Native Americans in the United States have resided in what is now

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

for thousands of years. The written history of Iowa begins with the proto-historic accounts of Native Americans by explorers such as Marquette and Joliet in the 1680s. Until the early 19th century Iowa was occupied exclusively by Native Americans and a few European traders, with loose political control by France and Spain.Schwieder, Dorothy, ''History of Iowa'', Iowa Official Register, http://publications.iowa.gov/135/1/history/7-1.html Iowa became part of the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

after the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

in 1803, but uncontested U.S. control over what is now Iowa occurred only after the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

and after a series of treaties eliminated Indian claims on the state. Beginning in the 1830s Euro-American settlements appeared in the Iowa Territory, U.S. statehood was acquired in 1846, and by 1860 almost the entire state was settled and farmed by Euro-Americans. Subsistence frontier farming was replaced by commodity farming after the construction of railroad networks in the 1850s and 1860s. Iowa contributed many soldiers who fought in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Afterwards they returned to help transform Iowa into an agricultural powerhouse, supplying food to the rest of the nation. The industrialization of agriculture and the emergence of centralized commodities markets in the late 19th and 20th centuries led to a shift towards larger farms and the decline of the small family farm; this was exacerbated during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Industrial production became a larger part of the economy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the postwar economic boom. In the 1970s and 1980s a series of economic shocks, including the oil crisis, the 1980s farm crisis, and the

Early 1980s recession The early 1980s recession was a severe economic recession that affected much of the world between approximately the start of 1980 and 1982. Long-term effects of the early 1980s recession contributed to the Latin American debt crisis, long-lastin ...

led to the collapse of commodities prices, a decline in rural and state population, and

rural flight Rural flight (also known as rural-to-urban migration, rural depopulation, or rural exodus) is the Human migration, migratory pattern of people from rural areas into urban areas. It is urbanization seen from the rural perspective. In Industriali ...

. Iowa's economy rebounded in the 1990s, emerging as a modern mixed economy dominated by industry, commerce, and finance, in which agriculture is a comparatively small component.

Prehistory in Iowa

When the American Indians first arrived (in what is now Iowa) thousands of years ago they would hunt and gather living in a

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

glacial landscape. By the time European explorers visited Iowa, American Indians were largely settled farmers with complex economic, social, and political systems. This transformation happened gradually. During the Archaic period (more than 2,800 years ago), American Indians adapted to local environments and ecosystems, slowly becoming more sedentary as populations increased. More than 3,000 years ago, during the Late Archaic period, American Indians in Iowa began utilizing domesticated plants. The subsequent Woodland period saw an increase on the reliance on agriculture and social complexity, with increased use of mounds, ceramics, and specialized subsistence. During the Late Prehistoric period (beginning about A.D. 900) increased use of maize and social changes led to social flourishing and nucleated settlements. The arrival of European trade goods and diseases in the Protohistoric period led to dramatic population shifts and economic and social upheaval, with the arrival of new tribes and early European explorers and traders.

Early Historic Native Americans

By 1804, there were a number of Native American groups in Iowa: the Sauk (Sac) and Meskwaki (Fox) on the eastern edge of Iowa along the Mississippi; the Ioway along the bank of the Des Moines River; the Otoe, Missouri, and Omaha along the Missouri River, and the Sioux in the Northern and Western parts of the State.Cyrenus Cole, ''A History of the People of Iowa" p. 51 (1921) Additionally, earlier records indicate the presence of the Illinois in Iowa, though they were nearly gone by the time of the 1804 observations. The total number of these groups in Iowa in 1804 is estimated to be less than 15,000. While these groups generally came initially for food, some of them (e.g., Illinois, Sauk, Meskwaki) immigrated as a result of warfare with other tribes or the French. The early and mid-19th century saw the movement of additional groups of Native Americans into Iowa, such as the Potawatomi and Winnebago, followed by the emigration from Iowa of nearly all Native Americans. The first European or American to make contact with Native Americans in Iowa is generally considered to be the Frenchmen Louis Joliet and Pere Jacques Marquette, though earlier contact by others is possible. They had set out to discover the Mississippi River, and contacted the Illinois on the eastern side of Iowa in 1673. They also were told at that time of the presence of the Sioux along the Missouri. Upon the departure of Joliet and Marquette from the Illinois village, they were accompanied to the riverbank by nearly 600 Illinois, who showed "every possible manifestation of joy", having treated the first Europeans well and offered them peace. Additional exploration by early French, British, and American trappers, traders, explorers, and missionaries informs us of the nature of Native American presence in Iowa from this initial contact in 1673 to the start of settlement by the United States. Fort Madison 1810

The Sauk and

Meskwaki The Meskwaki (sometimes spelled Mesquaki), also known by the European exonyms Fox Indians or the Fox, are a Native American people. They have been closely linked to the Sauk people of the same language family. In the Meskwaki language, th ...

constituted the largest and most powerful tribes in the Upper Mississippi Valley. They had earlier moved from the

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

region into

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and by the 1730s, they had relocated in western

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. There they established their villages along the Rock and Mississippi Rivers. They lived in their main villages only for a few months each year. At other times, they traveled throughout western Illinois and eastern Iowa hunting, fishing, and gathering food and materials with which to make domestic articles. Every spring, the two tribes traveled northward into

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

where they tapped

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

trees and made syrup.

