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A state of the north-central United States. It was admitted as the 29th state in 1846. Part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, Iowa was organized as a separate territory in 1838. The Mound Builders lived in the area in prehistoric times. Des Moines is the capital and the largest city. Population: 2,980,000.
Iowan I'o·wan adj.
For more information on Iowa, visit Britannica.com.
Iowa, located in the center of the Midwest in the north-central region of the continental United States, is characterized by its gently rolling terrain and bountiful agriculture. The earliest European explorers to visit Iowa observed a lush landscape covered primarily by tall prairie grass with trees mostly along rivers and streams. A century and a half later, the first white settlers quickly sensed the immense agricultural potential of that lush landscape. The newcomers' initial impressions held true. By 1870, with most of Iowa settled, the state was recognized nationally as a premier agricultural area.
Exploration and Changes
Iowa's recorded history began with the journey of Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette when they explored the Mississippi River. On 25 June 1673, the exploring party stepped ashore on Iowa soil, the first Europeans to do so. During the next 100 years, numerous explorers traveled up and down the Mississippi and visited Iowa. In 1682, French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle traveled the Mississippi River, claiming the river and its valley for France. He named the area Louisiana, in honor of Louis XIV. The French sold Louisiana to Spain in 1762, but some forty years later regained control of the territory, and in 1803, sold it to the United States. The area containing the future state of Iowa then belonged to the United States. Little remained of the Spanish presence in the Upper Mississippi area, but French legacy continued in the names of Mississippi River towns such as Dubuque and Prairie Du Chien.
Iowa's early history also includes the presence of seventeen Native American tribes. All tribes were a part of the Prairie-Plains Indian culture where members lived both a sedentary and a migratory lifestyle. The Ioway were the first prominent tribe in Iowa, but in 1830, sold their land and relocated in Kansas. The two largest tribes, the Sauk and Meskwaki, dominated the eastern part of Iowa for almost 100 years. By 1845, the two tribes had sold their lands to the federal government, and were relocated in Kansas. The Sauk remained there but some Meskwaki returned to Iowa and later purchased land, creating the Meskwaki settlement in east-central Iowa.
From 1803 until Iowa became an independent territory in 1838, the area underwent continual political change. It was first a part of the District of Louisiana that extended from the 33-degree parallel northward to the Canadian border. From 1805 to 1838, the area was a part of four different territories. In reality, federal officials had simply assigned Iowa to the nearest political entity for most of that period. For a time, between 1821 and 1834, Iowa had no governmental jurisdiction. Finally in 1838, Congress created the Territory of Iowa.
Almost immediately Iowans began to agitate for statehood. They made the first attempt in 1844 but Congress rejected the proposed constitution. In 1846, Iowans tried again and were successful. The state benefited from the delay, as the area included in 1846 was larger than two years earlier. The state's final boundaries were the Mississippi River on the east; the Missouri–Big Sioux Rivers on the west; 43 degrees, 30 minutes on the north; and the Missouri border on the south. On 18 December 1846, Iowa became the twenty-ninth state to enter the Union.
Even before Iowa became an independent territory, white settlers had crossed the Mississippi River and staked out land in eastern Iowa. Federal officials started land surveys in 1836, and land sales began two years later. Settlement moved across Iowa in a fairly steady manner, moving from the southeast to the northwest. By 1870, small towns and farms covered most of the state and settlement in northwest Iowa signaled the end of the frontier era. Towns also appeared quickly, especially along the Mississippi River, and included Dubuque, Davenport, and Keokuk. Early settlements along the Missouri River included Council Bluffs and Sioux City. Iowa's population grew rapidly, reaching 1,194,020 by 1870.
The Late Nineteenth Century
Iowa's agricultural production varied in the nineteenth century. Farmers raised large quantities of wheat before the Civil War (1861–1865). They also raised oats, barley, hay, and sorghum. Unlike farmers in the Great Plains or the South who relied on staple crops, Iowa farmers diversified their production, providing greater economic stability in the event of drought or low farm prices. With ever-increasing agricultural production, farmers were soon looking for ways to market their surplus crops and livestock. Before the Civil War, farmers relied heavily on the Mississippi River for transportation, but in the 1850s, railroad construction got under way in Iowa. In 1867, the Chicago and North Western Railroad was the first route to reach Iowa's western border. By 1870, three more rail-roads—the Illinois Central, the Burlington Northern, and the Rock Island—had completed east-west routes across the state. Later, the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad also spanned the state. From 1870 until the early twentieth century, railroads would not only dominate transportation in the state, but they would also be a powerful political entity in the state legislature.
