Indianapolis – A Concise History

As its name denotes, Indianapolis is without question Indiana's city. Known as the Crossroads of America, Indianapolis and the surrounding communities have and continue to play an important role in politics, logistics, and commerce for both the state and the country.Indianapolis: A Concise History looks at the development of the city from a frontier village to a major railroad city in the late nineteenth century and through its continued growth in the twentieth century. Author and historian Jon C. Teaford reveals the origins of the Indianapolis Speedway, the rise and fall of the Ku Klux Klan, the persistent racial tension in the city, and the revitalization efforts under Mayor William Hudnut and his successors. Since 1824 Indianapolis has been the state's largest city, its political center, and the home of Indiana's state government, and it continues to be a center for urban growth.

"Here is the best place to understand two hundred years of Indianapolis history and to think about connections of past to present. Writing in an engaging style, Jon C. Teaford offers especially good insights into recent changes and challenges: suburbs, racial differences, sports, neighborhoods, health care, museums, and the many different people, places, and institutions that made and make the capital city."—James H. Madison, author of Hoosiers: A New History of Indiana "A brisk, balanced, and engaging account of the history of Indianapolis from one of the foremost historians of urban America."—James J. Connolly, author of Vulnerable Communities: Research, Policy, and Practice in Small Cities "Jon Teaford has long been one of our country's premier urban historians. In this readable, useful book he turns his focus homeward to Indianapolis—a city whose history proves, under his scrutiny, more complex and intriguing than its well-cultivated, down-home image would suggest."—Eric Sandweiss, author of St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape

Jon C. Teaford is the author of a number of previous books on American urban history, including City and Suburb: The Political Fragmentation of Metropolitan America, 1850–1970 and The Rough Road to Renaissance: Urban Revitalization in America, 1940–1985. He is Professor Emeritus of History at Purdue University.