Minnesota was once poised to be the third largest state
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota History Center is chock full of documented, factual events. But this story is more about "what if?"
Land-wise, Minnesota is the twelfth-largest state. But had politicians in the 1850s gotten their way, we would be much bigger.
Peter DeCarlo is a historian with the Minnesota Historical Society. He says Minnesota became a territory in the late 1840s, but thanks to the land craze of the 1850s, the population boomed – so the government began to negotiate.
Through treaties and warfare, land was gained from Indigenous people. Many felt forced to make a deal.
"More and more European Americans were coming into the land and pressuring the Dakota and Ojibwe to leave," DeCarlo said.
Maps show that the Minnesota Territory was vast, extending through most of North and South Dakota and even part of Nebraska. Territorial governor Alexander Ramsey also wanted to lay claim on a section of Canada.
If it had stayed that way, which it almost did, Minnesota would have had more land than California. Only Alaska and Texas would be bigger.
We would have had more electoral votes possibly today. More representatives to the national Congress," DeCarlo said.
Democrats and Republicans argued over Minnesota's borders. Democrats wanted the state to include the north for lumber and mining. Republicans wanted the south for farmland. Ramsey, a Republican, eventually compromised. And in 1858, the Minnesota we know today was born, though debates continued and both parties ended up writing separate constitutions.
"Our state was born out of this so much so to the point when it came time to write the state constitution, the parties were in different rooms," DeCarlo said.
The rest of the land went to the Dakotas, with Nebraska getting that small chunk. It's a state history lesson that shows you what might have been.
"It can help us create a better future as well," DeCarlo said.
Ramsey also wanted to move the State Capitol from St. Paul to St. Peter. But thanks to a fur trader named Joe Rolette, and a federal judge, that never happened.
