Settlement success on the southeastern Minnesota frontier, 1854--1870: An institutional diversity analysis

This dissertation examines the relationship between institutions and settlement success in southeastern Minnesota. The study region lies within southeastern Minnesota and occurs during the 1850--1870 agricultural frontier period. Theoretical framing comes from economics, geography, and anthropology, and is centered on the concept of institutional diversity and on models of spatial interaction, and decision-making. Creating various levels of frontier understanding in the form of familiar institutions, such as family, traditional business practices, ethnic ascription, religion, and social fraternities, can make the frontier transition easier and fledging communities more successful. Examining the growth and diversity of institutions allows the researcher to perceive how settlers understood certainty, community, and success and can in turn be applied to modern frontiers. Studying the frontier from the perspective of failure is one way to aid those hoping to predict and cope with future frontier events, to understand human motives, and to grasp underlying cultural perceptions.;Settlement success is measured by tangible community duration, with the most successful settlements being those still extant. Field research consists of three parts: identification of a failed community research sample as well as any surviving neighbors within a seven-mile radius; archaeological reconnaissance to relocate sites; and the compilation of a spatial database that incorporates quantifiable information on each failed and successful community's level of institutional diversity. Research methods incorporate traditional documentary as well as archaeological techniques. Exploratory data analysis is used with an eye toward the institutions operating in the region to devise a frontier community typology and show the validity of the institutional diversity hypothesis.