Ohio admitted as the 17th U.S. state

Background. Ohio was organized as part of the Northwest Territory following American independence. The Northwest Ordinance allowed areas to be admitted as states once their population reached 60,000. Although Ohio's population was only 45,000 in December 1801, Congress determined it was growing rapidly enough and accelerated the process via the Enabling Act of 1802.

Constitutional Process. In 1802, as Ohio moved toward statehood, the city of Chillicothe hosted the Ohio Constitutional Convention. Edward Tiffin's biography records that he served as president of the 1802 Constitutional Convention, where he cast a tie-breaking vote to deny the voting franchise to the new state's 337 African American residents. On February 19, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson signed an act of Congress approving Ohio's boundaries and constitution, a key legislative milestone in the admission process.

Establishment of Government. Edward Tiffin, a leader of the Chillicothe Junto—the group of Chillicothe Democratic-Republican politicians who brought about Ohio's admission in 1803—was regarded as the obvious choice for the governorship when the state was admitted. At a special session in Chillicothe, the state legislature approved a new petition for statehood, which was delivered to Washington, D.C., on horseback and approved that August. Chillicothe served as the capital of Ohio from statehood in 1803 until 1810.