Indiana’s history: How did the state get its name?

Fort Wayne, Indiana – Native American tribes who once lived in the area are long associated with Indiana’s history. While many people think Indiana was admitted as the 19th state simply by passing through the establishment process, the state we know today was only realized after years of territorial disputes.

Name’s etymology:
It is thought that the name Indiana derives from the fact that Native Americans were paid for the land. The name pays homage to people who served as the foundation for the significance of the land, just like other states at the time did with their names. The name is thought to have originated from one of the Native American tribes that moved to western Pennsylvania.

Background of the area:
The Iroquois Confederacy, which included the Shawnee and other tribes, overcame traders on the Ohio River in the fall of 1763, according to the Indiana Historical Bureau. These merchants belonged to the Philadelphia Company, a business established to control the Native American trade in the area. The Philadelphia Corporation approached Native American authorities after learning of the attack and requested compensation for the damage. Due to a shortage of available finances, the tribes used the land as payment for their debts, transferring to the corporation 5,000 square miles of territory south of the Ohio River.

Later, this land was given to a new corporation called the “Indiana Land Company,” where it was settled by people from Virginia. The settlers made an attempt to buy the land, but Virginia claimed control over them and forbade the transfer of the land. It wasn’t until 1790 that the Indiana firm argued that the firm deserved pay if the State was going to keep the land. When this claim was found to be untrue in state court, the Indiana Company took it to federal court and later amended the constitution to say as follows:

“The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign State.”

The Indiana corporation lost its claim to the land to Virginia while the amendment was being circulated for approval, and the corporation itself also vanished. During that period, the land lost its declared Indiana name and became a part of Virginia. Indiana didn’t reappear as a common name until 1800 when Congress partitioned the Northwest Territory.

How the borders of Indiana got to be as they are today:
When Indiana received its current name in the early 1800s, it was also a part of what is now known as Michigan and Illinois. It wasn’t until 1805 that Michigan and Illinois gained statehood formally.