nate and House of Representatives of the United States includes
many of commanding influence in the national councils, two of whom
have been Presidents of the United States, two Chief Justices of
the Supreme Court of the United States, and many others have occupied
seats as Justices of the Supreme Court, as heads of departments of
the executive branch of government, and representatives of the
highest rank in our diplomatic service.

It is not intended to make a comparison of the merits of individuals
or parties, nor of Ohio with other states, old or new. I concede
that all the states, old or new, have contributed to the strength
of the republic, the common hope and pride of all American citizens.
Local or state pride is entirely consistent with the most devoted
loyalty to the Union. All I have sought is to present truthfully
a mere outline of the history and resources of a state carved within
a century out of a wilderness, having at the beginning no inhabitants
but savage men and wild beasts, no mark of civilization except that
made by an extinct race leaving no name or date or history, and
now converted into the peaceful home of four millions of human
beings, possessed of a full share of property and wealth, a soil
rich and fertile, well cultivated by independent farmers, yielding
more than the entire production of all the colonies that rebelled
against Great Britain, and producing by varied industries and
developed resources more than all the states produced when the
constitution was adopted.

In intelligence, means of education, temperance, order and religious
observance, Ohio may fairly take its place among the most favored
communities in the world. It is a type of what can be accomplished
under favorable circumstances by a free people under a free
government, where each citizen enjoys the full and undisputed
possession of equal rights and opportunities. Ohio commenced its
existence on the western border line of civilization on the continent.
The center of population has already passed its borders, so that
it now takes its place, not in the west, but in the east. The new
communities that have been founded in the west are largely composed
of the sons and daughters of Ohio, who, following the example of
their ancestors, seek new fields for enterprise and industry. I
have observed that whenever I traveled in the west, however remote
the place, I found the "Ohio man" well advanced among his fellow
citizens, and