Ohio History

With the early glaciers, in what is now Ohio, four main topographical regions were etched onto the geographical landscape. In addition, the glaciers formed various river systems and deposited fertile topsoil throughout the vast Ohio terrain. Looking at history, after the American Revolutionary war, the Articles governed the colonies. Under the “League of Friends”, a land policy was constructed behind the concept of eminent domain. The Land Ordinance of 1784 was constructed around the ideas of Thomas Jefferson. This ordinance intended to reach out to the “Yeomen farmer”. What type of person did the land of the Northwest attract? Squatters, people who live on the land without a land title, occupied much of this land. By 1787, the air of the nation had changed. Due to the experimental nature of Ohio, people came from all over the place to settle in Ohio due to the new opportunities, and promoted a diverse land compared to the original states.

The Ordinance of 1785 opened up the business of selling the newly acquired land. Land deeds were granted. Land speculators cut the land into 640 acres a piece. Most of the land went unsold at a sale in New York. This ordinance did not have much success. In two years, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established territories and was the crowning achievement of the Confederation. By late 1787, the Constitution had been ratified and the federal government had the right to create territories. The new territories had to provide public education and guarantee a trial by jury. Slavery was outlawed in the new territories.

The early settlements in Ohio were created due to numerous push and pull factors. On one side, the push factors included: running out of space, primo geniture, and poor land quality due to years of abuse. Primo Geniture is the granting of family land only to the eldest son. On the other side, the pull factors included: the opportunity of free land, which many people could afford, and communities were allowed to buy...