Indiana is the 19th state of the United States of America, admitted to the Union on December 11, 1816.

Indiana is one of the leading industrial and agricultural states in the Union. Manufacturing is Indiana’s single most important economic activity, but agriculture remains a principal activity throughout much of the state.

The state motto, the Crossroads of America, reflects the importance of Indiana in the commercial activities of the country, for numerous transportation routes pass through the state.

Indianapolis, the state’s capital and largest city, is itself a crossroads, situated at the center of the state with most transportation routes radiating from it.

Indiana was originally a heavily forested wilderness area. With the beginning of large-scale settlement early in the 19th century, most of the forests were soon cleared for farmland, and Indiana acquired some of the characteristics of other sections of the MidWest.

The flat or gently rolling central part of the state developed as an area of prosperous farms specializing in corn and grain-fed livestock. All but the Southern and SouthEastern part of the state is part of the so-called Corn Belt that stretches from Ohio to Eastern Nebraska.

Southern Indiana is largely an area of hills, tracts of forest land, small farms, and small rural communities. The Northern lowlands, from the Calumet region in the NorthWest to Fort Wayne in the East, includes — in addition to farmland — one of the greatest concentrations of industry in the United States. Other industrial and commercial centers are found in central and Southern Indiana.

The word Indiana simply means land of the Indians, referring to the region’s many Native American inhabitants. The term was coined in the 1760s and first applied to a private tract of land in Pennsylvania. In 1800, it was applied to the Indiana Territory when the United States Congress created it out of the NorthWest Territory.

The state’s nickname is the Hoosier State, and the people of Indiana are called Hoosiers. These two names are among the most widely known of all state nicknames, but their origin remains disputed.

Among the many explanations is that of Jacob Piatt Dunn. He traced the word back to "hoozer", a dialect word from the Cumberland district of NorthWestern England that meant any unusually large feature, such as a hill. It eventually came to mean a hill dweller, and as such, was introduced in hilly Southern Indiana, the earliest settled part of the state.

Another explanation holds that the term comes from the many Indiana residents hired by contractor Sam Hoosier, who became known as Hoosiers. Still others believe the word is a corruption of pioneer question "Who’s here?"

Of the five largest cities in Indiana, three are located in Northern Indiana, one in central Indiana, and one in SouthWestern Indiana.

• Indianapolis, the seat of Marion County and the state capital, ranks as the state’s largest city and one of the leading commercial, industrial and transportation centers in the MidWest.
• Fort Wayne, the seat of Allen County and the largest city in NorthEastern Indiana, is primarily an industrial and commercial center noted for the manufacture of a wide variety of machinery and metal goods.
• Evansville, the seat of Vanderburgh County and the largest city in SouthWestern Indiana, is a commercial center on the Ohio River.
• Gary, in Lake County on the NorthWestern part of the state, is the principal city in the Indiana section of the vast urban area centered on Chicago.

The Southern part of this area, extending from Illinois into Indiana, is known as the Calumet Region, one of the greatest concentrations of heavy industry in the United States. In addition to Gary, the Calumet region in Indiana includes Hammond and East Chicago, both in Lake County.

Other major cities include

• South Bend, the seat of St. Joseph County in North Indiana, a major industrial city noted for the manufacture of transportation equipment.
• Anderson, the seat of Madison County, an industrial community in central Indiana;
• Terre Haute, the seat of Vigo County, a manufacturing and trade center in Western Indiana;
• Muncie, the seat of Delaware County, a manufacturing city in East central Indiana;
• Kokomo, the seat of Howard County, an industrial city in central Indiana;
• Richmond, the seat of Wayne County, a manufacturing city in Eastern Indiana;
• Elkhart, in Elkhart County in North Indiana, a city that manufactures musical instruments and mobile homes;
• Bloomington, the seat of Monroe County in South central Indiana, the home of Indiana University; and
• Lafayette, the seat of Tippecanoe County, a manufacturing center in a farming region of West central Indiana.

Other smaller cities include

• Marion, the seat of Grant County, and Michigan City, in LaPorte County, both industrial cities;
• New Albany, the seat of Floyd County, a plywood-manufacturing city on the Ohio River opposite Louisville, Kentucky; and
• Mishawaka, in St. Joseph County, a residential and manufacturing city adjoining South Bend.