Fort Madison Fort Madison is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk, Iowa, Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of ...

was constructed in 1808 to control trade along the Mississippi, and to prevent the reoccupation of the area by the British; Fort Madison was defeated in 1813 by British-allied Indians during the

and was the site of Iowa's only true military battle. The Sauk leader Black Hawk first fought against the U.S. at Fort Madison. Iowa 1798

In 1829, the federal government informed the two tribes that they must leave their villages in western Illinois and move across the Mississippi River into the Iowa region. The federal government claimed ownership of the Illinois land as a result of

Quashquame Quashquame (alt: "Quawsquawma, Quashquami, Quashquammee, Quash-Qua-Mie, Quash-kaume, Quash-quam-ma", meaning "Jumping Fish") (c. 1764 – c. 1832) was a Sauk chief; he was the principal signer of the 1804 treaty that ceded Sauk land to the Unite ...

's Treaty of 1804. The move was made but not without violence. Black Hawk, a highly respected Sauk leader, protested the move and in 1832 returned to reclaim the Illinois village of

Saukenuk The Black Hawk State Historic Site, in Rock Island, Illinois, is adjacent to the historic site of the village of Saukenuk, the home of a band of Native Americans of the Sauk people. It includes the John Hauberg Museum of Native American Life. ...

. For the next three months, the Illinois militia pursued Black Hawk and his band of approximately four hundred Indians northward along the eastern side of the Mississippi River. The Indians surrendered at the

Bad Axe River The Bad Axe River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 13, 2011 tributary of the Mississippi River in southwestern Wisconsin in the United States. "Bad axe" is a t ...

in Wisconsin, their numbers having dwindled to about two hundred. This encounter is known as the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...

. As punishment for their resistance, the federal government required the Sauk and

to relinquish some of their land in eastern Iowa. This land, known as the

Black Hawk Purchase The Black Hawk Purchase, also known as the Forty-Mile Strip or Scott's Purchase, extended along the West side of the Mississippi River from the north boundary of Missouri North to the Upper Iowa River in the northeast corner of Iowa. It was fifty ...

, constituted a strip fifty miles wide lying along the Mississippi River, stretching from the Missouri border to approximately Fayette and Clayton Counties in Northeastern Iowa.Edgar R. Harlan, ''A Narrative History of the People of Iowa'' p. 70 (1931) There were additional cessions by the Sauk and Meskwaki in 1837 (the "Second Black Hawk Purchase") and 1842 (the "New Purchase"), so that by 1845 nearly all had left Iowa. Similarly, other Native American groups gave up their Iowa land via treaties with the United States. Western Iowa was ceded by a group of tribes including the Missouri, Omaha, and Oto in 1830. The Ioway ceded the last of their Iowa lands in 1838. The Winnebago and Potawatomi, who had only a short time before been removed to Iowa, were yet again removed and had left Iowa by 1848 and 1846, respectively. The last remaining group, the Sioux, ceded their last Iowa land via an 1851 treaty with the United States, which they completed in 1852. Today, Iowa is still home to one American Indian group, the

, who reside on the

Meskwaki Settlement Meskwakiinaki, also called the Meskwaki Settlement, is an unincorporated community in Tama County, Iowa, United States, west of Tama.Tama County. After most Sauk and Meskwaki members had been removed from the state, some Meskwaki tribal members, along with a few Sauk, returned to hunt and fish in eastern Iowa. The Indians then approached Governor James Grimes with the request that they be allowed to purchase back some of their original land. They collected $735 for their first land purchase and eventually they bought back approximately 3,200 acres (13 km²). After purchasing some of their land back, the Iowa Legislature fought for the Meskwaki tribe to receive an annual payment from the

Federal Government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

. This took ten years to be resolved.

Iowa's first Euro-American settlers

The

opened up the lands of Iowa to settlers for the first time, and "official" settlement began pursuant to this on June 1, 1833. At the time of the opening of these lands, there were likely only 40–50 Americans then settled in Iowa. Many of those who settled before June 1, 1833, were at the Native American villages of Ahwipetuk (now Nashville) and Puckeshetuk (now Keokuk). Many of the pre-1833 settlers were trappers and traders, though some came to mine.Cyrenus Cole, ''A History of the People of Iowa'' p. 37 (1921) The earliest of these Euro-American settlers were French, as the land was originally under French jurisdiction. They came to trade fur, preach, discover mines, and explore, and were generally transient. A few, however, secured land grants and settled in the area when Iowa was under Spanish jurisdiction. The first settler appears to have been Julien Dubuque, a French-Canadian man who arrived at the lead mines near modern-day Dubuque in 1787. He obtained permission to mine the land from the Meskwaki, who generously stated that he could work the mines "as long as he shall please." Additional early Spanish grants include a grant of land near Montrose to Louis Honore in 1799, and of land near McGregor to Basil Giard in 1796. As previously stated, Euro-American settlement in Iowa was generally sparse before the lands opened in 1833. Most of the immigrants who came shortly after this time were from other states, especially Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and to a lesser extent New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the Carolinas. The great majority of newcomers came in family units. Most families had resided in at least one additional state between the time they left their state of birth and the time they arrived in Iowa. Sometimes families had relocated three or four times before they reached Iowa. At the same time, not all settlers remained here; many soon moved on to the Dakotas or other areas in the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

