 When Minnesota became a territory in 1849, Henry Hastings Sibley lobbied the United States Congress for aid for building roads.Congress had supported road building in other territories, and they approved the Minnesota request for the purposes of defense, for benefit of the settlers, and to increase the value of the public lands to be sold to settlers.The Minnesota Road Act of July 1850 appropriated $40,000 to construct four military wagon roads and to survey a fifth.