In 1666 the first historical encounter between Native American Indians & Europeans is said to have occurred at La Pointe, which is knwon as modern day Ashland, Wisconsin.
Early French missionaries such as Claude-Jean Allouez, Jacques Marquette, and Dablon are reported to have taken slaves in order to learn the native tongue to increase trade opportunities.
In 1680 It was reported by, Jacques Marquette, that there were 74 cabins, all of which occupied tenants, alongside the Illinois river.
By 1680, Rene-Robert Cavalier de Salle reported as increased population density of approximately 460 cabins.
It is said that the native people of this land referred to themselves as INOCA.
In 1683, Fort St. Louis was built was LaSalle, which sought to unite sub-tribes of the INOCA Miami, and Shawnee civilizations against their rival conflict with the Iroquois.
To Learn more about the Fort you may choose to visit Starved Rock.
By 1689, most non-Illinois indiamerians had left the region, and by 1691 the remaining settlers in this territory moved their encampment to Lake Peoria from its origin in Kaskaskia, which was discovered by Jacques Marquette nearly twenty years prior.
Following the migration it is estimated that 1,000 inhabitants remained in Kaskaskia, while 5,000 eager bodies developed the newly founded Lake Peoria.
1703 – It is said that the Illinois tribes had joined forces with the Michigamea people at the mouth of the Mississippi river.
It is hypothesized, by historians, that this was a good business decision for both tribes, because the Mississippi river had recently been discovered to connect Canada with the Gulf of Mexio, which enabled their geographic location to be a prosperous destination for trade.
Between 1712-1750 the Lake Peoria tribe chose to separate themselves by remaining in present day Starved Rock where they maintained their dreamer philosophical belief system.
Mesquakie armindiands developed winter encampments in the northeast territory of Illinois to increase their prosperity of winter hunts, where pelts and meats are priced to be most valuable.
This culture of people remained uninhibited until 1712 when the FOX WAR MILITARY CONFLICT resulted in native people being attacked by SOO Indians with weapons they purchased by trading with French settlers.
In 1728 the conflict reached its destructive peak when the French governor initiated a genocide campaign against the Mesquakie Indians. They were pushed from there homes and sought refuge with the Sauk Indian tribes which were located at Boyce des Puants, which is near modern day Green Bay.
Eventually the French located the encampment and demanded that the Mesquakie savages be turned over to their authority. Upon the refusal, a French captain attempt to penetrate the stronghold with a military unit, but was unsuccessful and resulted in the death of hi unit.
This infuriated the French, they eventually stormed back and forced the Sauk & Mesquakie tribes once again where found refuge in SAUKENE VILLAGE which is located in East Moline during the year 1735.
In 1801 a proclamation was drafted which created new boundaries for the Indiana Territories, which created the new boundaries of the St. Clair & Randolph counties.
This region was originally colonized by the French, but later conquered by Great Britain who maintained the territory until 1776.
Illinois Statehood
December 3rd 1818, Illinois became the 21st state in the United States of America. This was made possible by Nathaniel Pope who drafted the first Illinois state legislation, which included the requirement of three principles that the state could verify.
- A population census which included the family name, number of free-white-males 21+, and number of children/wife/slaves.
- Pass a state constitution that regulated civil rights and economic/business/medical legislation
- A state government that is organized to serve the people and function as a bridge between the populous and the federal government.
The Land of Lincoln
In 1831 a twenty-two year old man named Abraham Lincoln moved from Hogenville Kentucky to New Salem Illinois which is a small river city located 60 miles east of springfield.
In 1832, Lincoln served as a voulnteer milita captain and he led a unit of 12 soliders against native american tribes attempting to re-posses their land.
In the 1830’s the Blackhawk war reached its pinnacle when the War Chief of the Sauk Tribe refused to leave his homeland after their initial displacement nearly a century before in Boye des Pleants.
It is said that Chief Blackhawk traveled the rock river in an attempt to reignite the fire of his people’s culture by reuniting with the POTAWATOMI tribe, which was located near present day Chicago.
