Author Archives: PrayThroughHistory

19th Century, Agriculture, farming, Food, History, Intercession, Minnesota

King Wheat  

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1859

“Minnesota’s first shipment of spring wheat is warmly received in Chicago–marking the start of an agricultural export that will become King in coming years. Production grows wildly as railroads connect farms to inland markets.” *

“Minnesota or that part of it known as Cottage Grove has gone to wheat. Men work in wheat all day when it does not rain, lounge round talking about wheat when it is wet, dream about wheat at night, and I fear go to meeting Sabbath Day to think about wheat.”
-Rev. George Biscoe, in a letter to his sister, August 21, 1862.*

Jesus, thank you for the blessing spring wheat has been to our state! Imagine how miraculous it felt to find a strain of grain that liked northern climes and short summers? Thank You for their generous yields, and the kind and rich soil that produced them! Thank you for ability of farmers, past and present, to focus on the work You have given them. Will You continue to bless the farmer of Minnesota, and everyone who works to bring our food to market?

Will You forgive the judgments the farmers of MInnesota have made against You? Will You forgive our grumblings about the weather, the length of the seasons, and any other rash words we have spoken against You? Will You forgive the judgments made between farmer and city-folk? Will You forgive us when we allow our passions to overtake us; even something as innocent as a desire for better grain?

*P.T.H. cites timeline formerly at this URL: mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm
The Minnesota Historical Society Web site, http://www.mnhs.org , is fantastic! Check it out!

 

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19th Century, History, Indian, Intercession, Minnesota, Native Americans, Treaties

Reservations Halved 1858

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1858
“The U.S. government seeks more land to accommodate an influx of European settlers into Minnesota. As a result, 26 Dakota leaders are pressured to negotiate yet another treaty. After four long months spent in Washington, D.C., the Dakota are forced to sell the north half of their reservation in exchange for goods and annuities and the continuing right to live on the southern strip of their reservation.” *

Jesus, I do not know the complexities of our laws’ surrounding the Dakota. I can see, with my limited vision and knowledge, that the Federal government with the state government of Minnesota as beneficiary, had a motive to acquire and to redistribute more land from them. This could be a non-issue, were it an amiable deal with a complete and clear understanding of terms.

However, I see the phrases here “are pressured” and “forced to sell”. A forced sale is not a sale, but coercion or extortion. Again, who would choose to submit to high pressure sales tactics of their own volition? Will You forgive this offense of coercion towards these 26 Dakota leaders and all their people and lands?

We have offended You by offending these exact Dakota bands? Will You forgive us this debt officially done in the name of Minnesota and our Federal government? Will You lift the spirit of coercion that still binds this specific Dakota land? Will You lift the spirit of harassment from the shoulders of these 26 Dakota representatives, their nation, and all their generations? Will You free our government and it’s Representatives from the bondages incurred through this event? Will You create remorse that leads to right relationship in those who specifically forced this “sale”, and their figurative children today?

With President Abraham Lincoln, today I pray for “a new birth of freedom”! Will you inspire us to create new means to legally restore such historic cases? Furthermore, will You teach us ways to unravel the generational damages to our bodies’, minds’, wills’, emotions’, and physical environments?

Good Father, how I love Your freedom! You do not force us to follow You, but have said, “Choose this day who you will serve.” (Joshua 24:16) May we forever cherish the Messiah’s example of laying down His life for both friend and enemy! He blessed those that cursed Him even during His execution!? May we consciously choose to love our neighbor! May we seek Your blessing, and the double blessing of our neighbors!

*P.T.H. cites timeline formerly at this URL: mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm
The Minnesota Historical Society Web site, http://www.mnhs.org , is fantastic! Check it out!

 

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19th Century, government, Governors, History, Intercession, Minnesota

Sibley Becomes First State Governor

H.H. Sibley First Governor of Minnesota

H.H. Sibley
First Governor of Minnesota

“Henry H. Sibley takes office as the state’s first governor. He served three times as territorial delegate to Congress, and with statehood imminent, he played a leading role in drafting the Minnesota constitution. He chose not to run for re-election as governor, but continued to serve the state as military commander during the Dakota War of 1862.” *

“Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on them selves.” Romans 13:2

Jesus, thank you for the leadership of Henry Sibley. Thank you that he had foresight to draft a constitution for the state. Lord, will You forgive the bitter judgments of his term, and those made of him? Starting with Sibley, will You retrain us to honor or leaders in our heart, bring our dissonance with them to You, and not merely show respect externally?

