Ohio

—Ohioan, adj., n.

/oh huy"oh/, n.

1. a state in the NE central United States: a part of the Midwest. 10,797,419; 41,222 sq. mi. (106,765 sq. km). Cap.: Columbus. Abbr.: OH (for use with zip code), O.

2. a river formed by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, flowing SW from Pittsburgh, Pa., to the Mississippi in S Illinois. 981 mi. (1580 km) long.

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I

State (pop., 2000: 11,353,140), U.S., north-central region.

Bordered by Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana, it covers 44,828 sq mi (116,104 sq km). Its capital is Columbus. Lake Erie is on its northern boundary; the Ohio River forms part of its southeastern and southern boundary. Ohio was originally inhabited by prehistoric Hopewell mound builders, who disappeared с AD 400. The earliest European explorers found the area occupied by Miami, Shawnee, and other Indian peoples. The region was ceded to Britain by France after the French and Indian War. In 1803 it became the 17th state and the first state carved out of the Northwest Territory (see Northwest Ordinances). During the 19th century, it became one of the first great industrial states because of its location, transport facilities, and natural resources, including coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Although manufacturing is its most important economic activity, nearly two-thirds of the state is still farmland. It was the birthplace or residence of eight U.S. presidents

William H. Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William H. Taft, and Warren G. Harding. Its major cities include Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron, and Dayton.

II

(as used in expressions)

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Co.

Ohio Co.

Ohio Idea

Ohio River

Ohio State University

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▪ state, United States

Introduction

Ohio, flag of  constituent state of the United States of America. Lake Erie lies on the north, Pennsylvania on the east, West Virginia and Kentucky on the southeast and south, and Michigan on the northwest. Its area of 41,330 square miles (107,044 square kilometres), excluding 3,457 square miles in Lake Erie, ranks only 35th in size among the states, and it is one of the smallest states west of the Appalachian Mountains. The state ranks near the top, however, in population. Ohio's capital, after being located in Chillicothe and Zanesville during the early years of statehood, was finally established in newly founded and centrally located Columbus in 1816. The state takes its name from that of the river, an Iroquoian word meaning “great water.”

      The first state to be carved from the Northwest Territory when it became the 17th member of the Union on March 1, 1803, Ohio has come to reflect the urbanized, industrialized, and ethnically mixed United States that developed from an earlier agrarian period. The pattern of its life is so representative of the nation as a whole that it is often used to test attitudes, ideas, and programs in education, politics, and industry. Significantly, Ohio has supplied by birth or residence eight U.S. presidents—William H. Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William H. Taft, and Warren G. Harding.

      The state's accessibility has been perhaps the key factor in its growth. Its location between the Eastern Seaboard and the growing Midwest and its lack of natural barriers to movement made it a corridor for east–west travel. In addition, the state lies in the heart of the nation's old industrial belt, close to major resources of raw material and labour and to the markets of the East, Midwest, and South.

Physical and human geography

The land

  The topography, river systems, groundwater, and soils in most of Ohio are the products of glacial activity. These factors have strongly influenced the patterns of human settlement and land use.

Relief

      Ohio straddles two major subregions of the Interior Lowlands physiographic region of the United States: the Appalachian Plateau on the east and the Central Lowlands on the west. These two subregions divide the state almost in half. The Appalachian Plateau reaches westward from Pennsylvania and West Virginia into the counties along Ohio's eastern border, from near Lake Erie to the Ohio River. The northeast is only partially glaciated, while the southeast is unglaciated terrain. Throughout the plateau the land is dissected by rivers winding among steep hills, and many elevations reach 1,300 feet (395 metres).

      West of the Appalachian Plateau stretch the Central Lowlands. The eastern lake section, or Lake Plains, stretch along Lake Erie to the northwestern counties and the Michigan border and then extend irregularly to the south. These level to slightly rolling lands were once under water, and the swampiness of the northwest, around Toledo, posed obstacles to settlement before drainage made it more arable. The Central, or Till, Plains, which extend westward toward the Mississippi River, include parts of western and southwestern Ohio and provide a deep soil. This region contains the state's highest and lowest points: Campbell Hill, the highest point, at 1,549 feet (472 metres), is located near Bellefontaine; the lowest, at 433 feet (132 metres), lies at the confluence of the Miami and Ohio rivers, near Cincinnati.

Drainage

      The principal water sources are rain-fed streams, lakes, and reservoirs. Floods, once prevalent, are controlled by state and federal dams and other conservation measures. Groundwater is used widely for public supplies, though the industrial and population centres have limited resources. Huge stores of these waters are buried in preglacial valleys in central and south central Ohio.

      Lake Erie (Erie, Lake), with an average depth of only 62 feet (18.9 metres), is the shallowest of the Great Lakes. It is also the most tempestuous, with frontal storms often roaring across it from Canada, and the most liable to shoreline erosion, harbour silting, and filling of its bed. Its shallowness, coupled with the concentration of population and industrial plants in its watersheds, led to severe pollution. Programs in various areas deal with the problems of the lake, which continues to be the principal source of water for many lakeside cities. Attempts to abate pollution in Lake Erie have begun to show signs of success. Fish have returned to previously uninhabitable waters, and a revival of sport fishing and recreational activity has stimulated economic growth along the shoreline.

      A low watershed separates the 20 percent of Ohio drained by the Maumee, Cuyahoga, and other rivers emptying into Lake Erie from the 80 percent drained by the Miami, Scioto, Muskingum, and others flowing into the Ohio–Mississippi (Ohio River) system. The Ohio, only a tiny part of which is under state jurisdiction, is canalized and channeled for its entire length, as is the Muskingum from Zanesville to Marietta. More than 100 lakes and reservoirs supply recreational and industrial water.

Soils

      Most of Ohio's soils are well suited to agriculture. The Till Plains soils are mainly rich glacial limestone, but the Lake Plains are the most productive. The sandstone soils of central and northeastern Ohio are best adapted to pasturelands, while the thin-soiled and heavily eroded hilly areas of the southeast support little productive farming except in river bottomlands.

Climate

      Temperatures in Ohio are similar to those across the north central and eastern United States, with summer highs and winter lows seldom reaching 100° F (38° C) and −20° F (−29° C), respectively. The state is open to cold, dry fronts from Canada and to warm, moist fronts from the Gulf of Mexico. The frequent meeting of such fronts causes much of the state's precipitation, which totals some 38 inches (965 millimetres) annually, including an average annual snowfall of 28 inches.

Plant and animal life

      The great hardwood forests that covered 95 percent of Ohio prior to European settlement have been reduced to less than 25 percent. The glaciated areas have stands of timber that include oak, ash, maple, walnut, basswood, hickory, and beech. Much cutover land in the southeastern and south central regions has been reforested. Both wild and domestic flowers abound, though the clover, wild rye, and bluegrass of early Ohio are gone.

      Of the 350 bird species found in Ohio, at least 180 are native. Among the 170 fish species are bass, trout, and perch, while the 60 or more species of mammals include deer, opossum, fox, skunk, groundhog, and rabbit.

Settlement patterns

      Despite its many large urban areas, more than four-fifths of Ohio is cropland and forest. The urban areas of Ohio first exceeded the rural in population in 1910, and by the late 20th century the urban population made up about 75 percent of the total. Areas outside central cities contain more than half of the population, and Ohio's large cities are following the national pattern of losing population to surrounding suburban areas. The growth of Columbus proper is largely attributable to annexation of township lands.

      It is possible to identify several regions throughout Ohio that have distinctive landforms, human and physical resources, and economic characteristics.

      The Maumee valley region in the northwest is primarily agricultural. Corn, soybeans, and wheat, as well as hogs and dairy and poultry products, are important. Its largest city, Lima, is an industrial and market centre. The Lake Plains region on the southwestern shores of Lake Erie also has flat, fertile plains with highly productive soils. Toledo, the major city, is an important centre in the Great Lakes industrial belt and a major coal-handling port. It supplies glass and transportation equipment to nearby Detroit and processes the farm products of the region.