The settlers soon discovered an environment different from that which they had known back East. Most northeastern and southeastern states were heavily timbered; settlers there had material for building homes, outbuildings, and fences. Moreover, wood also provided ample fuel. Once past the extreme eastern portion of Iowa, settlers quickly discovered that the state was primarily a

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

or tall grass region. Trees grew abundantly in the extreme eastern and southeastern portions, and along rivers and streams, but elsewhere timber was limited. In most portions of eastern and central Iowa, settlers could find sufficient timber for construction of

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...

s, but substitute materials had to be found for fuel and fencing. For fuel, they turned to dried prairie

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

cobs, and dried animal droppings. In southern Iowa, early settlers found coal outcroppings along rivers and streams. People moving into northwest Iowa, an area also devoid of trees, constructed

sod houses The sod house or soddy was a common alternative to the log cabin during frontier settlement of the Great Plains of North America in the 1800s and early 1900s. Primarily used at first for animal shelters, corrals, and fences, they came into use ...

. Some of the early sod house residents wrote in glowing terms about their new quarters, insisting that "soddies" were not only cheap to build but were warm in the winter and cool in the summer. They did not praise the bugs, the smells, or the ever-present dirt, dampness and darkness. Settlers experimented endlessly with substitute fencing materials. Some residents built stone fences; some constructed dirt ridges; others dug ditches. The most successful fencing material was the

osage orange ''Maclura pomifera'', commonly known as the Osage orange ( ), is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, native to the south-central United States. It typically grows about tall. The distinctive fruit, a multiple fruit that resembles an immatur ...

hedge until the 1870s when the invention of

barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire or bob wire (in the Southern and Southwestern United States), is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the ...

provided farmers with satisfactory fencing material. As the settlers came into Iowa, they naturally established communities. Significant of these were Burlington, Dubuque, Davenport, Keokuk, Fort Madison, and Muscatine. By 1836, when the first census was taken in Iowa, there were 10,531 inhabitants. This rapid immigration was but a sign of things to come.

Transportation: Railroad Fever

As thousands of settlers poured into Iowa in the mid-19th century, all shared a common concern for the development of adequate transportation. The earliest settlers shipped their agricultural goods down the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. Steamboats were in widespread use on the Mississippi and major rivers by the 1850s. In the 1850s, Iowans had caught the nation's

railroad fever Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

. By 1860,

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

was served by almost a dozen lines and had become the regional hub. Iowans, like other Midwesterners, were anxious to start railroad building in their state. In the early 1850s, city officials in the river communities of

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has also been used as a given nam ...

Davenport Davenport may refer to: Places Australia *Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality *Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia **Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta **District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...

, and Burlington began to organize local railroad companies. City officials knew that railroads building west from Chicago would soon reach the

opposite the four Iowa cities. With the 1850s, railroad planning took place which eventually resulted in the development of the

Illinois Central The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, the Great Lak ...

, the

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Railroad classes#Class I, Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of t ...

, reaching

Council Bluffs Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...

in 1867. Council Bluffs had been designated as the eastern terminus for the

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

, the railroad that would eventually extend across the western half of the nation and along with the Central Pacific, provide the nation's

First transcontinental railroad America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad), Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the exis ...

. A short time later a fifth railroad, the

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experienced financi ...

, also completed its line across the state. Steamboat traffic continued on the major rivers. The completion of five railroads across Iowa brought major economic changes. Of primary importance, Iowans could travel every month of the year. During the later 19th and early 20th centuries, even small Iowa towns had six passenger trains a day. Railroads provided year-round transportation for Iowa's farmers. With Chicago's preeminence as a railroad center, the corn, wheat, beef, and pork raised by Iowa's farmers could be shipped through Chicago, to markets in the U.S. and worldwide. Railroads made industry possible. Before 1870, Iowa contained some manufacturing firms in river towns. Most new industry were based on food processing or farm machinery. In

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in u ...

, John and Robert Stuart, along with their cousin, George Douglas, started an

oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural). Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop, as their seeds ...

s processing plant. In time, this firm took the name

Quaker Oats The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. As Quaker Mill Company, the company was founded in 1877 in Ravenna, Ohio. In 1881, Henry Crowell bought the company and launched a national ad ...

Meat packing The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally n ...

plants also appeared in the 1870s in different parts of the state: Sinclair Meat Packing opened in Cedar Rapids, Booge and Company started in Sioux City, and John Morrell & Company set up operations in Ottumwa. The railroads also created a significant demand for coal. Coal mines were quickly opened and expanded wherever the new railroads passed through areas with coal exposures. The

encouraged development of mines in Boone and Moingona. The

Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States from 1847 ...

encouraged similar development in

Mystic, Iowa Mystic is a city in Appanoose County, Iowa, United States. The population was 322 at the time of the 2020 census. History At the end of the 19th century, "the valley of Walnut Creek was one continuous mining camp, known under different names, ...

and neighboring coal camps. Where railroads did not have direct access to sufficient coal, long branch lines were built into the coal fields. The

Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway The Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway (BCR&N) was a railroad that operated in the United States from 1876 to 1903. It was formed to take over the operations of the bankrupt Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota Railway, which was, in ...

built a 66-mile branch to What Cheer in 1879, and the

Chicago and North Western The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

built a 64-mile branch to its mines in Muchakinock in 1884. By 1899, Iowa's coal mines employed 11,029 men to produce almost 5 million tons of coal per year. In 1919, Iowa had about 240 coal mines that between them produced over 8 million tons of coal per year and employed about 15,000 men.