 

*http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm

 

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19th Century, History, Minnesota, omnipresent history

North Star Statehood

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May 11, 1858
“On May 11th, Minnesota is admitted into the Union as the 32nd state. News of statehood travels by telegraph and then by steamboat to St. Paul. Newspapers proclaim a glorious future for Minnesota.” *

Thank you for the statehood of Minnesota on May 11, 1858! Will You give us the plan that is in Your mind and heart for our state? What is our unique purpose in Your kingdom, in the redemption of the United States, and the history of the world? Give us Your imagination for the restoration of Minnesota! Jesus, we invite Your best! Enable us to receive Your gifts, and move us to serve You and all creation with them!

Lord, I want to acknowledge the pollution of our land. You say:
“’Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the one who shed it. Don not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites.’” Numbers 35:33,34

Thank you Jesus that the Cross covers all the unrighteous bloodshed that curse our land! Release us this day from the curses of the Enemy and every act of bloodshed that has been committed throughout history within the boundaries of this state of Minnesota. May Your precious blood flow through our root sins, acts, and thoughts of bitterness and death, and release every prisoner of the Enemy. I announce that “Jesus is here!!!” to the bloodshed of Minnesota, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty! Amen!

* http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm

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19th Century, African American, Black History, Faith, History, law, Minnesota

Slavery in Court: Dred and Harriet Scott

Dred Scott

Dred Scott

1857
“Dred and Harriet Scott, slaves who lived at Fort Snelling in the 1830s, claim they became free in Minnesota, where slavery was illegal. The U.S. Supreme Court rules that, because they returned to Missouri where slavery is legal, they are still the property of their owners.

In 1836, the African American slave Dred Scott was brought to Fort Snelling by his owner, Dr. John Emerson. While at the fort, Scott married another slave, Harriet. Later, Emerson moved to St. Louis, taking his slaves, the Scotts, with him. In 1846, Dred Scott sued for his freedom. He claimed that, since he had been taken to live at Fort Snelling–at the time part of Wisconsin Territory, where slavery was prohibited–he was a free man.

In March 1857, after 11 years of trials and appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court declares that because Scott isn’t a citizen of Missouri (a slave isn’t allowed to be a citizen), he’s not entitled to sue in its courts; and that slaves are property and that no law can deprive a person–that is, a white slaveowner–of his rights to life, liberty, and property.” *

Christ have mercy! We often want privileges under the law for ourselves, and not for others. This is not Your example. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” John 1:1,2 Jesus, You submitted to the limitations of this world. You went from the total freedom of heaven to living in Satan’s jurisdiction. You know what it’s like to have Your rights curtailed! Thank you that You are able to relate to everyone who has endured under slavery, and that You never knelt to hatred of authority.

Firstly, bless Dred and Harriet Scott, their generations, and their dwellings in Jesus’ name! Thanks for giving him the boldness to challenge the system. Forgive our system for allowing human beings to ever be classified as ‘property’! May we inherit a heart to challenge falsehoods and misbeliefs of our state.

Secondly, forgive Missouri and the U. S. Supreme Court this offense against You, and the inalienable rights You’ve freely given to all people, everywhere, at all times. You made all men in your image! You’ve made all women in Your image! Is not an affront to one an attempt at mutiny? You are our God, and we are Your people!

Third, forgive the judgment made against the Scotts’, and counter-judgments made towards Minnesota, Missouri, or the U.S. in general. Will You release us from our heritage of bitter judgments and curses, and make the way for forgiveness and blessing?
http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm

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19th Century, Business, Civil War, Economics, Intercession, Jesus, justice, law, Minnesota, omnipresent history, Real Estate

Financial Panic Changes the Economic Climate July 1, 1857  

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Fueled by wild speculation in land prices, the economy of Minnesota Territory became overheated. This speculative bubble burst in July when banking failures in the East began to spread panic in the West. The resulting crash in land values caused credit to dry up in Minnesota. Local banks closed and other business failed as well. The economy of Minnesota did not improve until the Civil War.*

Father, how often has this happened in our history as human beings? How often has money, property, or wealth been manipulated to bring an otherwise peaceful people to war? Lord, we seem immune to recognize the inner causes of these type of panics and economic downturns; we want what we do not have. Will You forgive us our desire for easy money? Will You forgive the greed of the banks involved: Eastern or Western or foreign?