      The Lakeshore and Uplands region in the north and northeast, with approximately one-fifth of the state's land, contains Ohio's largest industrial concentration and holds more than two-fifths of its population. Cleveland is the industrial, financial, and cultural centre. Akron is a centre of rubber and polymer industries and of trucking. Youngstown is a major metal producer and fabricator, and Canton specializes in the production of such items as roller bearings, bank vaults, and vacuum cleaners.

      The Sandusky valley region in north central Ohio is basically agricultural, though the small cities of Marion, Galion, and Bucyrus have some manufacturing. The Scioto valley region of rolling plains in central Ohio has a diversified economic base. Columbus, its central city, is the home of the state government and of numerous educational institutions, including Ohio State University. About half of the working force is employed in government, education, finance, and other service occupations.

      The Tuscarawas valley region of eastern Ohio and the Ohio valley region in the south and southeast are predominantly rural. Terrain limits agricultural productivity in both regions. In the southwestern part of the region wheat, corn, tobacco, and hogs are the principal products. Mining and lumbering provide the largest proportion of income in the southeastern part. Stone, clay products, chemicals, and metal fabrication are major industries.

      The Miami valley region, in southwestern Ohio, centres on Cincinnati and Dayton. Cincinnati is important in the production of machine tools and other manufactures. Dayton produces business machines, computers, and automotive products. Nearby Fairborn is the home of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, a major research centre.

The people

      The people who laid the foundations of Ohio came from the older seaboard states. The first permanent white settlement in Ohio and the Northwest Territory was at Marietta in 1788 by a company of New Englanders who had fought in the Revolution. In the same year a group from New Jersey established a settlement near Cincinnati, and in the next few years other villages sprang up. In the south, particularly in the Virginia Military District between the Scioto and Little Miami rivers, many of the settlers came from Virginia and Kentucky. In 1796 the Western Reserve in northeastern Ohio was first settled, mainly by New Englanders from Connecticut.

      Many Protestant Scotch-Irish settlers came from the Middle Atlantic and Southern states. Prior to 1830, Pennsylvania Germans and Swiss came to the east central area. After 1830 settlers came directly from Germany and Ireland. Many Irish came to work on the Ohio canals and stayed on, and when the railroads were built, the Irish and German workers remained as permanent settlers. Germans who drained the Black Swamp country of the northwest stayed on to develop the resultant farmlands.

      After 1830 Roman Catholic immigrants from southern Ireland settled in such cities as Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, where by 1850 they were second in number to the Germans among foreign-born residents. In Lancaster immigrants from Württemberg joined the Pennsylvania Germans who had founded the city.

      In northeastern Ohio, Canton and Steubenville were established by Pennsylvania Germans. German settlers also were attracted to the rolling surface and fertile soil of Wayne county, which became one of the top agricultural counties in the nation. German-speaking Moravian missionaries under the leadership of John Heckewelder and David Zeisberger came to the Tuscarawas valley to Christianize the Indians in the early 1770s. In 1817 Joseph Bimeler founded an experimental communist settlement in Zoar that lasted until 1898. The Swiss settled around Dover and Sugar Creek in Tuscarawas county, as well as in Monroe county. In Holmes county, Amish immigrants from Germany and Switzerland established settlements that still remain. There are now more Mennonites in Ohio than in Switzerland, and the state's Old Order Amish community is the largest in the world. Quakers from the Middle Atlantic states and the South settled in eastern and southwestern Ohio early in the 19th century.

      The Welsh arrived in the early 19th century to develop the mineral resources in several regions of Ohio. They were especially numerous in Jackson county, and for a long period Welsh was the only language that was spoken there. The eisteddfod, a festival of Welsh bards, and other elements of Welsh culture and music flourished. The language persisted to the third generation in many communities, with old Welsh songs passed on from one generation to the next.

      In 1850 the principal racial stock was Scotch-Irish, although the Germans and the English also were important elements. In 1870 nearly 14 percent of Ohio's population and 40 percent of Cleveland's were foreign-born. The New England character of northern Ohio's beginnings was changing. Each new group established its own newspapers, clubs, social life, and churches.

