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Place Name
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Iowa
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Place Status (Type)
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state
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Capital is
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DES MOINES
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Population
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2,841,764 (1995)
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Location
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Iowa, United States, North America
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Latitude
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42°02'N
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Longitude
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93°28'W
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Iowa
, state (
56,276 sq mi/145,755 sq km; 1995
est. pop. 2,841,764), N central U.S., in the Midwest, admitted to the
Union in 1846 as the 29th state; 
Des Moines; 42°02'N
93°28'W. Des Moines is the largest city; other major cities are
Cedar Rapids, Davenport, and Sioux City. Nicknamed
the Hawkeye State, Iowa (IA) is bordered on 2 sides by rivers; the
Mississippi separates it on the E from Wis. and Ill., and the Missouri
and the Big Sioux separate it on the W from Nebr. and S.Dak. The state
is bounded on the N by Minn. and on the S by Mo.;
22 mi/35 km of border with Mo. formed by Des
Moines R., in SE. 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 E
⅔ of Iowa flow to the Mississippi; those of the
remaining ⅓ 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 the present wooded
sects. are covered only with a 2d or 3d growth of timber. Typical of
Iowa is the prairie. The Iowa lakes dist., extending S from Minn., has
over 40 small natural lakes of glacial origin, most generally NE of
Spencer, and a smaller group generally W of Mason City; a regional
recreation area. Covered a little more than a cent. ago with grass
higher than the wheels of the pioneers' prairie schooners (covered
wagons), the prairies are now covered with fields of corn and other
grains. The wildflowers that once blossomed among the prairie grass
still brighten the roadsides; however, few areas of the original
grassland remain, and prairie grass preserves have been established.
The cornfields have replaced the grasslands as the habitat of wild
turkeys, prairie chickens, and quail. Iowa abounds with migratory geese
and ducks and the imported ring-necked pheasant and Eur. partridge, all
of which are hunted in the autumn. The climate is
continental: NW winds drive the mercury down to below
0°F/−18°C in winter, and in the summer hot air masses
bring oppressive heat; violent thunderstorms, hail, and occasional
droughts vex the farmer. The average annual rainfall is 31
in/78.7 cm, and, since most of the rain falls in
summer, the soil is often washed away. Iowans have had to fight erosion
with modern plowing and planting practices, control of water flow, and
reforestation. In addition, floods have inflicted great loss of life
and property damage on cities and countryside alike; therefore,
flood-control projects are vitally important to Iowa. The state was at
the center of the catastrophic floods of 1993, and suffered
greatly as a result. Des Moines and Davenport were hit especially hard.
Yet Iowa has some of the most fertile agr. land in the world. The deep,
porous soil yields corn and other grains in tremendous quantities, and
the corn-fed hogs and cattle are nationally known. In 1990, Iowa (IA) led
the nation in the production of corn and hogs, and ranked in the top 10
in the raising of cattle. In addition to corn, Iowa (IA)'s other major
crops are soybeans, hay, and oats. Iowans have used the rich earth and
its bounty to gain the nation's 2d-highest total cash receipts from
farm marketing. Agr. in Iowa also benefits the state's chief industry,
food processing, and in Sioux City and Cedar Rapids many factories
process farm prods. Machinery, tires, appliances, electronic equip.,
and chemicals are among the other mfg. Cement is the most important
mineral prod.; others are stone, sand, gravel, lead, zinc, and gypsum.
Mineral production is small, however. In prehistoric times, the Mound
Builders, a farming people, lived in the Iowa area. When Europeans 1st
came to explore the region in the 17th cent., various Native Amer.
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 Fr.
explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet traveled down the
Mississippi R. and touched upon the Iowa shores, as did Robert
Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, in 1681-1682. 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 Fr. 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 Amer. rights to the land
as late as 1830. However, their hold was doomed after the U.S. 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 Ill. along the Mississippi R.
They were defeated by U.S. troops and were forced to leave the Ill.
lands and cede to the U.S. much of their land along the river on the
Iowa side. Within 2 decades after the Black Hawk War, all Native Amer.
lands had been ceded to the U.S. Meanwhile, a great rush of
frontiersmen came to settle the prairies and take the mines. Slavery
was prohibited in Iowa under the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which
excluded it from the lands of the Louisiana Purchase N of lat.
36°30'N. Part of Missouri Territory prior to 1821, Iowa (IA) was
subsequently part of both the Michigan and Wisconsin territories. By
1838, Iowa (IA) Territory was organized, with Burlington as the temporary
capital. In the following year, Iowa (IA) 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 agr. skills
and their own customs to enrich Iowa's rural life, and a group of Ger.