The Civil War brought disruption to economic development, including railroad building, in a state still in the process of initial settlement. Even so, Iowa still contributed some 70,000 men to fight for the Union. No battles of any consequence took place on Iowa soil. On the home front, Iowa women contributed to the war effort, working tirelessly to provide clothing and food for Iowa soldiers. Women also took over family businesses and operated family farms while their husbands were away at war.
Following the Civil War, great expansion and change took place in both agriculture and the industrial sector. By 1870, Iowa farmers had switched from raising wheat to specializing in the production of corn and hogs. Iowa farmers had discovered by the 1870s that the state's climate and soil were especially well suited to raising corn. They also discovered they could realize greater profit from feeding corn to hogs, which they then marketed, rather than selling their corn commercially. The development of these economic practices produced the so-called corn-hog complex and resulted in the state being ranked first or second in the production of corn and hogs. Women also played major roles in Iowa farm life. Women typically raised poultry, which by 1900 made Iowa first in the nation in egg production, helped process dairy products, and raised huge vegetable gardens. With these practices, farm families were nearly self-sufficient in food needs. Women also routinely bartered eggs, cream, and butter for staple groceries. During difficult economic times, women's food production sustained many Iowa farm operations.
Iowans also began to create businesses and manufacturing firms in the nineteenth century, most of which were agriculture-related. Before the Civil War, the first ones appeared in towns along the Mississippi River. Most river towns had pork-slaughtering operations and breweries, and many also developed specialties. Davenport became a flour-milling center in the 1850s, while Burlington workers manufactured shoes and carriages. All river cities benefited from the daily steamboat travel on the Mississippi. Following the construction of railroads, larger agriculture-related industries appeared. Quaker Oats constructed an oat processing plant in Cedar Rapids, and John Morrell and company set up a meatpacking operation in Ottumwa. By century's end, meatpacking had become the most visible industrial operation in the state with plants in Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Des Moines, Mason City, and Sioux City. Eventually, Sioux City became Iowa's largest meat processing center. After 1900, more industries appeared, many not related to agricultural production. Frederick Maytag began to manufacture washing machines, and a tractor works developed in Waterloo. In southeastern Iowa, Sheaffer Pen Company began operations.
Iowa's second largest industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was coal mining. Beginning in the 1840s in southeastern Iowa, the industry gradually moved into south central Iowa. By 1880, the state had 450 underground mines with a total of 6,028 miners, and Iowa's operation was ranked fifteenth nationally. The industry was tied to railroad development and as railroad mileage increased, so did the number of coal mines.
Population
Throughout the nineteenth century, as more land opened for settlement and as new industries developed, the need for additional labor was often filled by immigrants. The majority of foreign-born workers arrived from Western Europe and the British Isles. Germans composed the largest group. German Americans settled everywhere within the state, with most of the newcomers going into farming. German Americans were also numerous in the Mississippi River cities where they established small businesses and worked in industry. Even in the early twenty-first century, cities like Dubuque, Davenport, and Burlington are known for their high numbers of German descendants.
Other major immigrant groups in Iowa included the Irish, the state's second largest foreign-born group. Many Irish helped build railroads across the Midwest, and some workers settled permanently in Iowa. A large number of Irish settled in Dubuque, where they worked in factories. Some Irish families also became farmers. Today, several communities, including Emmetsburg, annually celebrate their Irish ancestry.
People of many other nationalities from Western Europe and the British Isles also immigrated to Iowa. Scan-dinavians constituted Iowa's third largest group, including Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes, with the largest group being the Swedes. Swedes settled in southwest and west-central Iowa, where most became farmers. Many Swedish men also worked as coal miners. Norwegians settled in northeastern and central Iowa, where most families took up farming, and the Danes created a large farming community in southwestern Iowa. Other groups settling in Iowa included the English, especially in southern Iowa, and also Dutch, Welsh, Scots, and Czechs. Most of these ethnic groups still celebrate their heritage by operating ethnic museums and holding ethnic festivals.
Around 1900, immigration patterns changed. The foreign-born continued to emigrate from Western Europe and the British Isles, but people also began arriving from Eastern and Southern Europe, although in smaller numbers than the earlier groups. Newcomers arriving after 1900 included emigrants from Russia, Italy, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia. Frequently lacking resources to begin farming, many of these newcomers went to work in the coal mines and in meatpacking plants. Italians also set up small businesses in Des Moines, and others went to work for the Chicago Great Western Railroad in Oelwein. Like their fellow immigrants elsewhere, Iowa's Southern and Eastern Europeans often suffered discrimination because of their national origins and their Roman Catholic religion.
