Ohio

Ohio joined the Union as the seventeenth state on March 1, 1803. Nicknamed the Buckeye State, Ohio lies in the eastern portion of the northcentral United States and is bordered by Pennsylvania , West Virginia , Kentucky , Indiana , Michigan , Canada, and Lake Erie.

The European exploration of Ohio began with French nobleman René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle (1643–1687) in 1669. At that time, four Native American tribes lived in the area: the Wyandot, Delaware, Miami, and Shawnee.

The French and the English both claimed ownership of Ohio. This conflict led to the French and Indian War (1754–63), which ended in victory for the British. The first permanent settlement was Marietta, established in 1788 by veterans of the American Revolution (1775–83).

Ohio reflected the nation's stance on slavery in 1861: the northern region of the state opposed slavery while the southern [region supported it. Ohio sent 320,000 Union Army volunteers to fight in the American Civil War (1861–65). The Union's most respected generals—Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), William Sherman (1820–1891), and Philip H. Sheridan (1831–1888)—came from Ohio.

Industry and population

Ohio's manufacturing industries flourished due to war demands, and soon industrial revenues surpassed those of agriculture. The city of Cleveland became home to the Standard Oil Company of John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937) in the 1870s, and Akron was the site of the B.F. Goodrich tire company, which made the city the “rubber capital of the world.” Automobile production further developed the oil, rubber, and glass industries throughout the 1920s, but Ohio suffered along with the rest of the nation in the 1930s through the Great Depression (1929–41). As happened across the country, the economy in Ohio prospered during the years following World War II (1939–45).

Cleveland elected the first African American mayor in U.S. history when it put Carl B. Stokes (1927–1996) in office in 1967. This caused a great deal of tension and unrest in a city already plagued by controversial attempts at integration (the mixing of races). On May 4, 1970, the nation fell into disbelief when thirteen students at Kent State University were shot by the National Guard during a protest against America's involvement in the Vietnam War (1954–75). Four students died as a result of the Kent State shooting .

The 1980s found Ohio turbulent with economic and social upheaval. Unemployment was high, pollution was a major concern due to the heavy industry of the state, and neighborhoods were deteriorating. By the end of the twentieth century, Ohio had begun addressing these and other concerns through federally funded programs and local social services.

Nearly 11.5 million people lived in Ohio in 2006. Whites made up 84.3 percent of the population, African Americans accounted for 11.5 percent, and Hispanics or Latinos comprised another 2.3 percent. Columbus was the largest city, with Cleveland coming in second.

Manufacturing remained the state's primary industry in the early twenty-first century, with transportation equipment and industrial machinery employing the greatest number of people. Ohio was the nation's leader in machine-tool manufacturing and the second-leading producer of steel. Despite the emphasis on industry, agriculture continued to be an important economic sector. Grain was a primary crop, and large cattle and hog farm operations were found in the northern-central and western parts of the state.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the Center of Science and Industry, amusement parks, and numerous state parks and beaches attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.