OHIO

Some historians have said that the history of the state of Ohio is, in some ways, a microcosm of the history of middle America. Ohio has seen Native American revolts, pioneer migrations, and the gradual transformation of its wilderness into farms, towns, and cities. The transportation systems that eventually traversed the state brought rapid economic growth. The immigrants who peopled Ohio's cities helped make them industrial giants. They brought with them a wealth of skills and experiences that enriched society and made Ohio the prosperous, culturally diverse place it is today. The industrial pollution and urban decay plaguing the state have mirrored problems in the nation as a whole. But Ohio's efforts to keep up with changing economic times have been largely successful in spite of periodic setbacks.

The first European visitors to Ohio were game hunters of French and English extraction. When they began to settle in Ohio in the seventeenth century, they found a number of Native American tribes there, including the Wyandots, the Delawares, the Miamis, and the Shawnees. The hunters soon started bringing in such goods as knives, hatchets, tobacco, and brandy. They exchanged these for the natives' beaver pelts and deerskins. The French and the English competed for the territory of Ohio until the middle of the eighteenth century, when as a result of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the British became the predominant power in northern North America, gaining control over a vast area that included Ohio. They lost some of this territory in the American Revolution (1775–1783).

After the Revolution, Ohio belonged to the United States, becoming part of the Northwest Territory. Future land development in the new Northwest Territory was regulated by the Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. The new territory was defined as the area between western Pennsylvania and the Mississippi River, bounded on the south by the Ohio River and on the north by Canada. When settlers began making their way to the Ohio area, many went by keelboat down the Ohio River. They sought fertile lands and new economic opportunities. The new American nation came into being in 1789, and this set the stage for Ohio's prosperity. The Treaty of Greenville in 1795 pushed Native American tribes out of the territory and further encouraged white settlement in the area. More settlers came from the older eastern colonies after Connecticut ceded the Western Reserve, a tract of land along the southern coast of Lake Erie that now comprises part of northeastern Ohio. By 1803 the area had enough residents to become the seventeenth state of the Union.

A final challenge from the British came with the War of 1812 (1812–1814). Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry (1785–1819) won a decisive battle in the war on Lake Erie, making Great Lakes commerce safe for Americans. Gen. William Henry Harrison (1773–1841) repulsed Indian encroachment at the Battle of Tippecanoe in the Indiana Territory. Large numbers of people migrated to Ohio thereafter, both from the eastern colonies and from abroad. Encouraged by low prices for land, new settlers moved quickly to establish farms and begin towns across the new state.

Ohio needed a better system of ground and water transportation to help its economy grow. The first significant route to cross the breadth of Ohio in the 1830s was the National Road (later to become U.S. route 40). The route stretched from Cumberland, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois. A canal system was created at about the same time, connecting the northern and southern portions of the state. The Ohio and Erie Canal ran from Portsmouth on the Ohio River to Cleveland. The Miami–Erie Canal ran from Cincinnati to Toledo. The canals were not profitable for their owners but proved successful at opening new markets to many farmers.

By the 1840s railroads were beginning to radiate from the population centers, effectively bringing the canal era to an end. The number of railroad tracks in Ohio increased tenfold between 1850 and 1860, though canals were still being constructed in the state. The railroad was crucial to Ohio's economic growth, connecting small towns and urban centers with other cities across the young nation.

Although the railroad brought unprecedented change to Ohio, the state was still primarily agricultural in the mid-nineteenth century. The American Civil War (1861–65), however, increased industrial development, which continued to grow during the rest of the century and beyond. John D. Rockefeller's (1839–1937) Standard Oil Company in Cleveland quickly took control of most of the oil refining and distribution in the nation. The city of Akron became the "rubber capital" after B.F. Goodrich (1841–1888) began manufacturing fire hose. Cincinnati and Dayton also became major manufacturing centers during this time. There was a new wave of immigrants, mostly from southern and eastern Europe, in the 1880s and another in the 1910s. This influx of population brought many potential factory workers to Ohio cities. The advent of labor unions in the 1880s brought some protection to workers against unfair labor practices.

By 1900 Ohio ranked number four in manufacturing. The coal mines in the southeastern part of the state and Great Lakes access to Michigan and later, Minnesota iron ore helped the iron and steel industry to grow in the Cleveland-Youngstown area. By this time Ohio led the nation in the manufacture of machine tools. It ranked second in steel production.

The state's farm population steadily declined after 1900 and cities began to grow, and World War I (1914–1918) greatly contributed to Ohio's industrial growth. The automobile industry stimulated Ohio's rubber, oil, and glass industries in the 1920s.

The Great Depression of the 1930s hit Ohio hard. It caused widespread unemployment and stifled the economy in many ways. Labor unions became stronger during this time, as workers hoped to protect their standard of living by organizing. The United Rubber Workers in Akron grew to a membership of around 70,000 after a series of sit-down strikes at the rubber plants. The United Steelworkers also struck at seven steel plants in Youngstown and greatly increased their membership.

Like much of the nation, Ohio benefited economically from the outbreak of World War II (1939–1945), though the state prospered in part because of its healthy industrial base. The state's economy especially grew through war-time production of trucks, tractors, and airplanes. Highway building and airport construction also increased during this time.

In 1959 the St. Lawrence Seaway provided a major economic boost to Ohio. This important waterway connected Toledo and Cleveland with transatlantic commerce. This period unfortunately also brought widespread pollution of the waters, especially Lake Erie, from the dumping of industrial wastes. The rural population continued to decline, and many middle-class people fled to the suburbs from city centers. They left a legacy of urban ruin that would plague the state for years to come.

In the 1970s Ohio's economy began to lag. By the early 1980s it entered a difficult phase. The state's unemployment rate rose to 14 percent by 1983. Manufacturing jobs were on the decline—down from 39 percent in 1970 to 27 percent in 1982. The high sulfur content in most of Ohio's abundant coal supply made the coal largely unusable because it contributed to atmospheric pollution. The state was eventually forced to borrow from the federal government to pay for the high costs of unemployment benefits.

A boost to Ohio's economy was the Thomas Edison Program, initiated in 1983. The project provided venture capital funds for new companies. It also helped establish conservancy districts for the Miami and Muskingum rivers, and began programs that eventually reversed the pollution of Lake Erie. Another major achievement for the state was the establishment of a new Honda Motor Company auto plant at Marysville near Columbus.

Unemployment in Ohio rose again during the recession of 1992, despite considerable economic progress in the mid-1980s. In 1995 there was a major strike at two General Motors plants in Dayton. This added to the state's economic uncertainty. But manufacturing remained the major economic pillar in Ohio throughout the 1990s. The state manufactured mostly durable goods like motor vehicles and other equipment, and steel. The service industry also became significant in the state. Tourism became one of the important segments of the service market. Ohio farms maintained high levels of production in cattle, pigs, and poultry, as well as tomatoes, soybeans, wheat, and oats. The state ranked fifteenth in net farm income in 1995. Ohio's mineral production was also healthy: coal provided more than one third of the state's energy needs, and Ohio was a national leader in the production of sand and gravel. In 1995 Ohio led the nation in lime production.

OHIO

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