Will You wipe out the painful judgments of our states’ debtors towards these banks, and their unforgiveness of debt? Will You forgive us for being seduced by the spirit of speculation to the detriment of our brothers and sisters? It seems there is a perpetual battle between those who value the land as a home that sustains life and those who view it only as a profitable commodity. Lord, will You give balance to our judgments of the land, and free our land of the curses we have committed against it?

*Note – PrayThroughHistory uses the timeline located for several years at the Minnesota Historical Society Web site, at this URL: mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm .

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19th Century, Americana, History, justice, Minnesota, State Government

Saint Paul Keeps Capital Feb 27, 1857  

Joe Rolette

Joe Rolette

February 27, 1857
“Legislator Joe Rolette disappears with a scandalous bill that would transfer the territorial capital from Saint Paul to Saint Peter. For a week he drinks and plays poker with his friends, hiding in the attic of the Fuller House while the bill rests in the hotel’s safe. He reappears only after the legislature adjourns on March 7 and it is too late to get the bill signed into law.

Rolette is a councilor in the territorial legislature from northwest Pembina County. The questionable bill he hides is the work of government officials who bought land in Saint Peter and proposed the move to raise the value of their properties.

April 23, 1857 to May 24, 1858
Samuel Medary takes office as the territory’s 3rd, and last, governor.

When President James Buchanan appointed him governor in March, 1857, Minnesota was already in transition from a territory to a state. Medary was the recognized governor, although he spent most of his time outside the territory and conducted business through Charles L. Chase, the secretary of the territory. Some historians argue that Minnesota had three governors during this period: Henry H. Sibley, governor-elect, Charles L. Chase, acting governor, and Samuel Medary, de facto governor.” *

Father, thanks that You are just. No one can twist your Laws, or win the game by using parliamentary procedures. I acknowledge the temptation to win by changing the rules, or by trickery. Will You forgive Joe Rolette and all the parties he represents for this event in 1857? Will You free us from any judgments or counter-judgments that still affect Minnesotans’ today? Will You help us, and forgive us our frustrations with the governor of this state? Will You guide and preserve that office until You come, and work through the entire being of Governors past, present, and future?

* http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm

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19th Century, Faith, G-D, Intercession, Israel, Jews, Minnesota

Mount Zion Congregation 1857  

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“Mount Zion Hebrew Congregation, the first Jewish organization in Minnesota, is formed in St. Paul.” *

Lord, thank you for the congregation of Mount Zion, and the Jewish heritage of Minnesota. Will You forgive any judgments made towards Mount Zion, and any Jewish people by citizens or entities representing our state? Will You forgive any counter-judgments of this congregation towards its neighbors? I want to announce the forgiveness of the Lord Jesus Christ to all inheritors of these bitter root judgments both past and present. May we receive Your blessings of chesed in all present and future generations!

“If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.” Psalms 137:5,6 NIV

* http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm

 

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19th Century, abolition, African American, History, Indian, Men, Minnesota, Native Americans, News, women

Abolitionist Newspaper 1857

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1857
“Jane Grey Swisshelm, an outspoken critic of slavery and unequal treatment of women, moves to Minnesota in 1857 and publishes the St. Cloud Visiter newspaper. Mobs twice destroy her printing office, but she continues her courageous crusade for equal rights with the “St. Cloud Visiter” later renamed the “St. Cloud Democrat.” *

Jane G. Swisshelm was a pioneer in all senses of the word: in travel, in her passionate writings, and inwardly. She saw observed the cruelty of slavery when she lived in Kentucky. She lost her mother in Pennsylvania, and shortly afterwards, her husband lost his business. She moved to the Midwest to start over, joining her sister nearby. **

Already a established as a strong voice for abolition during her decade in Pittsburgh, she became the editor of a newspaper named the “St.Cloud Visiter”. Though owned by a Democrat, (who in those days were not usually abolitionists), she insisted on representing the paper as such. In effect, she offended local Democratic sensibilities resulting in the destruction of the “Visiter’s” offices and printing presses. ***

In the following decade, she aimed her pen at the Dakota Nation of Minnesota. Originally a supporter of Native Americans, the Dakota War of 1862 and their atrocities of unprovoked attacks on their neighbors changed her mind. Incensed by Native attacks, she even lobbied the Federal Government that more strident measures be taken against them. ***

Today, we thank You for voice of Jane Swisshelm, and her commitment to vigorously and forthrightly speak her mind. Her story is a cautionary tale that no individual, tribe, or nation gets it right all the time. Irregardless of passion, we all have an incomplete picture of the truth.