American Civil War

Iowa became a state on December 28, 1846 (the 29th state), and the state continued to attract many settlers, both native and foreign-born. Only the extreme northwestern part of the state remained a

frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...

area.

supported the Union during the American Civil War, voting heavily for Lincoln and the Republicans, though there was a strong antiwar " Copperhead" movement among settlers of Southerner origins and among Catholics. There were no battles in the state, but Iowa sent large supplies of food to the armies and the eastern cities. More than 75,000 Iowans served, many in combat units attached to the western armies. 13,001 died of wounds or (two-thirds) of disease. Eight thousand five hundred Iowans were wounded. The draft was not used in Iowa during the Civil War because Iowa had twelve thousand more men serving than the draft called for.

Political arena of late 19th through early 20th century

The Civil War era brought considerable change to Iowa and perhaps one of the most visible changes came in the political arena. During the 1840s, most Iowans voted Democratic although the state also contained some Whigs. During the 1850s, however, the state's Democratic Party developed serious internal problems as well as being unsuccessful in getting the national Democratic Party to respond to their needs. Iowans soon turned to the newly emerging Republican Party. The new party opposed slavery and promoted land ownership, banking, and railroads. The political career of James Grimes illustrates this change. In 1854, Iowans elected Grimes governor on the Whig ticket. Two years later, Iowans elected Grimes governor on the Republican ticket. Grimes would later serve as a Republican United States Senator from Iowa. Republicans took over state politics in the 1850s and quickly instigated several changes. They moved the state capital from

Iowa City Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-most populous city. The Iowa City metropolitan area, which enc ...

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, established the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

and they wrote a new state

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. During the Civil War, many Democrats supported the anti-war Copperhead movement. From the late 1850s until well into the 20th century, Iowans remained largely Republican. Only once, in 1889, did Democrats elect a governor,

Horace Boies Horace Boies (December 7, 1827 – April 4, 1923) served as the 14th Governor of Iowa from 1890 to 1894 as a member of the Democratic Party. Early Life Horace was born in Aurora, New York to Eber Boies, a farmer and veteran of the War of 1 ...

who was reelected in 1891. Their secret was winning increased support from the "wet" (anti-prohibition) Germans. Historically, the Democrats were strongest in German areas, especially along the Mississippi River. Thus, the German Catholic city of Dubuque continues to be a Democratic stronghold. Meanwhile, the Yankees and Scandinavians (and Quakers) were overwhelmingly Republican. Several Republicans took leadership positions in Washington, particularly Senators

William Boyd Allison William Boyd Allison (March 2, 1829 – August 4, 1908) was an American politician. An early leader of the Iowa Republican Party, he represented northeastern Iowa in the United States House of Representatives before representing his state in th ...

Jonathan P. Dolliver Jonathan Prentiss Dolliver (February 6, 1858October 15, 1910) was a Republican orator, U.S. Representative, then U.S. Senator from Iowa at the turn of the 20th century.Thomas Richard Ross, ''Jonathan Prentiss Dolliver: A Study in Political Inte ...

, and

Albert Baird Cummins Albert Baird Cummins (February 15, 1850July 30, 1926) was an American lawyer and politician. He was the 18th governor of Iowa, elected to three consecutive terms and U.S. Senator for Iowa, serving for 18 years. Cummins was a leader of the Prog ...

, as well as Speaker of the House David B. Henderson.

Progressive movement

The spirit of progressivism emerged in the 1890s, flourished in the 1900s, and decayed after 1917. Under the guidance of Governor (1902–1908) and Senator (1908–1926)

the "Iowa Idea" played a major role in state and national

progressivism Progressivism is a Left-right political spectrum, left-leaning political philosophy and Reformism, reform political movement, movement that seeks to advance the human condition through social reform. Adherents hold that progressivism has unive ...

. A leading Republican, Cummins fought to break up monopolies. His Iowa successes included establishing the direct primary to allow voters to select candidates instead of bosses; outlawing free railroad passes for politicians; imposing a two-cents per mile railway maximum passenger fare; imposing pure food and drug laws; and abolishing corporate campaign contributions. He tried, without success, to lower the high protective tariff in Washington. TIMEMagazine10Dec1923

Women put

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

on the state agenda. It was led by local chapters of the

Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far ...

, whose main goal was to impose prohibition. In keeping with the general reform mood of the latter 1860s and 1870s, the issue first received serious consideration when both houses of the General Assembly passed a women's suffrage amendment to the state constitution in 1870. Two years later, however, when the legislature had to consider the amendment again before it could be submitted to the general electorate. It was defeated because interest had waned, and strong opposition had developed especially in the

German-American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

community, which feared women would impose prohibition. Finally, in 1920, Iowa got woman suffrage with the rest of the country by the 19th amendment to the federal Constitution.

