The Story of Illinois Becoming a State 200 Years Later (Events That Changed the Course of History Series)

by Danielle Thorne

Overview

Today, we think of Illinois as the Land of Lincoln, as the home of "the windy city" Chicago, and as the longtime residence of Barack Obama, our 44th president. But, 200 years ago, Illinois was the Wild West -- the frontier on the edge of the United States. It didn't have any major cities or any real influence over American politics.

Life in the area where Illinois is today was far from boring; it was fought over or claimed by the Indians, the French, the British, and even the state of Virginia.

Reports of fighting between settlers and Indians -- especially the 1812 Fort Dearborn massacre, where a group of men, women, and children left the fort and were ambushed before traveling two miles -- scared off many potential Illinoisans.

But Congress wanted Americans to take advantage of the area's wide-stretching prairie, which was great for farmland, and its waterways, which soon could be used to transport goods via steamboats. They let Revolutionary War and War of 1812 veterans purchase land for a steal. People began to trickle in, and the inhabitants of the Illinois territory started to clamor for statehood.

Let's take a closer look at how Nathaniel Pope, the territorial delegate in Washington, D.C., worked cleverly to help Illinois become the 21st addition to the United States of America.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620234105
Publisher:	Atlantic Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/30/2017
Series:	Events That Changed the Course of History Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	180
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

Table of Contents

Introduction 9

Chapter 1 From Dinosaurs to Discovery 13

The Ice Age 15

Natural Resources 16

Layout of the Land 17

The Prairie State 18

Rivers and Waterways 20

Wild Weather 20

Who Were the Illiniwek? 21

The Woodland Indians 22

The Cahokia People 23

The Illiniwek 24

First Came France 26

Chapter 2 This Land is My Land 35

French Life in Illinois 37

The Troublesome Fox 39

The British are Coming! 43

The End of the Illinois Indians: The Haunting Legend of Starved Rock 46

The British Defeat 50

Chapter 3 A United State! 55

The Fort Dearborn Massacre 61

A State at Last 65

Steamboats and Rails 69

The Mormons 74

Chapter 4 Son of Illinois and Civil War 81

Illinois' Civil War 90

Positive Progress 96

Bricks, Beef, and Sunday Best 99

People of Color 101

Chapter 5 Welcome to the 20^th Century 103

Illinois Women Rock the Vote 103

Sports is a Serious Business 106

Fists and Bats 107

Bulls and Bears 110

The Sports Craze 113

The Drowning of Eugene Williams 114

Crime and War 116

When Frankfurters Became Hot Dogs 119

Chapter 6 Dawn of a New Age 123

The Cost of Freedom: Civil Unrest 125

The Sears Tower 127

Goodbye, Hollywood, Hello, White House 130

Hollywood 132

The White House 134

Chapter 7 21^st Century Bragging Rights 139

World Series Champions! 139

Fabulous Food 141

Famous Folks 143

Illinois Presents: The First U.S. President of the 21^st Century 146

Early years 146

State senator 149

The 44^th president 150

A second win 151

Chapter 8 Illinois Today 155

Outdoor Pastimes 155

Art and Culture 156

Money Matters 159

Food Prep is In. Mining is Out 160

A Hopeful Forecast 160

Glossary 165

Index 175