Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Records
Title
South Dakota Farmers Alliance Records
Date(s)
- 1887, undated (Accumulation)
Extent
0.42 linear feet (1 document case)
Name of creator
Administrative history
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.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
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.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Open. Items in this collection 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.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
South Dakota State University supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections.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.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
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
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
ID
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- South Dakota Farmer's Alliance (Subject)
- Loucks, Henry L. (Henry Langford) 1846-1928 (Subject)