The Twentieth Century and After
Like all states, Iowa was strongly influenced by the two world wars. During World War I (1914–1918), federal government subsidies encouraged farmers to expand their landholdings and to increase their production. Following the war, many farmers were unable to meet mortgage payments and lost their farms through foreclosure. World War II (1939–1945) brought greatly increased production and a strong push for greater mechanization in farming. Corn yields increased as more and more farmers adopted hybrid seed corn.
After World War II, farmers moved quickly to mechanize farming, using combines, corn pickers, and larger tractors. They also began using chemicals to control weeds and increase yields. Farm acreages increased and farmers began to specialize in corn and soybean production, but they continued to raise large numbers of hogs. These many developments had changed the face of agriculture and the way farm families lived. By 1960, Iowa farms had a new look. Gone were the flocks of chickens, the small dairy herds, and often the large gardens. Farm families had begun to buy their food rather than produce it. With rural electrification, which started in 1935, farm homes could be as modern as town and city homes.
For most of its history, Iowa has been a Republican state even though Iowans initially voted for Democrats. During the 1850s Iowans shifted to the Republican Party and remained almost solidly Republican until the 1930s. Between 1854 and 1932, only one Democrat, Horace Boies, was elected governor. Between 1932 and 1974, four Democrats and eight Republicans served as governor. In the more recent past, Iowans have distinguished themselves by keeping Republicans in the governorship for long periods of time. In 1968, Robert D. Ray was elected governor and remained in that office for fourteen years. Republican Terry Branstad was elected in 1982 and served sixteen years as governor. Iowans have elected both Democrats and Republicans to the U.S. Congress but tend to elect Democrats to the state legislature. Since the 1950s, Iowa has been regarded as a two-party state.
Iowa experienced major economic and social change in the second half of the twentieth century. Most evident has been the trend toward urbanization. Shifts from rural to urban populations had been moderate but steady since the latter nineteenth century. In 1880, 84.4 percent of Iowans lived in rural areas, including towns of fewer than 2,500 people. But in 1956, for the first time, more Iowans lived in urban areas than in rural areas. As more Iowans moved to the cities and as farming became more mechanized and specialized, rural institutions began to disappear. Rural churches closed their doors, public schools consolidated at a rate faster than before, and small-town businesses began to close. Reapportionment of the state legislature in 1972 led to a lessening of rural influence in the state government. Given these changes along with the founding of new industries such as Winnebago Industries, Iowa has developed a political balance between rural and urban interests and a steadily growing industrial sector.
The decade of the 1980s brought major change to the agricultural sector as the farm economy suffered a major depression and farmland values plummeted. By mid-decade, news of the farm crisis dominated all statewide media. By the end of the decade, conditions had improved but more than 140,000 people had moved off Iowa farms. Although by the end of the twentieth century, Iowa remained either first or second in production of corn, hogs, and soybeans, approximately 50 percent of farm families augmented their income through off-farm employment. By 2000, the number of Iowa farms had shrunk to 94,000. While many Iowa farmers still raise hogs, a major shift in the countryside has been the development of large-scale hog confinement operations. Large poultry confinement facilities have also been constructed. These changes have produced strong protest, especially from rural residents, because such facilities produce environmental pollution and sometimes reduce their quality of life.
Iowans have also faced numerous key political issues with long-term social and economic implications. In 1962, Iowans adopted liquor-by-the-drink, allowing the establishment of bars and abolishing the State Liquor Commission. At the same time, a struggle to reapportion the state legislature, where both legislative chambers were weighed heavily in favor of rural residents, pitted the state's liberal and conservative forces against each other for more than a decade. After various efforts by the legislature, the state supreme court stepped in, declaring reapportionment legislation unconstitutional. The court then drew up its own reapportionment plan, effective in 1972, which gave Iowa the most equitably apportioned legislature in the nation.
Two political issues of the 1980s and 1990s proved contentious. In 1985, in strongly contested legislation, Iowa established a state lottery. Opponents, many of them church officials, predicted that the lottery was only the first step in opening the state to all types of gambling. The creation of the lottery was quickly followed by an increase in pari-mutuel betting facilities and the building of steamboat casinos and three Native American gambling casinos. A second issue dealt with gender. In 1980 and 1992, Iowans considered adding an equal rights amendment to the state constitution. The amendment was defeated both times, in 1992 by a vote of 595,837 to 551,566. In analyzing the defeat, supporters pointed to a long ballot, which confused some voters, and to the amendment's unclear wording.