Iowa: Home for Immigrants

As the cession of Native American lands in Iowa continued, settlement by the United States pushed further westward. By 1838 there were 22,859 people in Iowa, and 42,112 by 1840. One interesting occasion illustrating the westward push occurred on April 30, 1843.Cyrenus Cole, ''A History of the People of Iowa'' p. 177 (1921) Much of the land in central Iowa had been ceded from the Native Americans to the United States pursuant to the "New Purchase" in 1842. As the date at which settlement would be allowed approached, settlers gathered at the border to these new lands. On April 30, 1843, a cannon sounded at midnight, after which the settlers pushed into the new lands and settled many areas by sunrise. Most of the settlers who came into these "New Purchase" lands were from Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Missouri, and to a lesser extent Wisconsin, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Notable during the 1840s was the arrival of the Norwegians in 1840,George T. Flom, "The Coming of the Norwegians to Iowa", 3, ''The Iowa Journal of History and Politics'' pp. 347, 347 (1905) Swedes in 1845, and Dutch in 1847.Cardinal Goodwin, "The American Occupation of Iowa, 1833 to 1860", 17, ''The Iowa Journal of History and Politics'' pp. 83, 93 (1919) By 1850, there were 192,214 people living in Iowa. Nearly 90% of the population at this time was from America, with Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania contributing the most settlers.Edgar R. Harlan, ''A Narrative History of the People of Iowa'' p. 270 (1931) Though immigration from other parts of the world had not yet hit full stride, there nonetheless existed 20,969 foreign immigrants in 1850. The largest group was the Germans with over 7,000, followed by the Irish with 4,885, England with 3,785, Canada with 1,756, the Netherlands with 1,108, 712 from Scotland, 361 from Norway, 231 from Sweden, and 19 from Denmark. Czechs also comprised a large settlement group. Settlement patterns to this point generally were in the southern and eastern parts of the state, often near the rivers. Immigration during this time was affected by many things, notably: the completion of railroads to the Mississippi, the advertising of Iowa lands by railroad and steamship companies, the publication of favorable guides and articles, drought in the Ohio Valley, and a cholera epidemic in other states. One fine example of a guide is John B. Newhall's ''Sketches of Iowa: Or, The Emigrant's Guide'', written in 1841 for prospective British emigrants. Additional examples include Nathan Parker's ''Iowa as it is in 1855: a Gazetteer for Citizens, and a Handbook for Immigrants'' and John Taylor's ''Iowa: the "Great Hunting Ground" of the Indian; and the "Beautiful Land" of the White Man: Information for Immigrants''. Other factors affecting immigration were frequently religious and political oppression in the immigrant's homeland,George M. Stephenson, ''A History of American Immigration'' (1926) as well as economic problems in the homeland. While nativism was strong in other states, Iowa wanted immigrants and resisted the

Know-Nothing Party The American Party, known as the Native American Party before 1855 and colloquially referred to as the Know Nothings, or the Know Nothing Party, was an Old Stock nativist political movement in the United States in the 1850s. Members of the m ...

. Utopians came to Iowa in the 1850s to start the communistic colonies of Icaria, Amana, and New Buda, where property was held in common.Cyrenus Cole, ''A History of the People of Iowa'' p. 228 (1921) Icaria was a French colony settled near Corning, Iowa, in 1858. The goal of the Icarian settlers was to live in accordance with the ideas of Etienne Cabet as a purely socialist community. Amana was a religious colony formed by German pietists in 1855 that practiced communism until 1932. It then became a center of modern manufacturing, especially of household appliances. New Buda was a proposed colony by a group of defeated Hungarian revolutionaries who arrived in Iowa in 1850, but was never built. Immigration to Iowa continued to accelerate throughout the remainder of the 19th century, peaking in 1890. Immigration of foreign-born persons was no exception. In 1860, 106,081 of the 674,913 people living in Iowa were foreign-born persons.Cyrenus Cole, ''A History of the People of Iowa'' p. 241 (1921) Most were German or Irish, though there were many from the rest of the United Kingdom, as well as Norway and Sweden. African-Americans also began immigrating to Iowa in more significant numbers through the 1860s, going from 1,069 inhabitants in 1860 to 5,762 in 1870.Leola Nelson Bergmann, "The Negro in Iowa", 46, ''The Iowa Journal of History and Politics'' pp. 3, 34 (1948) The 1870s saw 204,692 foreign-born immigrants in Iowa, with 261,650 and 324,069 in 1880 and 1890, respectively. Competition among the states for immigrants was increasing during this time, leading Iowa to take certain measures to attract immigrants.Jacob Van Der Zee, "British Emigrants to Iowa", in ''The British in Iowa'' pp. 17, 35 (Benj. F. Shambaugh, ed., 1922) The Iowa State Board of Immigration was created in 1870, and began printing promotional materials. One notable booklet was titled ''Iowa: The Home of Immigrants''. The publication gave physical, social, educational, and political descriptions of Iowa. The legislature instructed that the booklet be published in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, and Danish. The tide of foreign immigration receded, so that many groups had largely stopped coming by the beginning of the 20th century. Some, however, were just starting to immigrate. Southern and Eastern European immigration, especially from Italy and Croatia, began in not insignificant amounts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as they came to work in Iowan coal mines. The early 20th century also saw the start of steady immigration from Mexico, and the mid-1970s saw immigration from Southeast Asia (especially the Tai Dam, Vietnamese, and Lao) as refugees from the Vietnam War searched for a peaceful place to live.

