IOWA 



3040 



IOWA 



Years as a Territory. When Louisiana was 

 made a state in 1812, Iowa became a part of 

 Missouri Territory, and when Missouri was 

 created in 1821, it formed part, in turn, of the 

 territories of Michigan and of Wisconsin, and 

 only on the admission of Wisconsin in 1838 

 was it organized as a separate Territory. In 

 the meantime, pioneers had pressed into the 

 state, attracted either by the lead mines or 

 by the stretches of farm land; and Fort Madi- 

 son, Burlington and Dubuque had been 

 founded. By 1840 the territory had a popula- 

 tion of more than 43,000, and the question of 

 statehood came prominently to the fore. The 

 measure was defeated in that year and again 

 two years later, but in 1844 it was passed, and 

 a constitutional convention was assembled. 

 Even then progress was slow, for two constitu- 

 tions were drawn up and rejected, and Congress 

 caused delay because of the boundary question. 

 Iowa in those days included much of the 

 present state of Minnesota, but when it was 

 finally admitted to the Union on December 28, 

 1846, it was restricted to its present boundaries. 



Progress as a State. The year 1857 was a 

 memorable one in the history of the new state. 

 The constitution was revised, to confer upon 

 negroes the right of suffrage; the capital was 

 removed from Burlington to Des Moines, and 

 there took place at Spirit Lake, in the north- 

 western part of the state, a brutal massacre of 

 the white settlers by the Siou\ Indians. It 

 was feared that this disaster might frighten 

 away immigrants, but it had no such effect, 

 and the state progressed rapidly. There had 

 been from the first no question as to the posi- 

 tion of Iowa on the slavery question, and it 

 did its full share to aid the northern cause 

 during the War of Secession. 



Immediately following the war, there came a 

 period of rapid railway-building, and legislative 

 questions relating to railroads became of ever- 

 increasing importance. A board of commission- 

 ers whose duty was the standardizing of rail- 

 way rates was created in 1873, as a result of a 

 crusade against over-high charges undertaken 

 by the Grange, but the question was far from 

 settled by this legislation. The subject of 

 prohibition, too, has been almost constantly 

 before the public (see subhead Government, 

 above). 



From the date of its admission to the Union 

 until 1854 Iowa was Democratic, but from the 

 latter date it has been consistently Republican, 

 only one Democratic governor holding office 

 in all that time. In 1912 and in 1916 the state 



cast its vote for Wilson as President, but 

 elected a Republican governor each time. 



Other Items of Interest. Many of the lakes 

 of Iowa are called walled lakes, because they 

 are bordered by rock embankments which look 

 remarkably like man-made walls. The boulders 

 forming these have been pushed up on the 

 shore by water and ice. 



Iowa was the first non-slave state to be 

 formed of the Louisiana Purchase territory. 



It is estimated that the soil of Iowa is worth 

 as much as all the silver and gold mines in 

 the world. Over large areas the rich black 

 soil is hundreds of feet deep. 



Names reminiscent of the Indian occupation 

 are numerous. Of its ninety-nine counties, 

 about one-fourth have Indian names, and such 

 town names as Pocahontas, Cherokee, Sioux 

 City, Seneca and Muscatine clearly have a like 

 origin. 



Most of the states have a smaller wooded 

 area now than when the first settlers entered 

 them, but in Iowa the reverse is true. The 

 forest area was originally very limited, but 

 much attention has been given to the planting 

 of trees of all kinds, and to-day fine groves 

 are to be seen in many localities. A.MC c. 



Consult Shaw's Iowa, in the American Com- 

 monwealth Series ; Chandler's Iowa and the Na- 

 tion; McFee's Story of Iowa. 



Related Subjects. The following articles in 

 these volumes contain much that is of interest in 

 connection with a study of Iowa: 



Boone 

 Burlington 

 Cedar Rapids 

 Clinton 

 Council Bluffs 

 Davenport 

 Des Moines 

 Dubuque 

 Fort Dodge 

 Fort Madison 



Amana 



Fox (Indians) 



Grange 



Iowa (Indians) 



Iowa City 

 Keokuk 

 " Marshalltown 

 Mason City 

 Muscatine 

 Oskaloosa 

 Ottumwa 

 Sioux City 

 Waterloo 



HISTORY 



Louisiana Purchase 



Sac 



Sioux 



PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES 



Apple 



Cattle 



Corn 



Dairying 



Egg 



Gypsum 



Mississippi 



Hay 



Hog 



Meat and Meat Packing 



Oats 



Poultry 



Wheat 



RIVERS 



Missouri 