Iowa demographics have changed slowly since the 1960s. In 2000, Iowa had 2,926,324 residents and its population had grown just 5.4 percent since 1990. Since its admission to the Union in 1846, Iowa gradually increased in population until 1980 (with the exception of the 1910 census) and then lost population for each of seven years. In 1987, that trend was reversed, and the state experienced the beginning of slow but steady population increases. Iowa has long had a high percentage of elderly residents; by 2000, Iowa's percentage of people age sixty-five and older had risen to 14.9 percent, one of the highest in the nation. The percentage of urban and rural residents also changed: in 2000, fewer than one in ten Iowans lived on a farm.
For most of its history, Iowa has remained a state characterized by cultural variations but with little racial diversity. African Americans have historically been the largest racial group although their total numbers have been small. In 2000, they constituted approximately 2 percent of the state's total population. African Americans have traditionally lived in Iowa's larger cities, although early in 1900 many men worked as coal miners. Since the 1970s, however, the state has become more racially diverse. In 1975, 13,000 Southeast Asian refugees were resettled in Iowa, mainly due to the efforts of then-Governor Robert D. Ray. By the 1990s, their numbers had increased to 25,037. Beginning in the 1960s, a small but increasing number of Hispanics arrived in Iowa. Hispanics had earlier worked as migrant farmworkers, but in the 1990s, they were employed in a wider range of industries, especially in meatpacking. They had settled in both large cities and small towns. In the 1990s, the number of Hispanics rose sharply, an increase of almost 40 percent in ten years. The newly arrived Hispanics came from Mexico as well as from California and Texas. Spanish is the second major language used in the state on an everyday basis. In 2002, the number of Hispanics in Iowa was 82,473. In the 1990s, Iowa also became home to small numbers of Bosnian and Sudanese refugees who settled in Iowa's larger communities.
Despite severe economic dislocations in most segments of Iowa's economy during the latter twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, Iowans remain unchanged in major ways. They continue to express strong support for public education and to produce well-educated young people who often score highest in the nation on college entrance exams. Iowa communities remain stable, with community institutions—family, church, and school—in-tact and still held in high esteem. Although the state now experiences a balance between rural and urban interests and between agriculture and other industries, its character is still defined largely by the culture of its small towns and its agricultural preeminence. As Iowans experience the twenty-first century, they remain somewhat conservative in their politics, usually liberal in their social thinking, and almost always optimistic about their economic future.
Bibliography
Bergman, Marvin, ed. Iowa History Reader. Ames: State Historical Society of Iowa in association with Iowa State University Press, 1996.
Sage, Leland L. A History of Iowa. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1974.
Schwieder, Dorothy. Iowa: The Middle Land. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1996.
———. "Iowa: The Middle Land." In Heartland: Comparative Histories of the Midwestern States. Edited by James H. Madison. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988.
Wall, Joseph Frazier. Iowa: A Bicentennial History. New York: Norton, 1978.
Facts and Figures
Area, 56,290 sq mi (145,791 sq km). Pop. (2000) 2,926,324, a 5.4% increase since the 1990 census. Capital and largest city, Des Moines. Statehood, Dec. 28, 1846 (29th state). Highest pt., 1,670 ft (509 m), Osceola co.; lowest pt., Mississippi River, 480 ft (146 m). Nickname, Hawkeye State. Motto, Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain. State bird, Eastern goldfinch. State flower, wild rose. State tree, oak. Abbr., IA
Geography
Iowa is bordered on two sides by rivers; the Mississippi separates it on the east from Wisconsin and Illinois, and the Missouri and the Big Sioux separate it on the west from Nebraska and South Dakota. The state is bounded on the north by Minnesota and on the south by Missouri. Iowa is an area of rich, rolling plains, interrupted by many rivers. The terrain is low and gently sloping, except for the hills in the unglaciated area of NE Iowa, the steeply sloping bluffs on the banks of the Mississippi, and the moundlike bluffs on the banks of the Missouri. The rivers of the eastern two thirds of Iowa flow to the Mississippi; those of the west flow to the Missouri. The original woodlands, which included black walnut and hickory, were destroyed by lumbering and land clearing in the 19th cent., and present wooded sections are covered only with second or third growths of timber. Only 0.1% of Iowa, the lowest total in the 50 states, is owned by the federal government.