Immigration patterns

Dutch

The Dutch came to Iowa in 1847 while under the leadership of Reverend Hendrik (Henry) Pieter Scholte. There are several reasons for their immigration. Many did not like the new leadership of the Netherlands under William I. Economic conditions were poor in their homeland, worsened by a potato crop failure There was also a desire to obtain religious freedom, after having been treated poorly on account of religion in their home country.Jacob Van Der Zee, "The Coming of the Hollanders to Iowa", 9, ''The Iowa Journal of History and Politics'' pp. 528, 528 (1911) It is likely the latter motivation that led them to name their first Iowan colony Pella, in reference to a religious place of refuge. Once initially established, letters from early Dutch immigrants were published and circulated in the Netherlands, increasing subsequent immigration. A fine example of this is an 1848 piece by Scholte himself, Eene Stem uit Pelle (A Voice from Pella). Additional Dutch immigration continued to Pella, and in the following years a daughter colony was founded at Orange City.Cyrenus Cole, ''A History of the People of Iowa'' p. 408 (1921)

Scandinavian

Scandinavian immigration to Iowa mostly consists of Norwegians and Swedes, though there was a small Danish immigration movement as well. Norwegians generally went to the northern parts of the state, Danes to the south, and Swedes in between. The immigration of Scandinavians to Iowa began in significant numbers in the 1850s, and accelerated through the 1890s.George T. Flom, "The Scandinavian Factor in the American Population", 3, ''The Iowa Journal of History and Politics'' pp. 57, 79 (1905) Specifically, there were 611 in the state in 1850, 7814 in 1860, 31,177 in 1870, 46,046 in 1880, and 72,873 by 1890. Central causes for their immigration included the following: Economic problems in the homeland (crop failures, low wages, unemployment), dissatisfaction with church and state, letters from previous immigrants, and promotional material from states. Swedish settlement in Iowa began with New Sweden in 1845 and Burlington in 1846. This was followed in the 1860s by settlement in the central portions of the state. The first colony, New Sweden, was led by Pehr Cassel. They had intended on going to one of the first U.S. Swedish settlements at Pine Lake, Wisconsin, but were convinced by Pehr Dahlberg at New York to travel to Iowa instead. Norwegian immigration to Iowa began in 1840 with settlement at Sugar Creek in southeastern Iowa, and continued with immigration to northern Iowa in the late 1840s. The Sugar Creek colony in Lee County was the result of a failed Missouri colony, and has its origins in the second Norwegian colony in the United States, that of Fox River in La Salle County, Illinois. The northern Iowa settlements extended from Allamakee and Clayton counties to Winnebago county, and came largely from settlements at Rock County, Wisconsin, Dane County, Wisconsin, and Boone County, Illinois. From the late 1850s through the 1880s, Norwegians pushed to the western portions of the state.George T. Flom, "The Coming of the Norwegians to Iowa", 3, ''The Iowa Journal of History and Politics'' pp. 347, 383 (1905) By the early 1890s, Norwegian immigration to Iowa had dropped off.

Czech

Most Czechs in Iowa settled in Cedar Rapids. During the 1850s, Iowa's Czech population became substantial; when the town was reincorporated in 1856, a quarter of its roughly 1,600 inhabitants were Czech immigrants. The availability of cheap land in the new state of Iowa happened to coincide with the Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire that caused a large number of Czechs to flee their homeland and emigrate to the U.S. Today, Cedar Rapids'

Czech Village Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 137,710 at the 2020 census, making it the second-most populous city in Iowa. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa ...

and the

National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (NCSML) is a museum and library of Czechs, Czech and Slovakia, Slovak history and culture located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the United States. Established in 1974, the museum and library moved to its pr ...

celebrate the area's Czech heritage.

Latino

The first Latino group to immigrate to Iowa were Mexicans, who can be traced in small numbers to the 1850 census.Immigrants, ''The Goldfinch'', November 1981 at 1, 14Gregory Rocha, "The History of Hispanics in Iowa", in ''Celebrate Iowa's History of Diversity'' pp. 43, 45 (1995) Substantial Mexican immigration, however, did not begin until the early 1900s. In 1900 there were 29 Mexicans in Iowa, followed by 509 in 1910, and 2,560 in 1920. Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and others from Central and South America followed, though a significant majority of Iowa's Latino population was and remains Mexican. The sharp increase in Mexican immigration in the early 20th century has several causes, mostly economic. Sugar consumption was on the rise nationally, and technological breakthroughs in the sugar beet industry allowed Midwestern farms to expand in attempt to meet that need. As they expanded, the need for labor increased.Gregory Rocha, "The History of Hispanics in Iowa", in ''Celebrate Iowa's History of Diversity'' pp. 43, 47 (1995) Sugar beet growing requires a significant amount of difficult manual labor, and immigration restrictions on Europeans during the time limited their availability to work in the United States. Additionally, Mexican labor was desired because of their strong work ethic and acceptance of lower wages. Consequently, Mexicans were recruited by the American Beet Sugar Company (American Crystal Sugar Company) from Mexico and the southwestern states to work in the north central part of the state, especially around Mason City. For many of the same reasons that Mexicans were recruited to work in the sugar beet industry, they were also recruited to work on the railroads in Iowa. Many of the Mexicans recruited to work on the railroads established communities at Fort Madison, Council Bluffs, Des Moines, and Davenport. Additionally, a significant revolution in Mexico in 1910 led more Mexicans to emigrate, and ultimately arrive in Iowa. Mexican immigration dropped off during the great depression as the economy weakened, and remained relatively low even into the latter half of the 20th century. The late 1980s and subsequent periods have brought a resurgence of Mexican immigration as the demand for labor in the food processing industry has increased.

African-American

Though African-Americans began immigrating to Iowa in more significant numbers through the 1860s after obtaining freedom, some of the earliest immigrants would have been brought in as slaves by settlers from southern states after the Black Hawk Purchase, despite the fact that slavery never officially existed in Iowa. The absence of legally sanctioned slavery in Iowa did not mean that the state was free from discrimination, however. An 1838 Act prevented African-American settlement in Iowa unless he or she could present a "fair certificate" of "actual freedom" under the seal of a judge and give a $500 bond. Though this undoubtedly slowed African-American immigration, a few immigrants nonetheless came in the 1840s; most worked in the mines of Dubuque or in the river towns. Frequently, they came to be free of slavery. The third general assembly passed an act in 1851 similar to that of the 1839 act, but it appears to have rarely been enforced and was ultimately ruled in 1863 to be unconstitutional. Initial African-American settlement in Iowa after the Civil War was in agricultural communities near the southern border, as well as along river towns on the Mississippi and to a lesser extent the Missouri. Polk County was also a destination for immigrants. Those along the river often worked on boats, though many worked on the railroads and in the lead mines of Dubuque. Over time, African Americans migrated from agricultural communities to urban areas, and from the river towns to the coal mines of southern Iowa.Leola Nelson Bergmann, "The Negro in Iowa", 46, ''The Iowa Journal of History and Politics'' pp. 3, 37, 40 (1948) This urban shift started around 1870, while the coal mining shift started in 1880. The coal mining shift began when African-Americans were brought from the southern states to the southern Iowa coal mines as strikebreakers, after which they remained employed there. This immigration was augmented by poor economic conditions in the southern states resulting from discrimination, flood and pest-induced crop failures, and disadvantaged post-reconstruction economic arrangements like sharecropping. The relatively significant African-American immigration to the southern Iowa coal fields led to largely African-American settlements such as Buxton. The first World War brought more African-American immigrants to Iowa, as Fort Des Moines had been designated as "the only camp in the United States for the training of frican Americanofficers", followed by Camp Dodge near Des Moines. Many came to train in the service of their country, where some remained and brought family and friends from the southern states. This pattern was repeated in World War II, as Fort Des Moines again trained many African Americans.Frances Hawthorne, "African Americans in Iowa: A Chronicle of Contributions: 1830–1992", in ''Celebrate Iowa's History of Diversity'' pp. 1, 15 (1995)

1917–1945

In 1917, the United States entered

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and farmers as well as all Iowans experienced a wartime economy. For farmers, the change was significant. Since the beginning of the war in 1914, Iowa farmers had experienced economic prosperity. Along with farmers everywhere, they were urged to be patriotic by increasing their production. Farmers purchased more land and raised more

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

, and

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

for the war effort. It seemed that no one could lose as farmers expanded their operations, made more money, and at the same time, helped the Allied war effort. After the war, however, Iowa farmers soon saw wartime

farm subsidies An agricultural subsidy (also called an agricultural incentive) is a government incentive paid to agribusinesses, agricultural organizations and farms to supplement their income, manage the supply of agricultural products, and influence the c ...

eliminated. Beginning in 1920, many farmers had difficulty making the payment for debts they had incurred during the war. The 1920s were a time of hardship for Iowa's farm families and for many families, these hardships carried over into the 1930s. As economic difficulties worsened, Iowa farmers sought to find local solutions. Faced with extremely low farm prices, including corn at ten cents a bushel and pork at three cents a pound, some farmers in western Iowa formed the

Farmers Holiday Association The Farmers' Holiday Association was a movement of Midwestern United States farmers who, during the Great Depression, endorsed the withholding of farm products from the market, in essence creating a farmers' holiday from work. The Farmers' Holiday ...

. This group, which had its greatest strength in the area around

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Iowa. The county seat of Woodbury County, Sioux City is the primar ...

, tried to withhold farm products from markets. They believed this practice would force up farm prices. The Farm Holiday Association had only limited success as many farmers did not cooperate and the withholding itself did little to raise prices. Farmers experienced little relief until 1933 when the federal government, as part of

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

, created a federal farm aid program. In 1933, native Iowan

Henry A. Wallace Henry Agard Wallace (October 7, 1888 – November 18, 1965) was the 33rd vice president of the United States, serving from 1941 to 1945, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He served as the 11th U.S. secretary of agriculture and the 10th U.S ...

went to Washington as

Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments The department includes several organiz ...

and served as principal architect for the new farm program. Wallace, former editor of the Midwest's leading farm journal, ''

Wallace's Farmer ''Wallaces Farmer'' is an agricultural newspaper based in Des Moines, Iowa. It is owned by media company Informa and operates as part of the company's Farm Progress division. History The newspaper's lineage can be traced back to the 1850s and ...

