Indiana Statehood - Focus

In 1925, the Indiana General Assembly provided for the designation of December 11 as Indiana Day. By law (Indiana Code 1-1-10) "The governor shall issue a proclamation annually designating the eleventh day of December as Indiana Day" and citizens are urged to celebrate "in appropriate and patriotic observance of the anniversary of the admission of the state of Indiana into the Union."

This issue focuses on the events in 1816 by which Indiana became the nineteenth state.

On page 3, there is a brief overview which helps to answer the question, Why statehood?

On pages 4-5, the Indiana Memorial to Congress requesting statehood and the Enabling Act by Congress are compared and discussed.

The setting of the 1816 constitutional convention in Corydon and the men who wrote the Constitution are explored on pages 6-7; a chart of delegates is on page 14.

The organization and work of the convention are covered on pages 8-9.

Activities after the convention to complete Indiana's organization and acceptance as a state are covered on pages 10-11.

Content of the 1816 Constitution and how it fared as a governing instrument are covered on pages 12-13.

The timeline provides some background and context. The bibliography and resources on page 15 provide sources for further study. Most documents referred to are available in their entirety on the Historical Bureau Web site.

This is the second issue in a series exploring some benchmarks in Indiana history. The first was Indiana Territory, The Indiana Historian, March 1999.