Indiana
Indiana
Brief HISTORY
The name Indiana, or simply “Indian Land,” means “Land of the Indians.” It also has roots in Indiana's colonial past. The Northwest Territory was split into two regions by the United States Congress on May 7, 1800, and the western region was given the name Indiana Territory. When Congress enacted the Enabling Act in 1816 to start the process of Indiana becoming a state, a portion of this territorial territory became the boundaries of the new state.
Hoosiers are people who are from Indiana or who live there. This word's origins are disputed, but the Indiana Historical Bureau and the Indiana Historical Society have put forth the leading view that it originated in the Upland South in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee as a name for a backwoodsman, rough countryman, or country bumpkin.
The Paleo-Indians, who arrived after the glaciers at the end of the Ice Age melted, were the first people to live in what is now Indiana. The Paleo-Indians were nomads who hunted big animals like mastodons in small groups. They chipped, knapped, and flaked chert to make the stone tools.
The following stage of indigenous civilization was spanned by the Archaic era, which started between 5000 and 4000 BC. The people made significant advancements in civilisation by creating new tools and cooking methods. These new instruments came with a variety of knives and spear points with different kinds of notches. They produced ground-stone tools like grinding stones, axes, and implements for working with wood. They constructed earthwork mounds and middens toward the end of the period, indicating that communities were growing more substantial. Although some Archaic people continued to exist until 700 BC, the Archaic period ended around 1500 BC.
The area's historical Native American tribes spoke several Algonquian languages when they first encountered Europeans. The Shawnee, the Miami, and the Illini were among them. Later, they were joined by eastern refugee tribes, like as the Delaware, who made the White and Whitewater River Valleys their home.
Indiana and the American civil war
Indiana had political clout and had a significant impact on national affairs during the American Civil War. Indiana was the first western state to organize for the war, and soldiers from Indiana took part in every significant battle. The state gave the Union 126 infantry regiments, 26 artillery batteries, and 13 cavalry units.
Indiana was given a quota of 7,500 soldiers to enlist in the Union Army in 1861.
In response to the initial call, thousands of volunteers had to be turned away. By the time the war was over, Indiana had given 208,367 soldiers. Over 35% of these men suffered casualties: 24,416 died, and over 50,000 more were injured. The only Civil War conflicts fought in Indiana were the Newburgh Raid, a bloodless capture of the city; and the Battle of Corydon, which occurred during Morgan's Raid leaving 15 dead, 40 wounded, and 355 captured.
Indiana continued to be mostly an agricultural state after the war. Manufacturing of wagons, buggies, agricultural equipment, and hardware were among the post-war businesses, along with mining (which included the extraction of limestone), meatpacking, food processing (which included milling grain and turning it into alcohol), and meatpacking. However, the discovery of natural gas in northern Indiana in the 1880s sparked an economic boom: the cheap and abundant fuel drew heavy industry, and the jobs that followed drew new settlers from across the nation and Europe. Cities like South Bend, Indianapolis, and Fort Wayne had a tremendous population growth as a result.
INDIANA Time zones
Indiana is one of 13 states in the US that span multiple time zones. The time zones in Indiana have changed during the previous century. Currently, the majority of the state observes Eastern Time; however, six counties close to Chicago and six counties close to Evansville observe Central Time. The topic is still being discussed.
The majority of Indiana did not observe daylight saving time before to 2006. (DST). Some of the counties in this region observed Daylight Saving Time (DST) informally out of respect for local custom, particularly Floyd, Clark, and Harrison counties around Louisville, Kentucky, and Ohio and Dearborn counties near Cincinnati, Ohio. DST is observed throughout the state as of April 2006.
Population and Ethnic Composition
6,785,528 people were counted in Indiana in the 2020 US Census, an increase of 4.65% from the 2010 US Census.
The state had the 16th-highest population density in the nation at 181.0 people per square mile.
The population center of Indiana is located in Hamilton County (+40.149246, -086.259514), northwest of Sheridan, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.
In 2005, 16.5% of people in micropolitan counties, 77.7% of people in metropolitan counties, and 5.9% of people in non-core counties called Indiana home.
With 22.7% of the people reporting German ancestry in the census, it is the most common ancestry in Indiana. There are also a lot of people who claim to be Irish (10.8%) and Polish (3.0%), as well as Americans (12.0%) and English (8.9%) of heritage. The majority of people who claim to have American heritage are actually of European lineage, including many of English descent, but they identify as Americans because their families have been in North America for such a long time—in many cases, since the early colonial era. Out of a total population of 4,241,975 people, 1,776,144 people claimed German ancestry, 1,356,135 people claimed English ancestry, and 1,017,944 people claimed Irish ancestry, constituting the state's ethnic composition 42% German, 32% English, and 24% Irish.