      Increasing numbers of immigrants from eastern and southern Europe came to Ohio after 1880. By 1920 large numbers of Italians, Poles, Hungarians, Russians, and other groups had come to Cleveland, Toledo, Youngstown, and other industrial cities. Southern whites from Appalachia came in large numbers to Akron, Dayton, and Cincinnati. Cleveland, however, became Ohio's most ethnically diverse city. Its foreign-born population was supplemented between 1880 and 1890 by new arrivals from Austria, The Netherlands, Russia, Hungary, Portugal, Greece, China, Japan, Turkey, and Mexico. The city's culture eventually was enriched by some 50 groups with different languages and backgrounds. Many new Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, as well as synagogues, were built. The Greeks brought their coffeehouses, and the Slovenes and Poles brought their social halls. The descendants of these ethnic groups have firmly established themselves in the social, economic, and political life of the state.

      The changing character of the state is shown as well in the growth of the black population. In 1850 the black population of Ohio was about 25,000. By 1870 it had risen to more than 63,000. Most blacks lived in southern Ohio, where Wilberforce University, one of the first permanent black educational institutions, was established. By 1980 Ohio's black population of more than 1,000,000, most of it in the cities, constituted 10 percent of the total.

The economy

      A good location, a rich store of natural resources, productive soils, cheap energy, and ample transportation facilities have made Ohio one of the great industrial states. More than half of the nation's population is within 500 miles (800 kilometres) of its borders; and coal, oil, natural gas, clay, salt, limestone, sandstone, shales, and gypsum help supply local industries. About two-thirds of the raw materials processed in Ohio's factories come from its own resources. More than one-fourth of the labour force is employed in manufacturing, although heavy basic industrial production has declined since the 1970s. Ohio's continuing activity in agriculture and mineral production provides economic balance and diversity.

Mining

      Ohio's mineral resources are heavily exploited. coal production accounts for the highest return, followed by industrial minerals, gas, and oil.

      Coal was discovered in Ohio as early as 1808. It was adapted for use with iron ore and limestone in the pioneer iron-making enterprises that sprang up in the eastern and south central parts of the state. Later, the discovery of deposits of iron ore in the upper Midwest gave rise to important iron and steel centres in northern Ohio. Usable coal supplies are found throughout eastern and southeastern Ohio. Most coal is produced by strip mining. Enforcement of laws regulating strip mining and requiring restoration has eased environmental problems, but citizen groups still battle for stronger safeguards.

      Limestone is used in many construction and manufacturing processes. Ohio is among the top states in sandstone and in sand and gravel production. The abundance and quality of surface clays, plastic fireclays, shales, and some gypsum and peat have made Ohio a leader in the manufacture of ceramic products. The majority of its extensive salt production comes from large rock-salt mines, with the remainder from brine. It is estimated that the state's salt deposits could supply the nation's need for centuries.

      Ohio has been a producer of oil and natural gas since 1860, but by 1900 production in the state had declined. In the early 1960s, however, new oil and gas deposits were discovered, and the industry revived modestly. Ohio must import substantial amounts of oil and natural gas.

Agriculture

      In 1850 Ohio ranked first among the states in agricultural production, and it has continued to rank near the top. Although farm acreage and the number of farms and farmers have decreased, nearly two-thirds of Ohio is still farmland. Commercial farming, or agribusiness, largely has supplanted the family farm in producing cash crops, but the Amish, using old-fashioned techniques, and others are still able to make the family farm profitable. Ohio produces corn (maize), wheat, oats, soybeans, and hay, and it maintains large marketing inventories of fruit, feed, and vegetables, as well as livestock and poultry.

Industry

      Manufacturing is Ohio's most important economic activity and represents the largest single segment of the state's employment. Transportation equipment, nonelectrical machinery, and fabricated metal products are the largest manufacturing enterprises in terms of employment, despite the movement of much heavy manufacturing to other regions of the nation and the world. The steel and clay products industries are also significant.

Transportation

      Ohio's chief transportation system in the first years of statehood, as in the territorial period, was its water routes. Lake Erie and the Ohio River provided east–west passage for Indian traders, pioneers, and settlers, and many rivers provided access to the interior. Shortly after statehood the development of transportation facilities began. Between 1825 and 1838 the federal government extended the Cumberland (National) Road across Ohio. In 1811 the first steamboats appeared on the Ohio River, and in the 1820s the era of canal building began and lasted for some 30 years. The first railroad was constructed in 1832, and in the 1850s the first great east–west rail lines were constructed across Ohio.

