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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Portal:Indiana

Indiana (/ˌɪndiˈænə/ IN-dee-AN) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the south and southeast, and the Wabash River and Illinois to the west. Nicknamed "the Hoosier State", Indiana is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th state on December 11, 1816.

Various indigenous peoples inhabited what would become Indiana for thousands of years, some of whom the U.S. government expelled between 1800 and 1836. Indiana received its name because the state was largely possessed by native tribes even after it was granted statehood. Since then, settlement patterns in Indiana have reflected regional cultural segmentation present in the Eastern United States; the state's northernmost tier was settled primarily by people from New England and New York, Central Indiana by migrants from the Mid-Atlantic states and adjacent Ohio, and Southern Indiana by settlers from the Upland South, particularly Kentucky and Tennessee.

Indiana has a diverse economy with a gross state product of $352.62 billion in 2021. It has several metropolitan areas with populations greater than 100,000 and a number of smaller cities and towns. Indiana is home to professional sports teams, including the NFL's Indianapolis Colts and the NBA's Indiana Pacers. The state also hosts several notable competitive events, such as the Indianapolis 500, held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Full article...)

The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by an organic act that President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1800, to December 11, 1816, when the remaining southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Indiana. The territory originally contained approximately 259,824 square miles (672,940 km) of land, but its size was decreased when it was subdivided to create the Michigan Territory (1805) and the Illinois Territory (1809). The Indiana Territory was the first new territory created from lands of the Northwest Territory, which had been organized under the terms of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. The territorial capital was the settlement around the old French fort of Vincennes on the Wabash River, until transferred to Corydon near the Ohio River in 1813.

William Henry Harrison, the territory's first governor, oversaw treaty negotiations with the Native inhabitants that ceded tribal lands to the U.S. government, opening large parts of the territory to further settlement. In 1809 the U.S. Congress established a bicameral legislative body for the territory that included a popularly-elected House of Representatives and a Legislative Council. In addition, the territorial government began planning for a basic transportation network and education system, but efforts to attain statehood for the territory were delayed due to war. At the outbreak of Tecumseh's War, when the territory was on the front line of battle, Harrison led a military force in the opening hostilities at the Battle of Tippecanoe (1811) and in the subsequent invasion of Canada during the War of 1812. After Harrison resigned as the territorial governor, Thomas Posey was appointed to the vacant governorship, but the opposition party, led by Congressman Jonathan Jennings, dominated territorial affairs in its final years and began pressing for statehood. (Full article...)
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Jonathan Jennings (March 27, 1784 – July 26, 1834) was an American politician who was the first governor of the State of Indiana and a nine-term congressman from Indiana. Born in either Hunterdon County, New Jersey, or Rockbridge County, Virginia, he studied law before migrating to the Indiana Territory in 1806. Jennings initially intended to practice law, but took jobs as an assistant at the federal land office at Vincennes and assistant to the clerk of the territorial legislature to support himself and pursued interests in land speculation and politics. Jennings became involved in a dispute with the territorial governor, William Henry Harrison, that soon led him to enter politics and set the tone for his early political career. In 1808 Jennings moved to the eastern part of the Indiana Territory and settled near Charlestown, in Clark County. He was elected as the Indiana Territory's delegate to the U.S. Congress by dividing the pro-Harrison supporters and running as an anti-Harrison candidate. By 1812, he was the leader of the anti-slavery and pro-statehood faction of the territorial government. Jennings and his political allies took control of the territorial assembly and dominated governmental affairs after the resignation of Governor Harrison in 1812. As a congressional delegate Jennings aided passage of the Enabling Act in 1816, which authorized the organization of Indiana's state government and state constitution. He was elected president of the Indiana constitutional convention, held in Corydon in June 1816, where he helped draft the state's first constitution. Jennings supported the effort to ban slavery in the state and favored a strong legislative branch of government.

In August 1816, Jennings was elected to serve as the first governor of Indiana at age 32, and re-elected for an additional term. He pressed for the construction of roads and schools, and negotiated the Treaty of St. Mary's to open up central Indiana to American settlement. His opponents attacked his participation in the treaty negotiations as unconstitutional and brought impeachment proceedings against him, a measure that was narrowly defeated by a vote of 15 to 13 after a month-long investigation and the resignation of the lieutenant governor. During his second term and following the panic of 1819, Jennings encountered financial problems, a situation exacerbated by his inability to keep up with his business interests and run the state government simultaneously. Ineligible for another term as Indiana governor under the state constitution, Jennings looked for other means of financial support. Shortly before completion of his second term as governor in 1822, Jennings was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, before retiring from public service in 1831. In Congress Jennings promoted federal spending on internal improvements. (Full article...)

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Indiana
CountryUnited States
Admitted to the UnionDecember 11, 1816 (19)
CapitalIndianapolis
Largest cityIndianapolis
Largest metro and urban areasIndianapolis-Carmel MSA
Government
 • GovernorEric Holcomb (R) (2017)
 • Lieutenant GovernorSuzanne Crouch (R) (2017)
LegislatureIndiana General Assembly
 • Upper houseSenate
 • Lower houseHouse of Representatives
U.S. senatorsTodd Young (R)
Mike Braun (R)
Population
 • Total6,080,485
 • Density169.5/sq mi (65.46/km)
Language
 • Official languageEnglish
Latitude37° 46′ N to 41° 46′ N
Longitude84° 47′ W to 88° 6′ W

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  1. ^ "Elevations and Distances in the United States". U.S Geological Survey. 29 April 2005. Retrieved 2006-11-06.