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HISTORY AND CEOGRAPHY
OF OHIO
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
Pauline Gleesoncidaw
Our Presidents-A Memory Rhyme
By Isabel Ambler Gilman
EDEROR'S NOTE: Mrs. Gilman writes us that this memory rhyme has helped hundreds of eighth grade pu- pils to pass their history examinations. It was included in the author's book of verse entitled "Echoes from the Grange," published in 1906. Since then it has been brought up to date.
First on the list is Washington, Virginia's proudest name;
John Adams next, the Federalist, from Massa- chusetts came; Three sons of old Virginia into the White House go-
'Twas Jefferson, and Madison, and then came James Monroe.
Massachusetts for one term sent Adams call- ed John Q.,
And Tennessee a Democrat, brave Jackson staunch and true.
Martin Van Buren of New York, and Harri- son we see,
And Tyler of Virginia, and Polk of Tennessee.
Louisiana Taylor sent; New York Millard Fillmore;
New Hampshire gave us Franklin Pierce; when his term was o'er
The Keystone state Buchanan sent. War thunders shook the realm,
Abe Lincoln wore a n martyr's crown, and Johnson took the helm.
Then U. S. Grant of Illinois who ruled with sword and pen;
And Hayes, and Garfield who was shot, two noble Buckeye men.
Chester Arthur from New York, and Grover Cleveland came; Ben Harrison served just four years, then Cleveland ruled again.
McKinley-shot at Buffalo-the nation plung- ed in grief,
And "Teddy" Roosevelt of New York served seven years as chief.
Taft of Ohio followed him. Then Woodrow Wilson came ---
New Jersey's learned Democrat; war set the world aflame;
And when the tide of strife and hate its bane- ful course had run,
The country went Republican and Warren Harding won. No duty would he shirk,-he died while on a western trip; Coolidge of Massachusetts then assumed the leadership.
rover
Truman
"THESE ARE MY JEWELS"
The famous words of the Roman matron, Cornelia, are inscribed on this statue which stands near the northwest corner of the State House at Columbus. Below the heroic figure of Cornelia are statues of seven of Ohio's illustrious sons-Sherman, Grant, Sheridan, Stanton, Garfield, Hayes, and Chase
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF OHIO
BY
WILLIAM M. GREGORY
HEAD OF THE GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT, CLEVELAND SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
AND
WILLIAM B. GUITTEAU DIRECTOR OF SCHOOLS, TOLEDO, OHIO
ABCD EFGH IJKL MN &
THE
PRESS
ATHENEUM
GINN AND COMPANY BOSTON . NEW YORK . CHICAGO . LONDON ATLANTA . DALLAS . COLUMBUS . SAN FRANCISCO
COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY GINN AND COMPANY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
422.7
The Athenaum Press GINN AND COMPANY · PRO- PRIETORS · BOSTON · U.S.A.
CONTENTS
PAGE I
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER
I. THE NORTHWEST UNDER THREE FLAGS (1760-1802) 5 Problems. Why the English were more successful than the French as colonists. Why the conflict between France and Great Britain began in the Ohio Valley. How the triumph of the British in the Seven Years' War affected the future of North America. How the victories of George Rogers Clark influenced the western boundary of the new nation. How the creation of a public domain helped de- velop the Northwest. How the Ordinance of 1787 influenced the creation of new states. How the first settlements in Ohio were made. How the Indian power in Ohio was broken. Why the westward movement steadily increased.
II. THE MAKING OF A GREAT STATE (1803-1850)
36
Problems. How Ohio became a state in the Union. How the steam- boat helped develop the West. Why Ohio was an important theater of the War of 1812. How the War of 1812 promoted the westward movement. Why canals and railroads were necessary to Ohio's de- velopment. How Michigan attempted to annex Toledo and Maumee Bay. How Ohio helped elect the first Ohio President. How Ohio aided in the Mexican War.
III. SEVENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS (1851-1921)
57
Problems. How public sentiment in Ohio was aroused against slav- ery. How the anti-slavery men in Ohio showed their opposition to slavery. How Ohio helped win the war for the Union. How Ohio's common-school system was established. How the people of Ohio provided for higher education. Why Ohio became a great industrial state. What Ohio men did in the Spanish-American War and in the Philippines. Who are Ohio's most famous soldiers and statesmen. What sons of Ohio have won fame in science, art, and literature. How the women of Ohio have aided the progress of the state. How Ohio helped win the World War.
IV. SURFACE FEATURES
94
Problems. To learn something of the rocks and soils of Ohio. To study the surface features of the region in which you live. To under- stand the two parts of the Allegheny Plateau in Ohio. To learn about the origin and surface of the Lake Plain. To learn about the surface features of the Central Plain, the largest and most impor- tant region of Ohio.
>
vi HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF OHIO
CHAPTER
PAGE
V. WEATHER AND CLIMATE
109
Problems. Why people are interested in weather changes. How the Weather Bureau makes observations and issues weather forecasts. How climate is determined by three chief factors. How the posi- tion of the sun affects the temperature of Ohio. How changes in temperature affect farming and other occupations. How rainfall in- fluences Ohio's agriculture. How Ohio is guarding against floods. How winds affect our daily weather.
VI. AGRICULTURE
Problems. How the early settlers met the conditions of pioneer life. How agriculture in Ohio was influenced by the older regions from which the settlers came. How agriculture has been influenced by the physical features of Ohio. How agriculture has been aided by labor- saving machinery. How manufacturing became Ohio's leading in- dustry instead of agriculture. How far Ohio agriculture aids in providing the nation's food supply.
I2I
VII. MINE AND QUARRY PRODUCTS 150
Problems. How the presence of coal aided the development of Ohio's industries. How the waste of natural gas proved an indus- trial loss to the state. How Ohio's oil wells have created numerous industries. How Ohio's clay products have made this state a lead- ing producer of building materials and pottery. How Ohio's quar- ries supply many valuable building materials.
VIII. MANUFACTURING 169
Problems. How the pioneer home met its need for food and cloth- ing. How division of labor was introduced. How factories took the place of home industries. How natural resources and water trans- portation determined the location of Ohio's industrial centers. How the use of machinery brought about Ohio's great industrial develop- ment. How coal and iron ore determined the location of Ohio's iron and steel industry. How diversity of manufactures has given Ohio its rank as the fifth manufacturing state.
IX. TRANSPORTATION
195
Problems. How the early trading posts developed into commercial centers. How Ohio's roads were built. How the roads aided the settlement of Ohio. How the steamboat aided western trade. How canal construction aided the development of Ohio. How the lake ports became important shipping centers. How the railroads have promoted Ohio's industrial development. How automobile trans- portation supplements the railroads.
X. THE COUNTIES OF OHIO 219
FACTS AND FIGURES 255
INDEX 275
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF OHIO
INTRODUCTION
WHY WE STUDY OHIO
"God sifted a whole nation that he might send choice grain into the wilderness," said William Stoughton in 1688. The grim old Puritan was speaking of the early founders of New England ; but his statement is equally true of the New England men who founded Marietta, Ohio, just one hundred years later. The second Mayflower which bore Putnam's band down the Ohio River in 1788 was freighted with the fortunes of the great Northwest. None but the daring and the enterprising attempted to cross the Alleghenies in those early days, and none but the physically strong reached the Ohio.
To Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, as well as to New England, early Ohio was indebted for her noble pioneers. They were men and women strongly devoted to liberty, edu- cation, and religion; they were industrious and courageous, rugged and sturdy ; they were pioneers who came to Ohio not to make fortunes, but to make homes. On Ohio soil these men from New England, the Middle States, and the South first met, fraternized, and united to form one people. Thus the original Ohioan was a composite of the best there was in Ameri- can blood and training. All the streams of national tendencies were here united to form the commonwealth of Ohio. The state became great because in her history and institutions the characters of New England, Virginia, and Pennsylvania were plainly written.
I
2
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF OHIO
Nature as well as man contributed to make Ohio's greatness. With the great waterway of Lake Erie on her northern border, and the Ohio River on her eastern and southern boundary, Ohio offered a wonderful system of transportation to her settlers. With natural resources in soil, mine, and forest unsurpassed and probably unequaled by any other commonwealth, Ohio was bountifully endowed with nature's gifts. Situated midway between the Atlantic States and those farther west, Ohio lay directly in the path of the westward movement; and she reaped its benefits as the natural gateway to the great West.
