The 19th state admitted to the US was Indiana on December 11th, 1816. The name "Indiana" stands for the Land of the Indians even though less than 8,000 Native Americans live there. Most of the country's popcorn (90%) comes from Indiana. The town Santa Claus, Indiana is where letters to Santa Claus are both sent and replied from every year. The world's "Largest Christmas Tree" was and still is from Indiana (since 1962). It is said that baseball was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana too. The capital of Indiana is Indianapolis, the state tree is the Tulip Tree, the state flower is the Peony, and the state bird is the Northern Cardinal.
Indigenous people first inhabited Indiana around 8000 BC. The major tribes included the Miami, Shawnee, and Illinois. Refugees from other nations like the Lenape, Wea, and Piankashaw also lived in this area. They spoke Algonquian primarily, and they hunted, trapped, and traded meats, furs, metals, and cooking gear, among other things. The Miami villages had many large extended family groups they called "clans". Each village government had a men's and women's council with a civil chief. They also had war leaders during conflict. In the mid 1600's, a conflict known as the Beaver Wars caused most Indigenous Native inhabitants to have to flee what would become the state of Indiana. They fought over trade and hunting territory. The conflict ended in the late 1690's/early 1700's. By the 1780's the Lenape and Shawnee tribes built prominent villages in what was going to become Indiana. By the end of the American Revolution, they were forced westward to settle in the river valley. From 1830 to 1845, all Indigenous peoples were forcibly removed from all Indiana territories. USA Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830. The Potawatomi Village was removed in 1838 along the "Potawatomi Trail of Death" where 40 Natives died. Today, many tribal nations thrive on the land that they were once removed from.
The first European (France) settler, René-Robert Cavelier, came to Indiana in 1679 to claim territory for the King Louis the XIV of France. The Miami Natives enjoyed the tools they were introduced to by the Europeans; however, they also brought diseases that spread and took out many Indigenous tribes. The French set up Outposts and Trading Companies, and the first fort, Fort Miami, was built around 1715. More forts and some churches were constructed and there was an early population of 300 people, making it the largest French town and oldest settled town in Indiana. In 1755, the English and French fought in a war with Natives who fought on both sides. The French and Indian War ended in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris that divided the land and gave England control of what became Indiana. The English Parliament taxed the colonists in America, and in 1775 the American Revolution took place and finally ended with the signing of the Declaration of Independence on the 4th of July in 1776. Indiana became highly populated, and the census reported 63,000 adults living there, which was way above the number needed for statehood. In 1816, Jonathan Jennings petitioned Congress for an enabling act to start a legal procedure to help Indiana become a state. It had to be passed by the approval of Congress, who decided Indiana could not become a state without a constitution. A constitutional convention was called so one could be written, and it was then that Indiana declared itself free of slavery. They allowed for the first public school funded by the state, and land set aside for a public university. Once the constitution was completed, Indiana became a state on December 11, 1816. The rest is history!
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