American politics of her day may shock modern ears; Republicans led the charge in the abolition of slavery, and the vast majority of slave states held to Democratic politics. Will You forgive us our over-identification with partisan politics in this era, and our failure to unite to oppose the evils of slavery? Will You forgive us our sins of partisan rhetoric, and more specifically to Swisshelm where her words unnecessarily broke relationship with our Southern brothers and sisters?

Next, we fail to understand much of the context of her era, and may draw some wrong conclusions from the women’s rights movement. Certainly, some 19th Century women suffered harsh abuses at the hands of men, often without hopes for a legal redress of their grievances. (We praise You that most of these legal issues are corrected, and that American women have known exceptionally high-status and equality when viewed through the lens of human history.)

Yet, our preset-day perspective may cause us to miss the ways that 19th Century male-female relationships were strong. Children trusted that their fathers’ were committed to provide for them. Wives trusted that their husbands’ love meant shelter and protection. Families busy with survival did not have lots of time to deal with legal or political issues, and often for them, it made sense to trust dad with that role.

Jesus, thanks that You have made us to be free. Will You forgive the city of St. Cloud and Minnesota any infringement of the freedom of Jane Swisshelm? Will You free us from her sinful judgment’s against those she opposed; broadbrushing all men, those who disagreed with her method of abolition, and promoting punishment against the Dakota? Thank You that Minnesota has raised awareness of the status of women and those in bondage through her voice! Thank You that even her words of judgment against the actions of a few hundred Dakota, as harsh as they may be, record the specifics of broken relationships. Will You enter into these rifts, bring humility, and restore to us a place in Your Land-Clear-Blue-Waters? Amen.

http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm
** Swisshelm, Jane Grey. Half a Century. Chicago: Jansen, McClurg, and Company, 1880.
*** Webster, Eric W. “Swisshelm, Jane Grey (1815–1884)”. Internet. https://www.mnopedia.org/person/swisshelm-jane-grey-1815-1884

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19th Century, Americana, Business, Civics, History, Intercession, Minnesota, Real Estate

Nininger Founded

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October 1, 1856
“Minnesota is booming with grandiose plans and get-rich-quick schemes. John Nininger and Ignatius Donnelly establish the town of Nininger—on the south bank of the Mississippi River, five miles up river from Hastings—in the summer of 1856. Their town exists only on paper, but in their dreams it is a great metropolis, a center of commerce and culture, a rival of Chicago. Active sale of land and building operations begin about October 1, 1856.” *
Donnelly promotes Nininger across the nation. In February 1858 the legislature grants a charter to the town, and the town has shops, churches, a dance hall, a poor house, a school, and a population of perhaps as many as 1,000 persons. The dream town of Nininger declines steadily after the financial panic of 1857 that causes banks across the country to call in loans. People move away. Buildings disappear. The town eventually disappears from the map.

Lord, we are looking for heaven… but usually the one of our own design. You have given us imagination to organize society and solve civic problems. We often lack the humility to remain in relationship when we are hurt, or to forgive and resolve problems. Forgive any judgments of Donnelly and Nininger towards the residents of Nininger and each other. Forgive any counter judgments of the people of Nininger. Will You continue this process until full restoration?
Also, I acknowledge the financial judgments made in the panic of 1857: Eastern banks judged Western farmers, small business judged large business, etc. Lord, we have sinned against You by the judgments of the panic of 1857! Many have paid debts unfairly placed on them, and made counter judgments towards banks, businessmen, lawyers, city, county, and state officials etc.

Unfortunately, we are bound by our judgments of banks, as well as state and federal laws! Free us as a people in the North Star state! Heal our economy and our hearts that easily are swayed into discontent! We have coveted our neighbor’s property! We have coveted our neighbors’ real and imagined legal freedoms! We often submit to debt out of envy! Hear our prayer! Heal our land past, free us in the present, and blesser relationships to it in the future!

*http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm

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