Pietists established the Amana Church Society, a successful attempt at
communal social organization. A system of public schools was set up in
1839, and successful efforts soon were made to establish
colleges and univs. Iowa became a state in 1846, and Ansel Briggs was
elected as the 1st governor. In 1857 the capital was moved from Iowa
City to Des Moines. In that same year the state adopted its 2d
constitution. Iowa prospered greatly with the beginning of RR
construction, and the rivalry bet. towns to get the lines was so fierce
that the grant of big land tracts to RR companies was curtailed by
legislative act in 1857. In 1855 the state's 1st RR line was completed
bet. Davenport and Muscatine along the E border. Before and during the
Civil War, Iowa (IA)ns, 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 hq. 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 RR and
grain-storage rates, many of Iowa's farmers supported 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 RR rates, but these laws were repealed in 1877
under pressure from the RR companies. By the end of the 19th cent.,
times improved, and the agr. movements declined. Farm units grew
larger, and mechanization brought great increases in productivity. Much
of the state's society may still resemble that depicted in the
paintings of Iowan artist Grant Wood, but the state's industrial
economy as well as other elements of modernization has altered this
image. The volatile nature of agr. prices combined with a steady
decline in mfg. has made Iowa susceptible to economic recession. This
was esp. true in the 1980s, when Iowa was 2d in the U.S. in
outmigration with a 4.7% decline in pop. Among Iowa's colorful
figures were Buffalo Bill, John Wayne, Bix Beiderbecke, Glenn
Miller, and Billy Sunday. Other public figures associated with the
state are James Wilson, U.S. Secretary of Agr. 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 Natl. Historic Site, which contains Hoover's
birthplace, childhood home, and grave, and the Herbert Hoover
Presidential Lib. are at West Branch. On July 19, 1989, United Airlines
DC-10 crashed at Sioux City, killing 111. N of Marquette is
Effigy Mounds Natl. Monument, site of Native Amer. mounds
built by the area's earliest inhabitants. Many state parks and forests
provide recreational facilities. Iowa's constitution was adopted in
1857. The governor is elected for a term of 4 years and may be
reelected. The general assembly, or legislature, has a senate with
50 members elected for 4-year terms and a house of
representatives with 100 members elected for 2-year terms. Iowa
is represented in the U.S. Congress by 2 senators and 5
representatives. The state has 7 electoral votes. Terry Branstad, a
Republican, was elected governor in 1982 and was reelected in 1986, and
1990. Among the educational institutions in Iowa are Iowa State Univ.
of Science and Technology, at Ames; the Univ. of Iowa, at Iowa City;
Grinnell Col., at Grinnell; Cornell Col., at Mount Vernon; Drake Univ.,
at Des Moines; Univ. of Northern Iowa, at Cedar Falls; and the Univ. of
Dubuque, Loras Col., and Clarke Col., at Dubuque. Iowa has 99 cos.:
Adair,
Adams,
Allamakee,
Appanoose,
Audubon,
Benton,
Black Hawk,
Boone,
Bremer,
Buchanan,
Buena Vista,
Butler,
Calhoun,
Carroll,
Cass,
Cedar,
Cerro Gordo,
Cherokee,
Chickasaw,
Clarke,
Clay,
Clayton,
Clinton,
Crawford,
Dallas,
Davis,
Decatur,
Delaware,
Des Moines,
Dickinson,
Dubuque,
Emmet,
Fayette,
Floyd,
Frankin,
Fremont,
Greene,
Grundy,
Guthrie,
Hamilton,
Hancock,
Hardin,
Harrison,
Henry,
Howard,
Humboldt,
Ida,
Iowa,
Jackson,
Jasper,
Jefferson,
Johnson,
Jones,
Keokuk,
Kossuth,
Lee,
Linn,
Louisa,
Lucas,
Lyon,
Madison,
Mahaska,
Marion,
Marshall,
Mills,
Mitchell,
Monona,
Monroe,
Montgomery,
Muscatine,
O'Brien,
Osceola,
Page,
Palo Alto,
Plymouth,
Pocahontas,
Polk,
Pottawattamie,
Poweshiek,
Ringgold,
Sac,
Scott,
Shelby,
Sioux,
Story,
Tama,
Taylor,
Union,
Van Buren,
Wapello,
Warren,
Washington,
Wayne,
Webster,
Winnebago,
Winneshiek,
Woodbury,
Worth, and
Wright.
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