French traders began visiting Iowa villages
in about 1700. They carried a disease
called smallpox that killed many
Iowa. U.S. explorers led by Meriwether
Lewis andWilliam Clark passed through
Iowa territory in the early 1800s. Many
settlers followed.
In 1836 the U.S. government forced the
Iowa to move to a reservation in what
are now Kansas and Nebraska. Later in
the 1800s the United States tried to
move the Iowa to Indian Territory (now
Oklahoma). Not all the Iowa moved.
The tribe separated into two groups now
known as the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma
and the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and
Nebraska. At the end of the 20th century
there were about 1,500 Iowa.
#More to explore
Native Americans
Shauhaunapotinia was a chief of
the Iowa people.
144 Iowa BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Iowa
The U.S. state of Iowa is one of the
most productive agricultural areas in the
United States. It is sometimes called the
Tall Corn State because that crop grows
well there. Iowa’s official nickname,
however, is the Hawkeye State, in honor
of a Native American leader named
Black Hawk. The state was named for
the Iowa (or Ioway) Indians who once
lived in the area. The state capital is Des
Moines.
Geography
Iowa lies in the north-central part of the
United States. The state is located
between the Mississippi River in the east
and the Missouri River in the west.
Iowa is bordered by Minnesota on the
north,Wisconsin and Illinois on the
east, Missouri on the south, and
Nebraska and South Dakota on
the west. There are two chief breaks in
the state’s level sweep of land. Steep
cliffs drop to the Mississippi River in the
northeast. Low, moundlike bluffs rise
above the prairies in the southwest.
Summers are warm and humid. The
winters are cold.
People
Whites of European heritage make up
more than 90 percent of Iowa’s population.
Hispanics represent about 3 percent
of the population and African
Americans about 2 percent. Iowa is a
checkerboard pattern of farms, towns,
and cities. Most Iowans live in small
communities. The state’s largest cities
are Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and
Davenport. The main public institutions
of higher learning are the University of
Iowa, at Iowa City; Iowa State University,
at Ames; and the University of
Northern Iowa, at Cedar Falls.
The skyline of downtown Des
Moines provides a modern backdrop
to the Iowa state Capitol.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Iowa 145
Economy
With rich soils, mostly flat ground, and
plenty of rainfall, Iowa is an almost perfect
place to grow crops. About 90 percent
of its land is used for agriculture.
The state specializes in corn, soybeans,
and livestock (especially hogs and
cattle). Dairy production is a major
industry in the northeast part of the
state.
Despite the importance of agriculture in
Iowa, the state’s leading sources of
income are manufacturing and services
such as real estate, insurance, and health
care. The most important manufacturing
industries are the production of
industrial machinery and the processing
of food.
History
The earliest settlers in what is now Iowa
were Native Americans. From about AD
300 to the 1600s eastern Iowa was
inhabited by Native Americans who
built great earth mounds, some in the
shape of animals.
The French explorers Louis Jolliet and
Jacques Marquette reached Iowa in
1673. They were probably the first
Europeans to set foot in the area. No
Europeans settled there permanently,
however, until the early 1830s.
Iowa was part of the area called the
Louisiana Purchase that the United
States bought from the French in 1803.
The territory of Iowa was formed in
1838. It entered the Union as the 29th
state in 1846.
The state was strongly against slavery
and fought on the side of the Union
during the American CivilWar (1861–
65). Shortly after the war Iowa became a
center of the Grange movement.
Granges were groups of farmers who
came together to find ways to solve
common problems.
Agriculture continues to be a central
feature of Iowa. In 1959 a leader of the
Soviet Union visited the state. In the
spirit of cooperation created by the visit,
Iowa began to export, or sell, some of its
grain to that country. Since then Iowa
has exported agricultural products to
many overseas countries.
In 1988 Iowa farmers had problems due
to heat and drought. The opposite took
place in 1993 as too much rain caused
the Mississippi River to flood many
farms and cities.
..More to explore
American CivilWar • Des Moines
• Iowa, people
An Iowa farmer checks young corn plants
for damage and disease. Corn is an important
crop in Iowa.
Facts About
IOWA
Flag
Population
(2000 census)
2,926,324—
rank, 30th state;
(2008 estimate)
3,002,555—
rank, 30th state
Capital
Des Moines
Area
56,272 sq mi
(145,743 sq
km)—rank, 26th
state
Statehood
December 28,
1846
Motto
Our Liberties We
Prize and Our
Rights We Will
Maintain
State bird
Eastern goldfinch
State flower
Wild rose
146 Iowa BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Iran
Iran is a country of southwest Asia. For
much of its history Iran was known as
Persia to the outside world. However,
the people of the region have called their
country Iran for thousands of years. Iran
means “land of the Aryans.” The Aryan