RELIGION
Although there are 747,706 Catholics in the state, the majority of Hoosiers belong to one of the several Protestant groups. With 355,043 members, the United Methodist Church was the largest Protestant denomination in 2010. [132] According to research conducted by the Graduate Center at the City University of New York, 20% of people in the city identify as Catholic, 14% as Baptist, 10% as other Christians, 9% as Methodist, and 6% as Lutheran. Research indicated that 16% of people have no religious affiliation.
The Benedictine St. Meinrad Archabbey, one of only two Catholic archabbeys in the United States and 11 worldwide, is located in Indiana. One of the two seminaries owned by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod is located in Fort Wayne.
In Winona Lake, the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches operates offices and a publishing company. The Church of the United Brethren in Christ is based in Huntington. The Church of God's corporate offices is located in Anderson. The Missionary Church's main office is in Fort Wayne.
The Earlham School of Religion, the oldest Quaker seminary in the United States, and the Friends United Meeting, the largest branch of American Quakerism, are both located in Richmond. Plainfield is home to the Islamic Society of North America's main office.
THE GOVERNMENT of Indiana
A 100-member House of Representatives and a 50-member Senate make up the Indiana General Assembly. The Chamber of Representatives is the lower house of the General Assembly, and the Senate is its upper house. Within the state government, the General Assembly is the only body having legislative authority. Legislation can be introduced by both the Senate and the House, with the caveat that the Senate is not allowed to do so for legislation that will have an impact on revenue. Each chamber debates and approves bills individually, but they need to pass both houses in order to be sent to the governor. The Senate and House of Representatives must be fully populated in order for the legislature to override the governor's veto.
The Court of Appeals is made up of 15 justices, and there are five judges on the Indiana Supreme Court. Judges for the supreme and appeals courts are chosen by the governor from a list of candidates chosen by a special panel. The electorate must back the judges for a 10-year term after they have served for two years. The Supreme Court can only consider matters that are petitioned to it after being tried by subordinate courts because it lacks original jurisdiction in almost all situations. The majority of cases are tried in local circuit courts, where the jury renders a verdict after a trial.
The 92 counties that make up the state are governed by a board of county commissioners. In Indiana, each of the 90 counties has a circuit court with a judge who is elected to a six-year term. Ohio and Dearborn, the last two counties, are united into one circuit. In addition to the circuit court, many counties also run superior courts. Separate courts have been established to only hear juvenile, criminal, probate, or small claims matters in densely populated counties where the demand is typically higher. From county to county, there are significant differences in the creation, frequency, and jurisdiction of these extra courts.
In Indiana, there are 85 city and town courts that were established by local ordinance, usually handling minor offenses and not being thought of as courts of record. A county's auditor, recorder, treasurer, sheriff, coroner, and clerk of the circuit court are among the elected officials who serve four-year terms. In Indiana, the mayor and council form of local administration is used in all incorporated communities. Township trustees and advisory boards run townships, whereas town councils oversee towns.
Indiana was ranked top in U.S. News & World Report's first 2017 Best States for Government listing. Indiana performed above average in the following categories: budget transparency (#1), government digitization (#6), and fiscal stability (#8). Indiana performed averagely in the category of state integrity (#25). Indiana was ranked as the tenth-hardest state for residents to vote in by a 2020 study.
Professional sports
In comparison to other states, Indiana generated the most National Basketball Association (NBA) players in 2013. Of all American communities, Muncie has generated the most per capita, while two additional Indiana cities rank in the top 10. [169] It has a long basketball history that dates back to the early years of the sport. Gainbridge Fieldhouse is the home of the Indiana Pacers of the NBA. They started competing in the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1967 and joined the NBA when the two leagues combined in 1976.
Basketball was invented by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891, but high school basketball didn't start until Indiana. With 15,000 yelling fans in attendance, Naismith saw the 1925 Indiana basketball state finals and subsequently noted, “Basketball actually had its genesis in Indiana, which remains the hub of the sport.” The tale of Milan High School's 1954 Indiana state winners served as the basis for the 1986 movie Hoosiers. Larry Bird, a professional basketball player, was reared in French Lick after being born in West Baden Springs. The Boston Celtics won the NBA title under his direction in 1981, 1984, and 1986.
What is unique about Indiana?
Indiana is the first state to have a chapel in its state capitol. It was built in memory of former first lady Beth Bowen. The state motto, adopted in 1937, is “The Crossroads of America.” The state seal has been used since 1801 and was officially adopted in 1963.
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