This Day in History – April 30th, 1802

On April 30, 1802, Thomas Jefferson signed the Enabling Act that laid that groundwork for Ohio to become a state.

Arthur St. Clair, one of the co-founders of Dayton, was a staunch Federalist and opposed Ohio becoming a state. As Governor of the Northwest Territory, he believed that Federalists could keep control by keeping the states small. The population requirement to become a state was 60,000. For reference, Kettering’s population in 2017 was 55,175.

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