The Dakota Territory was a huge stretch of land in the northern Great Plains. It was larger than most countries in Europe. The land was mostly flat prairie covered in tall grass. Winters were brutally cold, with temperatures dropping far below zero. The Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota people had lived on these plains for centuries before European settlers arrived. In the 1870s and 1880s, settlers poured into the territory. They came to farm the rich soil and raise cattle. The population grew fast, but the northern and southern parts of the territory had different interests. The north was more rural, with smaller farms and cattle ranches. The south had larger towns and more railroads. Political leaders in each half wanted their own state government so they could make their own decisions. On November 2, 1889, President Benjamin Harrison signed the papers admitting both North Dakota and South Dakota as states. He shuffled the documents so no one would know which he signed first. To this day, nobody knows which Dakota officially became a state first. The name Dakota comes from the Dakota people and means "allies" or "friends" in their language.