Historically typical of Iowa was the prairie. Covered a little more than a century ago with grass higher than the wheels of the pioneers' prairie schooners, or covered wagons, the prairies gave way to fields of corn and other grains. Wildflowers still brighten the roadsides, but few areas of the original grassland remain, and several prairie preserves have been established. The former habitat of wild turkeys, prairie chickens, and quail, Iowa abounds with migratory geese and ducks and the imported ring-necked pheasant and European partridge, all of which are hunted in the autumn.
Des Moines is the capital and largest city. Other major cities are Cedar Rapids, Davenport, and Sioux City.
Iowa's climate is continental—northwest winds drive the mercury down below 0°F (−18°C) in winter, and in the summer hot air masses bring oppressive heat; there are violent thunderstorms, hail, and occasional droughts. Floods have periodically inflicted great losses of life and property, necessitating control measures. In the devastating midwestern flood of 1993 all 99 counties of Iowa were declared disaster areas. Overall, the average annual rainfall in Iowa is 31 in. (78.7 cm), and, since most of this falls in summer, soil is often washed away. Iowans have had to fight erosion with modern plowing and planting practices, control of water flow, and reforestation. Still, Iowa has some of the most fertile agricultural land (about 70% of the state's area is cropland) in the world.
Economy
The deep, porous soil yields corn and other grains in tremendous quantities, and the corn-fed hogs and cattle are nationally known. In 1997, Iowa led the nation in the production of corn, soybeans, hogs, and pigs, and ranked in the top 10 in the raising of cattle. Other major crops are hay and oats. Iowa has in recent years taken in the second highest farm income of any state.
Agriculture also benefits the state's chief industry, food processing, and in Sioux City and Cedar Rapids many factories process farm products. Nonelectrical machinery, farm machinery, tires, appliances, electronic equipment, and chemicals are among the other manufactures. Cement is the most important mineral product; others are stone, sand, gravel, and gypsum. Mineral production is small, however. Communications, finance, and insurance industries are especially important in Des Moines.
Government and Higher Education
Iowa's constitution was adopted in 1857. The governor is elected for a term of four years. The general assembly, or legislature, has a senate with 50 members and a house of representatives with 100 members. Iowa is represented in the U.S. Congress by two senators and five representatives. The state has seven electoral votes. Terry Branstad, a Republican, served as governor from 1983 through 1998, when Democrat Tom Vilsack was elected. Vilsack was reelected in 2002, and was succeeded by fellow Democrat Chet Culver, elected in 2006.
Among the educational institutions in Iowa are Iowa State Univ. of Science and Technology, at Ames; the Univ. of Iowa, at Iowa City; Grinnell College, at Grinnell; Cornell College, at Mount Vernon; Drake Univ., at Des Moines; Univ. of Northern Iowa, at Cedar Falls; and the Univ. of Dubuque, Loras College, and Clarke College, at Dubuque.
History
European Incursions into Native Lands
In prehistoric times, the Mound Builders, a farming people, lived in the Iowa area. When Europeans first came to explore the region in the 17th cent., various Native American groups, including the Iowa, reputedly the source of the state's name, occupied the land. The Sac and Fox also ranged over the land, but it was the combative Sioux who dominated the area. In 1673 the French explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet traveled down the Mississippi River and touched upon the Iowa shores, as did Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, in 1681–82. The areas surrounding the Des Moines and Mississippi rivers were profitable for fur traders, and a number of Iowa towns developed from trading posts.
Late in the 18th cent. a French Canadian, Julien Dubuque, leased land from Native Americans around the Dubuque area and opened lead mines there. After his death they refused to permit others to work the mines, and U.S. troops under Lt. Jefferson Davis protected Native American rights to the land as late as 1830. However, their hold was doomed after the United States acquired Iowa as part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.
In 1832 the Black Hawk War broke out as the Sac and Fox, led by their chief, Black Hawk, fought to regain their former lands in Illinois along the Mississippi River. They were defeated by U.S. troops and were forced to leave the Illinois lands and cede to the United States much of their land along the river on the Iowa side. Within two decades after the Black Hawk War, all Native American lands in the region had been ceded to the United States. Meanwhile, a great rush of frontiersmen came to settle the prairies and take the mines.
