Indiana (State) – Beloved Planet (original) (raw)

Indiana is a state in the Midwestern United States, bordering Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, and Michigan. The capital and largest city is Indianapolis. The state is known for its rural landscapes, industry, and major sporting events such as the famous Indy 500 auto race. Indiana’s economy is based on manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, and education. The state also has a diverse cultural heritage, with a rich history that can be traced from Native Americans to modern innovations.

History

Even before the arrival of Europeans, the area of present-day Indiana was inhabited from 8,000 BC by Native American tribes, which confirms the state’s current name. It was formed in the 1760s and meant “land of Indians”, and from 1800 began to be used officially. The population of these lands was quite numerous and diverse. They included the Iroquois, a confederation of several Huron tribes, the Miami, the Kickapoo, whose name presumably means “standing here and there,” the Delaware, and others. Before the arrival of Europeans, around VIII-XVI centuries. here flourished the so-called Mississippian culture, for multinational manifestations of which was characterized by one common feature – all its representatives were excellent builders of mounds used for housing, burial and ritual purposes. There was an active trade among the tribes, and echoes of this dynamic life are still echoed in the state’s motto today. And its location among the states of the northeastern center hints at its transit importance during the era of American exploration.

Indiana has the shape of a fairly regular rectangle. On all four sides of the world it is surrounded by other states. Thus, from the north, the border runs partly along one of the Great Lakes – Michigan – and further along the state of the same name. To the east adjoins Ohio, and along the Ohio River to the south runs the ornate border with Kentucky, which breaks the “rectangularity”. To the west stretches Illinois. The territory of Indiana is not distinguished by special altitude (on average it is 230 m), it is divided into three parts: northern lake, central plain and southern hilly, formed by the Cumberland Plateau, passing on the territory of the eastern states in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The highest point of Indiana is considered to be Hoosier Hill (383 m) near the eastern border of the state. Moreover, this hill is located in the forest on the territory of private lands. At one time, local residents were seriously concerned that the growing landfill in the vicinity threatened to overtake Hoosier Hill in height, so the question of its closure was decided at a fairly high level.

The predominantly flat landscape was formed by the glacier that once covered this part of the North American platform, and it also saturated the local soils with glacial sand, gravel, and clay. In general, taking into account the temperate climate, there are excellent conditions for the development of agriculture, for the needs of which about 3/4 of the territory is allocated in the state. In the upper layers of the North American platform there are marine and continental ancient layers of sediments, whose age dates back to the Carboniferous and Permian periods.

It is no coincidence that the state turned out to be quite rich in minerals, in particular, coal and oil, and just east of Indiana, on the territory of neighboring states, generally lies the Predappalachian oil and gas basin, formed at the junction of the North American Platform with the Appalachian fold system. Since the middle of the XIX century the iron and steel industry has been rapidly developing in the USA: Indiana is a part of the Central-Western metallurgical center with its “capital” in Chicago and in general belongs to the states of the “Rust Belt” of America (as the developed industrial states of this part of the country, where the post-industrial crisis occurred after the 1970s). The richest deposits of natural stone have brought Indiana to one of the leading positions in the production of facing and walling materials, as well as gypsum products, the largest supplier of which is the United States. All these riches, of course, were not even suspected by the French who came here in 1679.

The French caught the local Indian tribes in a state of hostility. As the British arrived here, the Iroquois tribes colluded with the aliens. Receiving guns from them, they used them against other tribes, whom they drove off, assimilated, or made tribute. These internal wars (1640-1701) were known as the “Beaver Wars” as the Indians drove out the beaver population, whose fur was valued by the aliens and was an important part of the trade. The French were supported by members of some other tribes, and gradually the Indian wars became more and more a confrontation between France and Britain.

The French established the first permanent European settlement here, the town of Vincennes, and the trading outpost of Tassinong (1673). In 1679, French explorer René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle (1643-1687), the first European to sail down the Mississippi, dedicated the entire territory of its basin, called Louisiana, to King Louis XIV. By 1725, the lands of present-day Indiana were incorporated into the colony of New France. At the same time, missionaries tried to convert the Indians to Christianity and maintain an alliance with them. Yet by 1761 the French had almost completely lost their position here, and by the end of the Franco-Indian War (1754-1763), one of the theaters of the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), vast areas had come under British control. True, the Indians, led by Ottawa chief Pontiac (1720-1769), rebelled, but by 1766 their resistance was broken: the British had infected them with smallpox. The Indians won back the right to reservations, and the British continued colonization.

The Indiana Territory was established in 1800, with William Henry Harrison (1773-1841), the future 9th president of the United States, as its governor. And in 1816 the 19th member state Indiana appeared in the union of American states, which played a major role in the Civil War (1861-1865) between the capitalist North and the slaveholding South: it was the first western state to side with the Northerners.

The victory continued the industrial growth of the state, and by the beginning of the XX century Indiana had already declared itself as a center of automobile manufacturing (in Fort Wayne, a factory of large-size cars, in South Bend “Studebaker Corporation” for decades produced equipment for farmers, military and miners, etc.). Another crisis developed during the Great Depression, helped by military and food orders for the World War II front lines. The next industrial crisis came in the 1970s, after which much of the economic structure had to be changed due to the closure of a number of enterprises and high unemployment.

Now

Today’s Indiana is a revitalized multi-sector industrial center. Pharmaceuticals (the largest international company “Eli Lilly”), agriculture and winemaking are developed. The first vineyards appeared here in the XVIII century, and today 25 wineries produce a wide range of quality wines. The energy industry is developing rapidly, with more and more technologies utilizing geothermal, solar and wind energy.

In 2011, the state ranked first in the Midwest and sixth nationally among the best places to do business. Much is being done to create better living conditions for citizens. As a result, according to the first three quarters of 2011, the state’s median income grew by 4.9%. The labor market has slightly increased and the unemployment rate has decreased. Great importance is given to the health of the population: Indiana residents prefer active lifestyles and enjoy hiking around the state. Their interest in publicly available and low-cost sports is supported at the official level: since 1970, for example, national tomahawk throwing competitions have been held. Festivals of trees and gingerbread, pumpkins and crops, foods of all kinds and arts of all kinds will keep you busy in Indiana.

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