History
Industry
Snapshot | Economy/Cost of Living
Education | Recreation & Entertainment
| Transportation
Geography & Climate
| Suggested Reading
List
Ohio has remains of ancient people dating back to 9000 B.C. More recently the Adena and Hopewell mound builders inhabited the area until 400 A.D. When Europeans first arrived in the 17th century, the area was relatively uninhabited, but later in the 18th century, it was inhabited by Miami, Shawnee, Wyandot, Mingo (Iroquois), Ottawa, and Delaware Indians.
England won the long struggle against the French for control of the Appalacian west in 1763. The U.S. then acquired the region from the British in the Treaty of Paris after the Revolutionary War in 1783 and called it the Northwest Territory. The first permanent white settlement was located in Marietta, at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingham rivers, in 1788 by mainly New Englanders who had fought in the war. Ohio was the first state to be created from the Northwest Territory and was admitted to the Union in 1803 as the 17th state. By 1850, Ohio was the third most populous state, with a well-developed system of canals, road, and railways as well as diversified agriculture.
Ohio became a major industrial center between 1850 and 1880, partly due to the American Civil War, in which Ohio supported the North. Other contributing factors were Ohio's good geographic location, rich natural resource stores, productive soils, and extensive transportation facilities. After the war, the state continued to grow, mainly in the northeast and the area around Lake Erie. In the early 19th century, Ohio attracted many immigrants including Germans, Swiss, Irish, and Welsh. After the American Civil War, African-Americans from the south moved into Ohio's bigger cities.
Ohio has played a pivotal role in national politics. Eight U.S. presidents have hailed from Ohio, and in 1920 two Ohio natives ran against each other for the presidency, Warren G. Harding and James M. Cox. In 1968, Cleveland elected Carl B. Stokes, the first black mayor of a major U.S. city.
Ohio has also been home to racial strife and Vietnam War dissention. In the 1960s disorders in predominently black areas of Cleveland - Hough and Glenville districts - took a number of lives. In 1970, four students were killed by national guardsmen at Kent State University, as they were demonstrating against the Vietnam War.
The state saw a decline in manufacturing in the 1970s and Cleveland experienced severe economic problems resulting in the city defaulting on some debts. The issues were resolved, but changing global economic conditions have continued to affect Ohio. Today it is striving to move away from manufacturing economy towards a more technology and service-based economy.
Related Resources:
Back to Destination Ohio
|