      Ohio's transportation facilities play a major role in moving passengers and goods by highway, railroad, river, lake, and air. The shipping to and from its lake ports is worldwide, and the Ohio River carries more tonnage than the Panama Canal. The railroad mileage is among the nation's largest. The pioneering experiments of Dayton's Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, led to the first successful aircraft flight, at Kitty Hawk, N.C., in 1903, and Ohio is now both a testing and a commercial aviation centre.

Administration and social conditions

Government

      Ohio's present constitution was adopted in 1851. The executive branch is composed of the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, auditor, and treasurer, all elected for four-year terms. The General Assembly consists of the Senate, with 33 members elected for four-year terms, and the House of Representatives, whose 99 members serve two-year terms. It has broad powers in policy formulation and monetary appropriation. The judiciary comprises the seven-member Supreme Court, 12 courts of appeals, courts of common pleas and of probate in each of the 88 counties, and such other lower courts as the legislature may establish. All judges are elected for six-year terms.

      Each county except Summit, which has a home-rule charter, exists as a quasi-municipal corporation, an arm of the state government but without general authority of self-government in the legislative field. Most larger cities operate under home-rule charters that permit them to choose the form of government most suitable to their needs. The mayor–council type is most common, though Cincinnati and several other cities operate under a city-manager–council plan. The township, Ohio's oldest form of government, remains important, though the number is diminishing as townships are annexed into municipalities or as newly incorporated villages assume their functions.

      State laws carefully prescribe the rules for forming and running political parties, conducting elections, and balloting. The two-party system has prevailed generally, but Ohio has produced such minor-party leaders as Norman Thomas, many times a presidential candidate on the Socialist Party ticket; Victoria Claflin Woodhull, in 1872 the first woman to run for president, with the Equal Rights Party; and Jacob Coxey, who led the march of “ Coxey's Army” from Massillon, Ohio, to Washington, D.C., in 1894 to demand various economic reforms.

      Since its inception the Republican Party has been slightly more successful than the Democratic in statewide elections. In national politics the parties are evenly matched. Although dynasties are rare in Ohio political life, the Tafts of Cincinnati may constitute one. William Howard Taft served as president and as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. His father had been secretary of war and attorney general under President Ulysses S. Grant and was later U.S. minister to Russia and Austria-Hungary. His son, Robert A. Taft, served in the U.S. Senate from 1939 to 1953, and his grandson, Robert A. Taft, Jr., served in the U.S. Senate from 1971 to 1976.

Education

      Authority for Ohio's primary and secondary public schools rests with the state legislature. A State Board of Education, comprising one elected member from each congressional district of the state, appoints a superintendent of public instruction, who heads the Ohio Department of Education. City, county, local, and exempted school districts exist as subdivisions of the state organization. The direction, administration, and financing—shared by state and local government taxing units—of the public schools is delegated to the individual school districts. Private and parochial schools, though governed by the same laws that apply to public schools, receive no direct state support.

      Ohio often has been called a “land of schools and colleges,” and it ranks among the top 10 states in the number of accredited colleges. Ohio University was established by Ohio's first legislature in 1804 as the first public institution of higher education west of the Alleghenies. In 1809 Miami University became the second. Ohio State University, founded in 1870, is the largest state-assisted university. A land-grant college and a major graduate and professional centre, it also has one of the largest undergraduate enrollments in the nation. Ohio has several comprehensive state universities and numerous branch campuses, technical colleges, and community colleges. Many of Ohio's small independent colleges have made distinguished contributions to the state and have pioneered in education in various ways. Oberlin College, founded in 1833, became the first coeducational college in the United States and one of the first to admit blacks. Antioch College (part of Antioch University), founded in 1852, is one of the nation's oldest experimental liberal arts colleges. Like some other Ohio institutions, it has implemented innovative programs for advancing minority students.