'', believed that prosperity would return to the agricultural sector only if agricultural production was curtailed. Further, he believed that farmers would be monetarily compensated for withholding agricultural land from production. These two principles were incorporated into the

Agricultural Adjustment Act The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was a United States federal law of the New Deal era designed to boost agricultural prices by reducing surpluses. The government bought livestock for slaughter and paid farmers Subsidy, subsidies not to plant ...

passed in 1933. Iowa farmers experienced some recovery as a result of the legislation but like all Iowans, they did not experience total recovery until the 1940s. Iowa's only Nobel Peace Prize Winner,

Norman Borlaug Norman Ernest Borlaug (; March 25, 1914September 12, 2009) was an American agronomist who led initiatives worldwide that contributed to the extensive increases in agricultural production termed the Green Revolution. Borlaug was awarded multiple ...

, was launched in his researches in plant genomics by funding and research through

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

developing strains of rice in Mexico and which emanated from the work of Henry Wallace. Wallace and Borlaug's work helped create the now internationally significant agricultural concern

Pioneer Hi-Bred Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., a subsidiary of Corteva, is a U.S.-based producer of seeds for agriculture. It is a major producer of genetically modified crops with insect and herbicide resistance. History In 1926, farm journal editor a ...

, now a division of

DuPont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...

1945 to present

Since

, Iowans have continued to undergo considerable economic, political, and social change. In the political area, Iowans experienced a major change in the 1960s when

liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through ethanol fermentation, alcoholic ferm ...

by the drink came into effect. During both the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Iowans had strongly supported

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

, but, in 1933, with the repeal of national prohibition, Iowans established a state liquor commission. This group was charged with control and regulation of Iowa's liquor sales. From 1933 until the early 1960s, Iowans could purchase packaged liquor only. In the 1970s, Iowans witnessed a reapportionment of the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

, achieved only after a long struggle for an equitably apportioned state legislature. Another major political change was in regard to voting. By the mid-1950s, Iowa had developed a fairly competitive two-party structure, ending almost one hundred years of Republican domination within the state. In the economic sector, Iowa also has undergone considerable change. Beginning with the first farm-related industries developed in the 1870s, Iowa has experienced a gradual increase in the number of business and manufacturing operations. The period since World War II has witnessed a particular increase in manufacturing operations. While agriculture continues to be the state's dominant industry, Iowans also produce a wide variety of products including

refrigerator A refrigerator, commonly shortened to fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermal insulation, thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to ...

washing machine A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a machine designed to laundry, launder clothing. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water. Other ways of doing laundry include dry cleaning (which uses ...

fountain pen A fountain pen is a writing instrument that uses a metal nib (pen), nib to apply Fountain pen ink, water-based ink, or special pigment ink—suitable for fountain pens—to paper. It is distinguished from earlier dip pens by using an internal r ...

farm implement Agricultural equipment is any kind of machinery used on a farm to help with farming. The best-known example of this kind is the tractor. Tractor and power *Tractor / Two-wheel tractor * Tracked tractor / Caterpillar tractor Soil cultiv ...

s, and

food products Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inges ...

that are shipped around the world. During the

farm crisis A farm crisis is an American term for a time of agricultural recession, low crop prices and low farm incomes. The Interwar farm crisis was an extended period of depressed agricultural incomes from the end of the First to the start of the Second ...

catalyzed by policies introduced by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

in the early 1980s, the price of farmland plummeted by more than half and the rest of the local economy was proportionally effected. Though crystal meth first began to become popular in the United States on the west coast, the first majorly scaled meth superlabs in the American midwest sprouted up in Iowa--the operation run by Lori Arnold is an exemplar of this trend. Shortly after

Arnold Arnold may refer to: People * Arnold (given name), a masculine given name * Arnold (surname), a German and English surname Places Australia * Arnold, Victoria, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria Canada * Arnold, Nova Scotia U ...

was imprisoned in 1991, both the methods of manufacturing and distribution of the drug evolved. Social impacts resulting from

NAFTA The North American Free Trade Agreement (, TLCAN; , ALÉNA), referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, ( ) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The ...

(such as job loss and depressed wages) are correlated with accelerated diffusion and prevalence of the drug before during the period of the first meth epidemic. It was here that the period of contagion known as the meth epidemic began. In the 1990s, the economy of Iowa was heavily impacted by

(introduced by the Republican congressional majority led by

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...

and signed into law by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

) and by the depression wages resulting from the spike of undocumented immigration resulting from that policy. Displaced Mexican farmers flooded the state's remaining industry--meatpacking--when companies like Cargill and Swift solicited workers from cities such a Juarez and Villacueto Mexico to come to Iowa for work by posting billboards south of the border at a moment when Mexican farmers were being wiped out by the sudden drop in staple prices that came in the wake of NAFTA's passage. Real average earnings per job relative to the rest of the United States fell in Iowa, for most of the period between 1969 and 2022--reaching their lowest point in the 1990s and 2000s. Growth during this period improved somewhat over the last decade, but remains flat relative to 1969--reflecting zero growth, when parity with the rest of the United States is considered, over the past half-century.

References

External links

Timeline of Iowa from WPA, American Guide Series appendix (1938)

(source documents & secondary works)
Iowa: State Resource Guide, from the Library of Congress
{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Iowa