Thursday, June 12, 2014

Ohio--a surprising amount of history

Ohio is full of history. Really! 

I'll admit that growing up in Utah, Ohio was little more than that state that is uh--Iowa/Ohio--whatever. However, Ohio has some really cool history that folks ought to know about.

What was one of the main issues of the French and Indian War?  The Ohio River Valley--and who was going to control all that wonderful fur and luscious farm land.

And the Proclamation of 1763. Why we're the Colonists mad? Because the king wouldn't let them have access to the Ohio River Valley.

The War of 1812? The British wouldn't leave their forts--uh our forts after the Treaty of Paris of 1783 ending the Revolution--in the Great Lakes region and stirring up the native people--keeping Americans out of the Ohio River Valley.

And the Northwest Land Ordinances of 1785 & 1787? No, of course you haven't.  But my students know that the delineation of lands with slaves and no slaves planted the seeds of the Civil War even back then.

And you thought I was just kidding about its importance.  There's more.

Ever heard of the Serpent Mound? An amazing ancient creation that from the air looks like a snake swallowing an egg. 

Sad to be four hours away and not get to see it. Can't imagine what the white settlers must have thought when they found it.

That great battle in the War of 1812--the Battle of Lake Erie--with one of my heroes--Oliver Hazard Perry where he fought the British fleet to a standstill. That's the British Navy--the greatest navy in the world at that time (and many others too)...took place not far from Cleveland. There's an international peace monument there celebrating it. Cool, eh?

We went to visit Historic Kirtland and heard not only about the early Mormon saints, but realized the importance of the Erie Canal and the canal systems in Ohio in developing the Kirtland area as they could send trade good as far as New York.

And who could forget the Underground Railroad helping the escaped slaves and the devout Quakers who risked so much to follow their beliefs. Doing the right thing because it's the right thing.

See? Tons!

And this is not including the six presidents from there--James Garfield, William Henry Harrison (ssshhhh--he's not actually from Ohio since back then citizenship was based on where you were born and not where you lived. And the Constitution says the President and Vice President can't be from the same state so technically when he was elected with John Tyler, his not very far away childhood neighbor in Virginia, they obviously didn't care about legal stuff, right?), Grant, William McKinley and uh...excuse me, I've got to go Google the other ones.

Gee, you don't expect me to know everything historical, do you? 

Well...more learning and experiences tomorrow.


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