Health and Welfare

      The aged and poor, the blind and disabled, and crippled and dependent children are among the groups that benefit from the welfare activities of several state agencies. Other state bodies oversee programs in the prevention and cure of illnesses. Ohio has six medical schools and an osteopathic college, as well as many strong regional hospitals. The Cleveland Clinic has an international reputation. A youth commission operates diagnostic and training centres, youth corps, and schools. State activities with labour and industry include programs in employment and unemployment services, industrial safety, and worker's compensation.

Cultural life

      Early settlers of Ohio put the stamp of their former homes—New England, the Middle Atlantic states, Kentucky, and Virginia—on the state. Although there has not been a clearly identifiable Ohio school in any of the arts, there has been great activity in all of them.

      When the log-cabin phase of early Ohio ended, most of the settlers followed the building styles that they had known in their former homes. In the Virginia Military District the red-brick and stone houses were built in the Southern Federal style. In the Western Reserve and the Marietta area the New England influence was manifested in the colonial and modified Georgian styles. Later developments tended to follow the fashions of American architecture in general, most of them revivals of earlier European modes such as Greek, Gothic, and Romanesque.

      The state has produced such diverse writers as William Dean Howells, Ambrose Bierce, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Brand Whitlock, Charles F. Browne (“Artemus Ward”), David Ross Locke (“Petroleum V. Nasby”), Sherwood Anderson, Louis Bromfield, and James Thurber, many of whom drew upon their Ohio background.

      The Cleveland Orchestra is among the finest in the world, and the symphony orchestra of Cincinnati (once considered the musical centre of the inland United States) is also renowned. The Blossom Music Center, located between Cleveland and Akron, is the site of a summer festival. Programs in music, theatre, dance, and the visual arts abound in Ohio's colleges and universities. With community theatres and arts centres, they serve as the cultural hub for many cities and towns. The Cleveland Play House and the Karamu House, which attempts to bridge black and white cultures, also in Cleveland, have long had a national reputation. The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, noted for its experimentation, and the Cincinnati Opera are among major regional companies. The Ohio Arts Council, which was established in 1965 by the state legislature, aids communities and arts organizations.

      The Cleveland Museum of Art ranks among the foremost art galleries in the nation, and those in Cincinnati, Toledo, Youngstown, and Columbus also hold major collections. In addition, many historical sites are maintained by state and local societies, including Indian mounds, old forts and battle sites, reconstructions of early settlements, and graves, homesteads, and memorials to Ohio's presidents and other leading citizens.

      Ohio has a well-developed system of public libraries in addition to college and university facilities and specialized libraries in many fields. The State Library of Ohio, in Columbus, serves the entire state. Bookmobile service is a feature of rural areas.

      The state has a number of laboratories maintained by specialized institutes, industries, educational institutions, and government agencies. Reflecting industrial concentrations, Akron is a world centre for rubber research, and Cleveland is known for research in lighting. Battelle Memorial Institute, in Columbus, is one of the largest private research organizations in the world. A number of federal centres are devoted to aviation medicine, aeronautics and space, atomic energy, agriculture, and forestry.

      Reflecting Old World origins are the Welsh eisteddfod festivities in Cleveland, Steubenville, Lima, Columbus, and Jackson, and a German Saengerfest (Song Festival). More than 40 other nationality groups present folk music and dances at festivals throughout the state. Ohio boasts one of the nation's largest state fairs, and each county has an annual fair. Other gatherings include the Apple Festival in Jackson, the River Days Festival in Portsmouth, the Ohio Hills Folk Festival in Quaker City, and the Pumpkin Show in Circleville.

      Recreational facilities include extensive state park facilities in addition to numerous municipal recreational areas. The Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area lies between Cleveland and Akron. Public gardens, zoos, caves and caverns, and privately run amusement parks add to Ohio's recreational repertory.

History

Prehistory and settlement

      Remains of ancient peoples dating to 9000 BC have been found in Ohio. The later Adena (Adena culture) and Hopewell cultures (Hopewell culture) built elaborate burial and ceremonial mounds and fashioned exquisite artifacts. Both cultures had disappeared from the area by about AD 300–400. Present-day Ohio was largely unoccupied when Europeans first saw it in the 17th century. Villages of historic Indians—the Miami, Wyandot, Shawnee, Delaware, Mingo (Iroquois), and Ottawa—appeared in the 18th century.