If you look at a map of the United States, you will see that Ohio is one of the smaller states in area, with a land surface of 40,740 square miles. The state is nearly square; the longest east-and-west line that can be drawn within its limits is 210 miles, the longest north-and-south line is 225 miles. But although the thirty-fifth state of the Union in area, Ohio ranks fourth in population and in wealth, being surpassed only by New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.
Ohio has made much of our nation's history. Within her Valley was begun the great contest between France and Eng- land, with the continents of North America and Asia as the stakes of the war. From that day to the present, the history of Ohio is the history of the United States. The Revolution, the westward movement, the War of 1812, the slavery dispute, the establishment of free schools, the struggle for the Union,- who can tell the story of these events without narrating the history of Ohio ?
In every war we have fought, in every place of danger where battleflags were unfurled, Ohio men have been present to an- swer their country's call; and Ohio blood has been shed on every battlefield where the supreme sacrifice was required. In time of peace as in war, the influence of Ohio has been always manifest, often dominant, and has helped to write every page of our political and social history.
Ohio has been called the Mother of Presidents, for seven of our chief executives were born within her borders. Ohio is also the Mother of States. She has contributed more of her
3
WHY WE STUDY OHIO
native-born children to the building of other commonwealths than any other state except New York; and in proportion to population, even more than the Empire State. Over one mil- lion sons and daughters of Ohio are today living in other parts of the United States. And while Ohio has been making this great contribution to our national expansion, her own popu- lation has increased more than a hundredfold, from 45,000 people in 1803 to 5,759,394 in 1920.
Patriotism, the greatest of our national ideals, comprehends all the rest.
O beautiful and grand, My own, my Native Land ! Of thee I boast : Great Empire of the West, The dearest and the best, Made up of all the rest, I love thee most.
ABRAHAM COLES, "My Native Land"
Love of country is indeed a sentiment common to all peoples and to all ages ; but no land has ever been dearer to its people than our own Ohio. No state has a history more inspiring, no state has institutions more deserving of patriotic love. Ohio stands for democracy, for liberty under the law. Ohio stands for the heroic courage and self-reliance of her early pioneers, for the equality of opportunity which led her canal-boat boy to the presidency. Ohio stands for the great system of free public schools, for service and self-sacrifice in the cause of humanity. Always, and above all else, Ohio stands for loyalty to the Union of States. When you salute the flag of the Republic, you should resolve that your own life will be dedicated to these Ohio ideals, which are likewise the ideals of America. You should remem- ber that he is the truest American patriot, and the best son of Ohio, who understands the meaning of these ideals, and who pledges his own life to their realization.
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CHAPTER I THE NORTHWEST UNDER THREE FLAGS (1760-1802)
Problem I. Why the English were more successful than the French as colonists
Discovery of the Ohio and the Mississippi. Ohio takes its name from the Iroquois word Ohion-hiió, meaning "beautiful river." The first white man to visit Ohio may have been the great French explorer, La Salle. Many historians, including the great Parkman, accept La Salle's own statement that he made a voyage to the Ohio in 1670 and descended the river as far as the rapids at Louisville.
La Salle did not continue on to the Mississippi, and the honor of this discovery belongs to two other French explorers, Father Marquette and Louis Joliet. Father Marquette was a Jesuit priest living on the straits of Mackinac. He was told by the Indians of a great river toward the west ; he determined to discover this river and hoped to convert the natives to Chris- tianity. In company with Louis Joliet, a fur-trader, he set out in 1673 on one of the greatest explorations in history. In two canoes the little party of seven men crossed Lake Michigan to Green Bay, entered the Fox River, dragged their canoes over the portage to the waters of the Wisconsin, and finally reached the Mississippi. They followed its course to the mouth of the Arkansas, then returned to Canada to report what they had seen.
