On November 2, 1889, the United States Territory of Dakota was split and the two halves were admitted into the Union as the separate states of North Dakota and South Dakota. President Benjamin Harrison signed proclamations formally admitting both states but had the papers shuffled to obscure which one was signed first and the order went unrecorded.  They were the 39th and 40th states to be … Continue reading U.S. Dakota Territory Becomes Two States