clock in the morning. A Packard rolled into Sioux Falls and stopped at the corner of Ninth and Main.1 A few moments later, shots rang out from within the bank and brought a crowd to the corner. According to the Argus Leader, a reported one thousand residents came to see what the shots meant. Surprisingly, Dillinger’s visit to Sioux Falls rarely appears in John Dillinger’s narrative. To date, what has been written about Dillinger focuses primarily on his other rampages across the country. The robberies that receive a lot of focus occurred in Indianapolis, Indiana and other big cities in the Midwest. However, according to the Minnehaha County Historical Society, in 2004, the robbery of the Security National Bank in 1934, ranked as one of the top ten events in Sioux Falls’ first one hundred years.2 As a result, our understanding of Dillinger is incomplete for it does not contain all the facts. One reason for this omission could rest within the FBI file on Dillinger; for nowhere does it mention the Sioux Falls robbery.3 The robberies that Dillinger conducted in the last few months of his life were more violent and disorganized than those in 1933. This includes the robbery of the Security National Bank. Sioux Falls may not have heard of Dillinger if things had turned out differently eleven years earlier. In 1923, Dillinger enlisted in the Navy to try to get away from his father. This did not last long, for even in the Navy he got in trouble. So, when the USS Utah docked in Boston he deserted.4 Then in 1924, Dillinger married Beryl Hovius, a sixteen year old from Mooresville, Indiana. Whether Dillinger planned to stay in Mooresville and settle down was unclear. What is known is that Dillinger met Ed Singleton. Ed 1 Gary D. Olson and Erik L. Olson, Sioux Falls, South Dakota: A Pictorial History (Norfolk, VA: The Donning Company, 1985), 117. 2 Minnehaha County Historical Society Newsletter (Sioux Falls, SD). March 2004. 3 US Bureau of Investigation Department of Justice, John Dillinger, file number 62-29777-1. 4 The Gangsters Chronicles, part 1, Narrated and hosted by Patrick O’Neill (Newark, NJ: A Lou Reda Production, 1989), videocassette. Singleton was the town pool shark and always looked for ways to get money, even if it did not belong to him. Dillinger and Singleton became friends and in 1925, they attempted to rob a grocer. They botched the robbery and were quickly apprehended. After the arrest, Dillinger confessed, while Singleton, on the other hand, did not admit to doing anything.5 The court sentenced Dillinger to prison. During his time in prison, Dillinger became a bitter and tortured man.6 During this time, Hovius divorced him. Also, he was now a convicted felon with few avenues of advancement. On May 10, 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression, Dillinger received parole from prison after serving eight and half years. Thus began his life of infamy. With jobs few and far between, Dillinger started robbing banks. Scholars believe that that first bank he robbed was one in Bluffton, Ohio. Then on September 22 of that same year, Dayton police arrested Dillinger for this act of robbery and put him in the county jail in Lima, Ohio. Days later, Dillinger’s friends escaped from the Indiana State Prison and came with the intent to break him out. The friends that helped him escape are unknown. When the friends arrived at the Lima County Jail, they told the sheriff that they were there to escort Dillinger back to the Indiana State Prison for violating his parole. Suspicious, the sheriff asked to see some identification, whereupon, the men shot and beat him unconscious. The sheriff later died of his wounds. Sprung from Lima, Dillinger was now a robber and a fugitive on the run from the authorities.7 The Lima episode marked Dillinger’s first escape from a jail or prison.

Load more