Territorial Status
Slavery was prohibited in Iowa under the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which excluded it from the lands of the Louisiana Purchase north of lat. 36°30′N. Included in the Missouri Territory prior to 1821, Iowa was subsequently part of Michigan Territory and Wisconsin Territory. By 1838, Iowa Territory was organized, with Burlington as the temporary capital. In the following year, Iowa City became the capital. The Iowans quickly built a rural civilization like that of New England, where many of them had lived. Later, immigrants from Europe, notably Germans, Czechs, Dutch, and Scandinavians, brought their agricultural skills and their own customs to enrich Iowa's rural life, and a group of German Pietists established the Amana Church Society, a successful attempt at communal social organization. A system of public schools was set up in 1839, and efforts made soon thereafter resulted in the establishment of a number of colleges and universities.
Statehood, Railroads, and Reform Movements
Iowa became a state in 1846, and Ansel Briggs was elected as the first governor. In 1857 the capital was moved from Iowa City to Des Moines. In that same year the state adopted its second constitution. Iowa prospered greatly with the beginning of railroad construction, and the rivalry between towns to get the lines was so fierce that the grant of big land tracts to railroad companies was curtailed by legislative act in 1857. Two years earlier the state's first railroad line was completed between Davenport and Muscatine along the eastern border. Before and during the Civil War, Iowans, generally owners of small, independent farms, were naturally sympathetic to the antislavery side, and many fought for the Union. The Underground Railroad, which helped many fugitive slaves escape to free states, was active in Iowa, and the abolitionist John Brown made his headquarters there for a time.
Iowa's farmers prospered after the Civil War, but during the hard times that afflicted the country in the 1870s they found themselves burdened with debts. Feeling oppressed by the currency system, corporations, and high railroad and grain-storage rates, many of Iowa's farmers supported, along with other farmers of the West, the Granger movement, the Greenback party, and the Populist party. The reform movements had some success in the state. Granger laws were enacted in 1874 and 1876 regulating railroad rates, but these laws were repealed in 1877 under pressure from the railroad companies. By the end of the 19th cent., times improved, and the agrarian movements declined. Farm units grew larger, and mechanization brought great increases in productivity.
Modern Iowa
Much of Iowa's society may still resemble that depicted in the paintings of Grant Wood, an Iowan, but the state's industrial economy as well as other elements of modernization have altered this image. While on a visit to the United States in 1959, Nikita S. Khrushchev, then premier of the Soviet Union, was invited to a farm in Iowa to observe part of the U.S. farm economy. The volatile nature of agricultural prices combined with a steady decline in manufacturing has made Iowa susceptible to economic recession. This was especially true in the 1980s, when Iowa was second in the United States in outmigration with a 4.7% decline in population.
Notable Iowans
Among Iowa's colorful native sons were Buffalo Bill Cody, labor leader John L. Lewis, and baseball player–evangelist Billy Sunday. Other public figures associated with the state are James Wilson, U.S. secretary of agriculture for 16 years (1897–1913), and the noted members of the Wallace family—Henry Wallace, Henry Cantwell Wallace, and Henry Agard Wallace. Herbert C. Hoover and Harry L. Hopkins were born in Iowa. Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, which contains Hoover's birthplace, childhood home, and grave, and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library are at West Branch.
Bibliography
See H. Hahn, Urban-Rural Conflict (1971); M. M. Rosenberg, Iowa on the Eve of the Civil War (1972); R. B. Talbot, Iowa in the World Economy (1985); O. J. Fargo, ed., Iowa Geography (1988), “History of Iowa” series; D. Schwieder et al., Iowa: Past to Present (1989).
State in the midwestern United States bordered by Minnesota to the north, Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Missouri to the south, and Nebraska and South Dakota to the west. Its capital and largest city is Des Moines.
Local Time: May 16, 2:18 PM
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| State of Iowa | |||||||||||
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| Official language(s) | English | ||||||||||
| Capital | Des Moines | ||||||||||
| Largest city | Des Moines | ||||||||||
| Area | Ranked 26th | ||||||||||
| - Total | 56,272 sq mi (145,743 km²) |
||||||||||
| - Width | 310 miles (500 km) | ||||||||||
| - Length | 199 miles (320 km) | ||||||||||
| - % water | 0.71 | ||||||||||
| - Latitude | 40° 23′ N to 43° 30′ N | ||||||||||
| - Longitude | 90° 8′ W to 96° 38′ W | ||||||||||
| Population | Ranked 30th | ||||||||||
| - Total (2000) | 2,926,324 | ||||||||||
| - Density | 52.4/sq mi 20.22/km² (33rd) |
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| Elevation | |||||||||||
| - Highest point | Hawkeye Point[1] 1,670 ft (509 m) |
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| - Mean | 1,099 ft (335 m) | ||||||||||
| - Lowest point | Mississippi River[1] at Keokuk 480 ft (146 m) |
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| Admission to Union | December 28, 1846 (29th) | ||||||||||
| Governor | Chet Culver (D) | ||||||||||
| U.S. Senators | Chuck Grassley (R) Tom Harkin (D) |
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| Congressional Delegation | List | ||||||||||
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/DST-5 | ||||||||||
| Abbreviations | US-IA | ||||||||||
| Web site | www.iowa.gov | ||||||||||
The State of Iowa (IPA: /ˈaɪəwə/) is
a state in the midwestern region of the
The Mississippi River forms the eastern boundary of the state. The boundary along the west is formed by the Missouri River south of Sioux City and by the Big Sioux River north of Sioux City. There are several natural lakes in the state, most notably Spirit Lake, West Okoboji Lake, and East Okoboji Lake in northwest Iowa (see Iowa Great Lakes). Man-made lakes include Lake Odessa[1], Saylorville Lake, Lake Red Rock, Coralville Lake, Lake MacBride and Rathbun Lake.
The topography of the state is gently rolling plains. Loess hills lie along the western border of the state, some of which are several hundred feet thick. In the northeast, along the Mississippi River, is a section of the Driftless Zone, which in Iowa consists of low rugged hills covered with conifers—a landscape not usually associated with this state.
The point of lowest elevation is Keokuk in southeastern Iowa, at 480 feet (146 m). The point of highest elevation, at 1,670 feet (509 m), is Hawkeye Point, located in a feedlot north of Sibley in northwest Iowa. The mean elevation of the state is 1,099 feet (335 m). Considering the size of the state at 56,271 square miles (145,743 km²), there is very little elevation difference.
Iowa has 99 counties. The state capital, Des Moines,
is located in Polk County (
Iowa has the highest average radon concentrations in the nation due to significant glaciation that ground the granitic rocks from the Canadian Shield and deposited it as soils making up the rich Iowa farmland http://www.cheec.uiowa.edu/misc/radon.html. Because of the high surface area of the ground rock, radon is free to off-gas from the soils. Many cities within the state, such as Iowa City have passed requirements for radon resistant construction in all new homes.
Areas controlled and protected by the National Park Service include:
Iowa, like most of the Midwest, has a humid continental climate throughout
the state (Koppen climate classification Dfa) with extremes of both
heat and cold. The average annual temperature at Des Moines is 50 °F (10 °C); for some
locations in the north the figure is under 45 °F (8 °C), while Keokuk, on the
Mississippi River, averages 52 °F (12 °C). Winters are brisk and snowfall is common,
the capital (Des Moines) receiving an average of 36.3 inches (92 cm) per season. Spring
ushers in the beginning of the severe weather season, as well as bringing increased
precipitation and warming temperatures. The Iowan
Iowa averages about 50 days of thunderstorm activity per year.[2] Some of these thunderstorms can be severe with high winds and hail. The state has a moderately high risk of tornadic activity with, on average, 37 tornadoes per year, mostly in the spring and summer months.[3]
| Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures For Various Iowa Cities | ||||||||||||
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davenport | 30/12 | 36/18 | 48/29 | 61/39 | 73/50 | 82/60 | 86/65 | 84/62 | 77/53 | 64/42 | 48/30 | 35/18 |
| Des Moines | 29/12 | 35/18 | 48/29 | 61/40 | 72/51 | 82/61 | 86/66 | 84/64 | 76/54 | 64/42 | 47/29 | 33/17 |
| Dubuque | 25/9 | 31/15 | 43/26 | 57/38 | 69/49 | 79/58 | 82/62 | 80/60 | 72/52 | 60/40 | 44/28 | 30/15 |
| Sioux City | 29/8 | 35/15 | 47/26 | 62/37 | 73/49 | 82/58 | 86/63 | 84/61 | 76/50 | 64/38 | 45/25 | 32/13 |
| Waterloo | 26/6 | 32/13 | 45/25 | 60/36 | 72/48 | 82/58 | 85/62 | 83/60 | 75/50 | 62/38 | 45/25 | 31/12 |
| [2] | ||||||||||||
Iowa is bordered by the following states:
Highlights:
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1840 |
—
|
||
| 1850 | 345.8% | ||
| 1860 | 251.1% | ||
| 1870 | 76.9% | ||
| 1880 | 36.1% | ||
| 1890 | 17.7% | ||
| 1900 | 16.7% | ||
| 1910 | -0.3% | ||
| 1920 | 8.1% | ||
| 1930 | 2.8% | ||
| 1940 | 2.7% | ||
| 1950 | 3.3% | ||
| 1960 | 5.2% | ||
| 1970 | 2.4% | ||
| 1980 | 3.2% | ||
| 1990 | -4.7% | ||
| 2000 | 5.4% | ||
| Est. 2006 | 1.9% | ||
As of 2006, Iowa has an estimated population of 2,982,085, which is an increase of 17,892, or 0.6%, from the prior year and an increase of 55,761 or 1.9%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 53,706 people (that is 197,163 births minus 143,457 deaths) and a decrease due to net migration of 11,754 people out of the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 29,386 people, while migration within the country produced a net loss of 41,140 people.
