Territorial Indiana, American Revolution and Statehood

Through treaties and other removal policies, Native lands in Indiana were gradually opened for white settlement. Americans flooded across the Appalachians, down the Ohio River, and across the trails. Many pioneers believed that land would not only provide their living but also lay the foundation for freedom, equality and democracy. Those American ideals were important to pioneers. Among those seeking a better life in Indiana were African American pioneers. Free blacks and escaped slaves sought the same opportunities as white pioneers.

On Dec. 11, 1816, U.S. president James Madison signed the congressional resolution admitting Indiana to the Union as the 19th state. It was now up to Hoosiers to define their place in the American nation.

Search the Indiana Historical Society online catalog

Suggested search terms

• Indians
• Northwest Territory
• Indiana Territory
• George Rogers Clark
• Anthony Wayne
• William Henry Harrison
• William Conner
• Vincennes
• pioneer
• Abraham Lincoln
• canals
• river transportation
• Caleb Mills
• New Harmony
• 1851 Constitution

Additional Books

• Bones on the Ground (YA Historical Fiction)
• ALONE The Journey of Boy Sims (Youth Historical Fiction)
• Jonathan Jennings: Indiana’s First Governor (Youth Biography)
• The Carter Journals (Middle Grades Historical Fiction)
• Indiana to 1816: The Colonial Period
• Native Americans to the National Road (DVD)

Additional Resources

• Northwest Territory Collection (Primary Sources, Indiana Historical Society)
• Northwest Ordinance (Primary Source)
• Historical Map of the Old Northwest Territory (Primary Source)
• Reflections on the Meaning of Statehood 
• Native Americans (Bicentennial Minute Video)
• New Harmony  (Bicentennial Minute Video)
• Indiana Statehood  (Bicentennial Minute Video)
• Indiana at Statehood (Destination Indiana)
• Indiana’s 1816 Constitution (Destination Indiana)
• Mapping Indiana: Pre-Statehood (Destination Indiana)
• Westward Bound (Lesson Plan 7-8)
• Exploring the Northwest Territory (Lesson Plan, Elementary)

Download related curriculum

Frontier Indiana
Pioneer Indiana
Constitutionally Speaking (2001)

Read about this subject in Hoosiers and the American Story

Chapter 2: American Expansion Across the Appalachian Mountains
Chapter 3: Pioneers and Politics

Related Indiana Academic Standards for Social Studies (2014)

Grade 4: 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 1.9, 1.17, 2.1, 2.3, 2.7, 3.4, 3.8, 3.9, 3.12
Grade 8: 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 1.10, 1.11, 1.14, 1.17, 1.18, 1.20, 1.21, 1.30, 2.1, 2.5, 3.9, 4.1, 4.4, 4.5, 4.7
USH: Standard 1, 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3