Following the war between 1834 – 1838, Lincoln passed the legal bar exam and proceeded to debate for the Whig party.
In the 1840’s the Mormon population was driven out of Missouri and settled in the town of Navoo, Illinois, which is located alongside the Mississippi river.
In 1848 , the secod state constitution was drafted and were later accompanied by the Illinois Central Railroad Act and the institutional development in Illinois education by producing its first state college in 1857.
In 1859 Statesville penitentiary was opened in Joliet Illinois and imprisoned its first inmate, Charles White, at by default of larceny.
In 1860 the year Lincoln began president, there were three major parties who ran on different policies.
- Constitutional Union – Compromise for established regions of slavery.
- Democractic – Successionist
- Republican – Prevent the expansion of slavery.
In 1861, the CIVIL WAR was initiated when the confederate army opened fire on a union military base known as FORT SUMNTER.
Following this the Illinois governed granted military authority to the historical legends of Colonel Johnny Smith and Captain Ulysses S Grant.
Emancipation & Prohibition
On January 1st 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect which freed ensalved people in areas under rebellion and enabled black individuals to enlist within the Union war effort.
In 1865, the 13th amendment wa ratified by the state of Illinois to abolish the act of slavery before any other state located within the United States. This was an important message for the state to send considering its enforcement of black-laws, which were passed into legislation at the beginning of the 18th century.
Shortly after this time the third state constitution was drafted in 1870, which occurred just one year prior to the infamous Chicago fire that decimated the city and destoryed the orginal emancipation proclamation document that was composed by Lincoln eight years prior.
In the 1880, the state of Illinois reported its first agricultural census and outlawed discrimination in public places. However, it is reported by historians that this legislation was largely ignored for nearly a century.
20th Century
At the turn of the 1900’s, the Chicago River was reversed and sent fluid waste to southern counties via the Des Plaines river.
In 1909 Lake front property was ruled forever free of commercial or private building. (Field Museum).
In 1910 Nicholas Vachel Lindsay, a Springfield Illinois native published the Poem “The Village Improvement Parade.
Six ye ars later in 1919, the 18th amedment was ratified, which outlawed the consumption and production of alcohol.
In 1925, the worst tornado in the states history tore through southern Illinois.
Illinois boxing was legalized, with the scheduled fight between Jack Dempsey at soldiers field on September 22nd, 1927.
In 1947 Illinois state supreme court ruled to keep academia and religion separate.
In 1960, Starved Rock State Park was open and six years following this initiated the construction of I-57 state highway.
In 1970’s the fourth and most current draft of the state constitution was developed. Later this year the national guard was summoned to put down a riot that was occurring at Northwestern University in regards to.
In 1981, there was a senate resolution proposed giving cook county state hood, which would enable it to become the 51st state within the united states.
Prominent Poliltical Figures
1851 Adalai Stevenson
1948 Adalai Stevenson II
1964 Adalai Stevenson III
In 1997 Barack Obama, was elected to the Illinois State Senate for the fist of three terms.
2006 – Barack would become the first African-American president in United States.
2009 –Illinois was forced to impeach its governor, Rob Blagojevich following a unaminous 59-0 vote in the Senate. In the years to follow, Pat Quinn, Bruce Rauner, and more recently JB Pritzker have assumed the role.
Sports History
The Chicago Bears precusor, originally named the Decatur Staleys, was established by the A. E. Staley which was a food starch company located in Decatur, Illinois.
The team played independently in 1919, winning the Central Illinois Championship.
The company hired George Halas and Edward “Dutch” Sternaman in 1920 to run the team.
Full control of the team was turned over to Halas and Sternaman in 1921.
In 1921, sports bribery was deemed a felony in sports competition, following the acts of “Shoeless Joe Jackson & Eddie Cicotte during their time with the Chicago White Sox.
2013 – The Chicago Blackhawks would win the Presidents Trophy with a regular seasons record of 36-7-5 and would proceed to win their second of three Stanley cups over a six year span.
References
Figure 1: Jacques Marquette – Wikiwand