The second supporting question, “how and why was Dakota Territory divided into two states?" helps students use primary sources to unwrap the context of the time and topic being examined. To be able to fully answer this question, students must also know who Alexander McKenzie was—the “boss” of North Dakota. It is no exaggeration to say McKenzie was one of the most influential political leaders in state history.
Complete the following task using the sources provided to build a context of the time period and topic being examined.
Formative Performance Task 2
Working individually or in groups, students will research the issue of how and why the decision was made to split Dakota Territory into two states. Write a summary and answer the following questions about the sources they used:
- What types of sources are they (letters, photos, maps, diaries, etc.)?
- What is going on in these sources? What kind of information do they contain?
- Who created each of these sources?
- Who was the intended audience for each source?
- Why were these sources created?
- When were the sources created?
- What do the sources tell us about Alexander McKenzie’s political machine?
How do we know? What else can you find?
Featured Sources 2
For this section, students will be required to find sources themselves.
Learn more about Alexander McKenzie with this YouTube video from Prairie Public Television (6:38 minutes).