      The long Anglo-French struggle to control the trans-Appalachian west culminated in British victory in 1763. The United States then won this region during the American Revolution. Following the Treaty of Paris (1783), Congress created the Northwest Territory north of the Ohio River and enacted the Ordinance of 1785, which established an orderly settlement pattern, and subsequently the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which called for the creation of new states therein.

Statehood

      Ohio achieved statehood in 1803, the first state to be formed entirely from the public domain. From the outset it was socially diversified. It was a theatre of war in 1812–13; Oliver Hazard Perry's victory over a British fleet on Lake Erie helped clear the area of its last threat from Indians and their British suppliers. Population swelled, aided by a newly developed network of canals, roads, and railroads. By 1850 Ohio was the third most populous state in the nation, with nearly 2,000,000 residents, and the leader in diversified agriculture.

Economic growth

      Ohio's industrial structure was built between 1850 and 1880, when the value of its manufacturing grew to more than twice that of agriculture. A major stimulus was provided by the American Civil War (1861–65), in which Ohio supported the North, though there was strong antiwar sentiment in the state. After the war the growth continued, notably in the northeast and around Lake Erie. This growth led to considerable economic and social dislocation. After 1900 much attention was given to municipal reforms in Cleveland, Toledo, and other cities and to statewide programs that attempted to alleviate problems caused by industrialization. In 1920 two Ohioans, Warren G. Harding and James M. Cox, faced one another for the presidency, and Ohio has continued to play a pivotal role in national political life.

      Ohio reflected the racial strife that was widespread in the United States in the 1960s, when disorders in the predominantly black Hough and Glenville districts of Cleveland took a number of lives. In 1968 Carl B. Stokes (Stokes, Carl) became Cleveland's mayor—the first black mayor of a large U.S. city. In May 1970 four students were killed by national guardsmen, who had been called out as a result of demonstrations at Kent State University, near Akron.

      In the late 1970s Cleveland experienced severe economic problems that included the city's default on its debts. Although these difficulties were resolved, changing national and global economic conditions continued to hamper Cleveland and the state. Since the 1970s, therefore, Ohio has shifted away from manufacturing and more toward a service-oriented economy.

Francis R. Aumann George W. Knepper

Additional Reading

Introductions to the state may be found in Allen G. Noble and Albert J. Korsok, Ohio (1975); and Writers' Program, The Ohio Guide (1940, reprinted 1979), still a useful overview. Ohio Magazine (monthly) includes articles on the state's people, politics, agriculture, social issues, and history. Charles W. Collins, Ohio: An Atlas (1974); and DeLorme Mapping Company, Ohio Atlas & Gazeteer, 5th ed. (1999), provide thematic and topographic maps. Michael B. Lafferty (ed.), Ohio's Natural Heritage (1979), describes the state's natural history. Sources on the people, economy, and government include Raymond Boryczka and Lorin Lee Cary, No Strength Without Union: An Illustrated History of Ohio Workers, 1803–1980 (1982); and Andrew R.L. Cayton, The Frontier Republic: Ideology and Politics in the Ohio Country, 1780–1825 (1986). Ohio's history is detailed in Carl Wittke (ed.), The History of the State of Ohio, 6 vol. (1941–44, reprinted 1968); Eugene H. Roseboom and Francis P. Weisenburger, A History of Ohio, 2nd ed. (1967, reissued 1986); and Walter Havighurst, Ohio: A Bicentennial History (1976). Highly readable accounts of various aspects of Ohio history may be found in Harlan Hatcher, The Buckeye Country: A Pageant of Ohio, rev. ed. (1947), and The Western Reserve: The Story of New Connecticut in Ohio, rev. ed. (1966); George W. Knepper, An Ohio Portrait (1976); and David A. Gerber, Black Ohio and the Color Line, 1860–1915 (1976). Ohio History (semiannual), presents articles on a variety of historical subjects.George W. Knepper Ed.

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