La Salle claims Louisiana for France. Inspired by Marquette's discovery, the great La Salle determined to explore the wilder- ness through which "The Father of Waters" wound its course. After many mishaps this intrepid explorer reached the mouth of the Mississippi in 1682 (Fig. 2). He had reached that river by way of Lake Michigan, the Chicago portage, and the Illinois River. La Salle took formal possession of all the vast basin
5
6
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF OHIO
drained by the Mississippi, naming the newly discovered country Louisiana in honor of Louis XIV, king of France.
In this way Ohio became part of Louisiana, the vast western domain claimed by France in North America. The French possessions in North America included not only Louisiana, but also the entire St. Law- rence Valley, the region explored by such great French pathfinders as Cartier, Champlain, and La Salle. It was a vast empire, held together by a chain of rude forts and trading stations stretching from Quebec at the north along the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes, thence down the Mississippi to the fort at New Orleans.
English settlements in North America. France £ had, however, a rival to dispute her claims to the 50 heart of the continent. FIG 2. La Salle and his followers at the mouth of the Mississippi The close of the seven- teenth century found the English colonies firmly established along the Atlantic coast. The Appalachian barrier marked the limits of their westward growth, but England claimed the entire region westward to the Pacific Ocean. Ignoring the French title, the king of England granted a charter to Virginia extending "from sea to sea," right across the Louisiana territory claimed by France.
The struggle for a continent. Soon the great struggle began, to determine whether France or England should possess the in- terior of the continent. By right of discovery and exploration,
7
THE NORTHWEST UNDER THREE FLAGS
France had the better claim (Fig. 1). However, few of her people came to dwell in the wide domain opened up by the French explorers, and the few who came usually preferred the fur trade to the difficult work of farming. But the Englishman came with his family to establish a permanent home in the New World. Having settled the narrow strip of land between the Atlantic coast and the Appalachians, the English wanted more room in the center of the continent over which their growing colonies might expand.
The issue between the rival nations was decided in a long series of hard-fought wars. These wars extended over a period of nearly a century (1689-1763), with about thirty years of actual fighting. The final conflict, called the Seven Years' War, lasted from 1756 to 1763. It began with a struggle for the possession of the Ohio Valley, but it became a world-wide con- test on land and sea, with battles in Europe and Asia as well as in North America.
Problem II. Why the conflict between France and Great Britain began in the Ohio Valley
The contest for the Ohio Valley. The beginning of the Seven Years' War found the French in possession of the Ohio Valley, with trading posts on the Maumee, Sandusky, and Cuyahoga rivers. However, English fur-traders were invading this region, carrying on a profitable trade with the Indians and winning their friendship. The French determined to build a chain of forts extending from the shores of Lake Erie to the Ohio River, so as to form a barrier against this westward movement of the English. In 1749 the governor of Canada sent Céloron de Bienville with a small company into the upper Ohio Valley; they were to warn all intruders that this region was claimed by France. On reaching Lake Erie the explorers carried their canoes overland to Chautauqua Lake, and from this point passed down the Allegheny River to the Ohio. Wherever they saw English traders they warned them to leave the country. The Frenchmen passed down the Ohio River until they came
8
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF OHIO
to the Great Miami, then descended the Maumee River to Lake Erie and reached Montreal after a journey of 3000 miles.
In the same year that the French were exploring the Ohio Valley, some Virginians determined to plant a settlement there. The Ohio Company, as their organization was called, secured from the king the grant of 500,000 acres of land on the south side of the Ohio, between the Monongahela and the Kanawha rivers. Chris- topher Gist, a fur-trader, was sent to explore the country and select lands for the company. The French were alarmed at this preparation for settle- ment in the territory claimed by them. Unless FIG. 3. Pontiac, chief of the Ottawa Indians they could keep control of the Ohio River, their com- munication with Louisiana Pontiac was born about 1720 on the Maumee River near the mouth of the Auglaize. He is said to have led the Ottawa Indians as an ally of the French in the defeat of Braddock's army. After the surrender of the French pos- sessions in North America (1763), he united the Indian tribes of the Northwest in a con- federacy which for a time threatened the ex- termination of all the settlements west of the Alleghenies through the center of the continent would be de- stroyed and their posses- sions cut in two. The governor of Canada, Mar- quis Duquesne, was in- structed to build forts
along the Allegheny and Ohio rivers, so as to connect the St. Lawrence settlements with the Mississippi. Governor Duquesne sent out an armed expedition which landed at Presque Isle on the southern shore of Lake Erie, where the city of Erie now stands. Fort Le Bœuf was built on a northern tributary of the Allegheny, and Fort Venango farther toward the south.
9
THE NORTHWEST UNDER THREE FLAGS
Problem III. How the triumph of the British in the Seven Years' War affected the future of North America
The Seven Years' War. The French built a strong fort at the point where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers Z Hudson Bay unite to form the Ohio. MissisPP. R. CD This was named Fort AAN CE Duquesne, and it was UNKN ENGLAND here that the British and colonial troops, under O P 0 General Braddock, met their first great defeat CUBA HAITI in the Seven Years' War (Fig. 3). The French continued to win vic- tories during the next two years. Their famous general, the Marquis de 10 Montcalm, took Fort William Henry at the 8 Bay ENGLAND southern end of Lake Mississippi R. George and captured Oswego. In this hour of UNKNOWN Hudson gloom England turned S to the man who was to no give her victories in CUBA 2 place of defeat. William HAITI Pitt was made prime minister, and under his direction Great Britain sent large armies and FIG. 4. North America before and after the French and Indian War fleets to North America. Pitt was not content merely to fight a defensive war; he was determined to drive the French from the entire continent.
IO
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF OHIO
The British soon recaptured Fort Duquesne and named it Fort Pitt; they seized the fortress of Louisburg, which guarded the entrance to the St. Lawrence; and finally the brave General Wolfe led his army to a great victory before the walls of Quebec (1759). The surrender of this stronghold, and of Montreal in the following year, completed the defeat of the French. By the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1763, France ceded to Great Britain not only Canada, but all of the disputed ter- ritory between the Appalachians and the Mississippi (Fig. 4). At the same time, France made a secret agreement with Spain by which she gave her New Orleans, together with all the territory known as Louisiana stretching westward from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains.
Results of the war. The Treaty of Paris left Great Britain the greatest of maritime and colonial powers. Portugal and Holland, her earlier rivals, had long since fallen hopelessly be- hind, and by this treaty France and Spain were swept from her path. Great Britain was now mistress of the seas, and all the world was open to her merchants, explorers, and colonists. To the English colonists the treaty meant that the whole interior of the continent was thrown open to the growing population which had been confined to the Atlantic side of the Appalachian barrier. It meant, too, the removal of the menace of French power toward the north, leaving the colonies less dependent upon Great Britain for defense against a common foe. It was settled that Anglo-Saxon ideals and institutions were to prevail throughout North America, and to the colonists this was the most important result of the war. The government of New France was a despotic and paternal government, with all of its powers proceeding from the king. There was no trial by jury, there were no town meetings, no representative assemblies to help make the laws. Had France won the war, her system of colonial government would have been extended over the greater part of the continent. It would have been impossible for the English colonists, in their narrow space along the Atlantic coast, to develop into the great nation of today whose ideals have always been those of liberty and self-government.
II
THE NORTHWEST UNDER THREE FLAGS
Problem IV. How the victories of George Rogers Clark influenced the western boundary of the new nation
The American Revolution. The liberty-loving colonists who came to America were not content to remain under the perma- nent rule of Great Britain. The American Revolution began in 1775; it was a war for self-government, which soon became a war for independence. One of the grievances cited in the Declaration of Independence was the fact that Great Britain had annexed the territory west of the Appalachians to the province of Quebec.
Throughout the Revolution the fierce Iroquois tribes in the valley of the Mohawk fought on the side of the British, and terrible was the warfare of these savage allies. Many a sturdy frontiersman had shouldered his musket to join Washington's army, leaving the pioneer settlements almost defenseless. In- dians and Loyalists now united in savage raids on the unpro- tected frontier. The British commander at Detroit, Sir Henry Hamilton, made every effort to unite all the western tribes in a general attack upon our frontier. If the American pioneers could be driven east of the Alleghenies, the vast region between the mountains and the Mississippi would be saved to the British crown.
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