State of the north central United States in the Great Lakes region. It was admitted as the 17th state in the 1803. In the prehistoric times Mound Builders inhabited the region, which was the first explored by La Salle in 1669.
French British rivalry for control of the area led to the last of the French and Indian Wars 1754–1763, in which the French were defeated. The Ohio was part of the vast area ceded to the United States by the Treaty of Paris in the 1783 and became part of the Old Northwest by the Ordinance of 1787. It became the separate territory in 1799. Columbus is the capital and Cleveland the largest city. Population of dhio 11,500,000. In the 1780s Virginia, Massachusetts and Connecticut ceded most of their western land claims to the new national government and Ohio became the part of the Northwest Territory, which also included the later states of the Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established a government for the territory with three stages of the development leading to eventual statehood. First the territorial governor and other the officials appointed by Congress proclaimed laws and exercised executive authority.

The second stage began when the free male inhabitants elected the first territorial legislature, which subsequently wrote the states first constitution, paving the way for Ohios admission as the seventeenth state on 1 March 1803. In the beginning of the twentieth century brought continued the economic growth and innovation. Orville and Wilbur Wright of Dayton made the first successful flight at Kitty Hawk. Ohio played a main role in America's "arsenal of democracy" during the World War II. About one million workers produced goods for the war effort, especially in aircraft, ordnance and shipbuilding.

Ohio is the highly industrialized, yet it is also continues to draw economic riches from the earth. Among national leaders in the production of the lime, clays and salt, it is a historic center of ceramic and glass industries. Ohio's soil supports rich farms, especially where it was improved ages ago by additions of glacier-ground limestone. Government of Ohio is composed of the executive branch led by the Governor, the legislative branch and the judicial branch, which is led by the Supreme Court. The climate of Ohio is a humid continental climate throughout most of the state except in the extreme southern counties. Summers are typically hot and humid throughout the State, while winters generally range from cool to cold.

Ohio's central position and its population gave an important place during the Civil War and the Ohio River was a vital artery for troop and supply movements, as were Ohio's railroads. Ohio's economy as the seventh largest of all fifty states and the District of Columbia.