The center of population of Iowa is located in Marshall County, in the city of Marshalltown [3].
| Demographics of Iowa (csv) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By race | White | Black | AIAN | Asian | NHPI |
| AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native - NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | |||||
| 2000 (total population) | 96.14% | 2.51% | 0.63% | 1.48% | 0.08% |
| 2000 (Hispanic only) | 2.68% | 0.08% | 0.08% | 0.03% | 0.01% |
| 2005 (total population) | 95.79% | 2.79% | 0.61% | 1.67% | 0.08% |
| 2005 (Hispanic only) | 3.48% | 0.13% | 0.09% | 0.03% | 0.01% |
| Growth 2000-2005 (total population) | 1.01% | 12.55% | -2.70% | 14.41% | 1.01% |
| Growth 2000-2005 (non-Hispanic only) | 0.12% | 11.13% | -5.68% | 14.14% | 0.05% |
| Growth 2000-2005 (Hispanic only) | 31.91% | 53.85% | 19.33% | 29.51% | 7.14% |
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2004, Iowa's population included about 97,000 foreign-born (3.3%).
Iowans are mostly of Northern European origin. The eight largest ancestry groups in Iowa are: German (35.7%), Irish (13.5%), English (9.5%), American (6.6%), Norwegian (5.7%), Dutch (4.6%), Swedish (3.3%) and Danish (3.2%)
6.4% of Iowa's population were reported as under the age of five, 23.3 under 18, and 14.0% were 65 or older. Males made up approximately 49.2% of the population.[4]
Iowa, in common with other Midwestern states (especially Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota), is feeling the brunt of rural flight, although Iowa has been gaining population since approximately 1990. 89% of the total number of cities in those states have fewer than 3,000 people; hundreds have fewer than 1,000. Between 1996 and 2004, almost half a million people, nearly half with college degrees, left the six states.
Most Iowans are Protestant Christians, with Lutheranism being the largest single Protestant denomination, followed by Methodist. The state has the second largest population of Reformed Christians, both RCA and CRC.
The religious affiliations of the people of Iowa are:[5]
The state's total gross state product for 2005 was US$113.5 billion.[6] Its per capita income for 2006 was US$23,340.[7] Iowa's main agricultural outputs are hogs, corn, soybeans, oats, cattle and dairy products. Its industrial outputs are food processing, machinery, electric equipment, chemical products, publishing and primary metals. Iowa produces the nation's largest amount of ethanol. Des Moines also serves as a center for the insurance industry.
Iowa imposes taxes on net state income of individuals and estates and trusts. There are currently nine income tax brackets, ranging from 0.36% to 8.98%. The state
Property tax is levied on the taxable value of real property, that is, mostly land, buildings, structures, and other improvements that are constructed on or in the land, attached to the land or placed upon a foundation. Typical improvements include a building, house or mobile home, fences, and paving. The following five classes of real property are evaluated: residential, agricultural, commercial, industrial and utilities/railroad (which is assessed at the state level). Homeowners pay less than half of the property tax collected each year in Iowa. Farmers pay 21%, and businesses and industry, a total of 23%. Utility companies, including railroads, pay 10%. Iowa has more than 2,000 taxing authorities. Most property is taxed by more than one taxing authority. The tax rate differs in each locality and is a composite of county, city or rural township, school district and special levies.
These are ten interstate highways that go through Iowa:
These are 20 United States highways that go through Iowa:
