History of South Dakota
Fourth Edition, Revised
Herbert S. Schell, John E. Miller
443 pages · 32 black-and-white photographs, 9 maps and charts, reading lists
“Schell’s History of South Dakota is the finest history of the state that has been written, and after being out of print for almost two decades has been updated by the press.”— James D. McLaird , professor emeritus, Dakota Wesleyan University
Widely recognized as the definitive history of the state, History of South Dakota begins with the earliest American Indian settlers. The Herbert S. Schell traces the history of this region midway between the Midwest and the West. Schell's classic account provides a picture of South Dakota’s political, economic, social, and environmental history, identifying the local, regional, national, and global forces that shaped the fortieth state through World War II. Historian John E. Miller then picks up the story at the beginning of the Cold War and chronicles the rest of the twentieth century.
History of South Dakota captures the state's rich heritage. Exploring its original American Indian inhabitants and later settler, Schell looks at the interactions of visitors and residents alike, including fur traders, gold miners, homesteaders, and cattlemen. The book also examines the development of the state's political systems.
By placing the opportunities and challenges of the last century—rural electrification, interstate highways, agricultural consolidation, ongoing dialogues among American Indians and non-Indians—in context, Miller contends that the state’s citizens will be better able to forge its future in the new millennium.
Herbert S. Schell was professor of history at the University of South Dakota for thirty-five years and served as dean of the graduate school. He was author of several books and journal articles on South Dakota history.
John E. Miller is a historian from Brookings, South Dakota. He received his B.A. degree in history from the University of Missouri and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history from the University of Wisconsin. He taught twentieth-century American history courses and other historical subjects at the University of Tulsa and at South Dakota State University for thirty years before becoming a full-time writer in 2003.
