HISTORY. Ohio was formed from a part of the Northwest Territory (q.v.), and includes a port bin of the Virginia cession of 1754 and all of the Connecticut cession of 1800. The first explorers cannot be surely determined. Possibly La Salle, about 1670, visited the region. but he left no record of his wanderings. The enmity of the Iroquois kept the French away from Lake Erie long after they hail explored the other great lakes, and though large numbers of coiffeurs (lees Lois roamed the wilderness and trailing posts were doubtless established, not one resulted in a permanent settlement. About 1686 Governor Dongan of New York sent trailing ex peditions into the region with but little success. In 1749 a French officer. Cilloron, under the (inlets of Gallissoniere, Acting Governor of Onebee, crossed Lake Erie, put his boats into the .111egheny, and thus reached the Ohio and the :Mississippi. his report is the first authentic relation of this part of the country. At several points he placed tablets declaring all the region of the Ohio to be French territory regardless of the grants of the Stuart kings. English trail ers were driven out, and this precipitated the French and Indian War. (See dint° CompANY.) By the Peace of Paris in 17(13 the French possessions east of the Missis sippi passed to Great Britain. During the llevo lotion the only settlement. within the present limits of the State. consisting of some .Moravian villages near the present. site of New Philadel phia. was broken up by India 11. and renegade whites. After the Northwest Territory was formed. settlement was rapid. Massachusetts pioneers founded _Marietta in April, 1785. John Cleves Synuncs, of New Jersey, bought a large tract hiqween the _Miami rivers and sent out set tlers. In 1788. too, a party from Lexington, Ey.. founded Losantiville (now Cineinnatil a 1101'0011 of this tract. A French settlement was made at Gallipolis in 1789 o• 1790. and about the same time Virginians began to in large numbers. A provision in the Ordinance of 1757 allowed the creation of a representative assembly when 5000 white males of voting age should he resident in the territory. The first session of such an assembly was held at Cincinnati in 1799. and William Henry Harrison was chosen the first delegate to Congress. In 1500 Connecticut com pletely abandoned her jurisdiction over the ter ritory along Lake Erie. though she still retained proprietary rights in the soil. This was ealled the Western Reserve (q.v.) and rapidly filled with settlers chiefly from New England. In \lay, Non. the Territory was divided and the western part was named Indiana.
On April 30, 1802, Congress authorized the election of delegates to a convention to determine whether a State government should he estab lished. The convention sat at Chillicothe, No vembe• 1-29, and adopted a constitution, which was nut submitted to the people. The bound aries were fixed, according to the suggestion of Congress. as the Pennsylvania line on the east, the Ohio River on the south, a north and south line from the mouth of the Big Miami to its intersection with an east and west line passing through the most southerly point of Lake Alich igan on the west, and this east and west line through Lake Erie to the Pennsylvania line on the north. A proviso was inserted, however, that
if this northern line should touch Lake Erie south and east of the mouth of the Maumee, the northern line should then run from Lake through the month of this stream. Such was found to be the case later and Michigan refused to give up claim to the strip of territory including Toledo until, it was made a condition of her admission as a State in 1834. An election for members of the Legislature was ordered for January 11, 1803, and the Legislature met on llarch 1st. Meanwhile, on February 19th, Con gress declared that Ohio, by adopting a constitu tion. had become a State of the though there was as yet no State Government. The capital was fixed at Chillicothe and so remained until 1810, and was then moved to Zanesville. In 1812 the offer of a laml company to build a new city was accepted. and since 1516 Columbus has been the seat of government. Considerable C.X eItelnellt was caused by the alleged Burr-Blenner basset plot in 1506. During the War of 1812 the occupation of Ohio by the British was pre vented by Gen. William Henry Harrison. ticcny Indians joined the Britis.h, hut the combined forces were defeated. October 5, 1813, on the river Thames in Canada. and Teemuseh. the In dian leader. was killed. This battle, following close upon ferry's victory on Lake Erie. ended the war, so far as this State was concerned. The population steadily increased, hut the lark of a market for the products of the State was the greatest need. Some sea-going vessels had been built upon the Ohio, hut such sailing vessels were worth little on rivers. The application of steam to navigation. the construction of the Erie Canal. and the completion of the Miami and Ohio canals in 15:35 made it new era. From that time access to the sea was comparatively easy and the coun try entered upon a period of magnificent. pros perity, to which the coining of the railroads gave an additional impetus.
The State supplied more than its quota of troops for the 'Mexican War, and at the outbreak of the Civil War was exceedingly active. Seventy regiments responded to the first call for troops, though only thirteen were asked. Soldiers were sent into Virginia and helped to save West Vir ginia to the Union. and the prompt action of Governor Dennison had its influenee upon Ken tneky also. There wore mam• Southern lldeers in soil( 111'111 Ohio. however, and resistance was offered to national officers in 1563. when t he advantage seemed to he with t he Confederate armies. ( See VALIANDICHANI. CLENIENT L.1 large number of the most sueeessful Federal offi cers were natives of the State. as Grant, Sher man. MeDowell. hosee•anc, Garfield. and others, Ohio was Democratic in national elections from the time of its admission to 1836. In that year it voted with the Whigs, and since then has been Whig and with the exception of the years 1848 and 1852, when it east its vote for Cass and Pierce respectively. The following have been the Governors of Ohio: