Iowa: Difference between revisions

| AdmittanceDate = December 28, 1846

| AdmittanceOrder = 29th

| Lieutenant Governor = [[Amy Sinclair]] (acting) (R)

| Legislature = [[Iowa General Assembly|General Assembly]]

[[File:Bellevue, Iowa in 1848.png|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Bellevue, Iowa|Bellevue]] along the Mississippi, 1848]]

Almost immediately after achieving territorial status, a clamor arose for statehood. On December 28, 1846, Iowa became the 29th state in the Union when President [[James K. Polk]] signed Iowa's admission bill into law. Once admitted to the Union, the state's boundary issues resolved, and most of its land purchased from Natives, Iowa set its direction to development and organized campaigns for settlers and investors, boasting the young frontier state's rich farmlands, fine citizens, free and open society, and good government.<ref>"Official Encouragement of Immigration to Iowa", Marcus L. Hansen, ''IJHP'', 19 (April 1921):159–95</ref>

===Civil War, 1861–1865===

{{Main article|Iowa in the American Civil War}}

Much of Iowa's support for the Union can be attributed to [[Samuel J. Kirkwood]], its first wartime governor. Of a total population of 675,000, about 116,000 men were subjected to military duty. Iowa contributed proportionately more soldiers to Civil War military service than did any other state, north or south, sending more than 75,000 volunteers to the armed forces, over one-sixth of whom were killed before the [[Confederate States of America|Confederates]] surrendered at [[Battle of Appomattox Courthouse|Appomattox]].<ref name="Iowa Official Register page 315" />

Iowa had several brigadier generals and four major generals—[[Grenville Mellen Dodge]], [[Samuel R. Curtis]], [[Francis J. Herron]], and [[Frederick Steele]]—and saw many of its generals go on to state and national prominence following the war.<ref name="Iowa Official Register page 315" />

Of the residents of Iowa, 70.8% were born in Iowa, 23.6% were born in a different U.S. state, 0.6% were born in Puerto Rico, U.S. Island areas, or born abroad to American parent(s), and 5% were foreign born.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|title=U.S. Census website|access-date=January 18, 2020|archive-date=December 27, 1996|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961227012639/https://www.census.gov/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Germans are the largest ethnic group in Iowa. Other major ethnic groups in Iowa include Irish and English. There are also Dutch communities in state. The Dutch can be found in Pella, in the centre of the state, and in Orange City, in the northwest. There is a Norwegian community in Decorah in northeast Iowa; and there is Czech and Slovak communities in both Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Smaller numbers of Greeks and Italians are scattered in Iowa's metropolitan areas. The majority of Hispanics in Iowa are [[Mexican Americans|Mexican]]. [[African Americans]], who constitute around 2% of Iowa's population, didn't live in the state in any appreciable numbers until the early 20th century. Many blacks worked in the coal-mining industry of southern Iowa. Others blacks migrated to Waterloo, Davenport, and Des Moines, where the black population remained substantial in the early 21st century.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| title=Settlers, Immigrants, Agriculture | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica | date=26 July 1999 | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Iowa-state/People}}</ref> The African-American population in Des Moines experienced a significant increase with the establishment of the Colored Officers Training Camp at Fort Des Moines in 1917. Following the conclusion of World War I in 1918, numerous African-American families made the decision to remain in Des Moines. This marked the inception of a thriving community that eventually became a residence for numerous African-American leaders.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iowapbs.org/iowapathways/mypath/2521/african-american-communities#popup-container|title=African-American Communities}}</ref> There is one [[List of federally recognized tribes by state|federally recognized]] tribe in Iowa, the [[Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa]], and in 2020, 14,486 identified as being Native American alone, and 41,472 did in combination with one or more other races.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Race and Ethnicity in the United States: 2010 Census and 2020 Census |url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html}}</ref>

{{See also|List of Iowa railroads}}

===Public Transit===

As a result of the 2010 elections, each party controlled one house of the [[Iowa General Assembly]]: the House had a Republican majority, while the Senate had a Democratic majority. As a result of the 2016 elections, Republicans gained control of the Senate. Incumbent Democratic governor [[Chet Culver]] was defeated in 2010 by Republican [[Terry Branstad]], who had served as governor from 1983 to 1999. On December 14, 2015, Branstad became the longest serving governor in U.S. history, serving (at that time) 20 years, 11 months, and 3{{nbsp}}days; eclipsing [[George Clinton (vice president)|George Clinton]], who served 21 years until 1804.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/12/14/meet-iowa-gov-terry-branstad-who-as-of-monday-is-americas-longest-serving-governor/|title=Terry Branstad just became the longest serving governor in American history|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=September 14, 2016|archive-date=September 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919170235/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/12/14/meet-iowa-gov-terry-branstad-who-as-of-monday-is-americas-longest-serving-governor/|url-status=live}}</ref> Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds succeeded him on May 24, 2017, following Branstad's appointment as U.S. Ambassador to China.

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