Illinois: Difference between revisions

Present-day Illinois was inhabited by [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas#History|Indigenous cultures]] for thousands of years. The French were the first Europeans to arrive, settling near the Mississippi and [[Illinois River]] in the 17th century [[Illinois Country]], as part of their sprawling colony of [[New France]]. A century later, the revolutionary [[Illinois campaign]] prefigured American involvement in the region. Following [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|U.S. independence in 1783]], which made the Mississippi River the national boundary, American settlers began arriving from [[Kentucky]] via the Ohio River. Illinois was soon part of the United States' oldest territory, the [[Northwest Territory]], and in 1818 it achieved [[List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union|statehood]]. The [[Erie Canal]] brought increased commercial activity in the Great Lakes, and the invention of the self-scouring [[plough|steel plow]] by Illinoisan [[John Deere (inventor)|John Deere]] turned the state's rich [[prairie]] into some of the world's most productive and valuable farmland, attracting [[Immigration to the United States|immigrant]] farmers from [[German American|Germany]] and [[Swedish American|Sweden]]. In the mid-19th century, the [[Illinois and Michigan Canal]] and a sprawling railroad network facilitated trade, commerce, and settlement, making the state a transportation hub for the nation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lib.niu.edu/1999/iht639920.html |title=The Historical Development of Transportation in Illinois |last=Ryburn-LaMonte |first=Terri |date=1999 |website=Illinois Periodicals Online |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010220837/http://www.lib.niu.edu/1999/iht639920.html |archive-date=October 10, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> By 1900, the growth of industrial jobs in the northern cities and [[coal]] mining in the central and southern areas attracted immigrants from [[Eastern Europe|Eastern]] and [[Southern Europe]]. Illinois became one of America's most industrialized states and remains a major manufacturing center.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2021 Illinois Manufacturing Facts |url=https://www.nam.org/state-manufacturing-data/2021-illinois-manufacturing-facts/ |access-date=2022-10-19 |website=NAM |date=April 26, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref> The [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]] from the South established a large Black community, particularly in [[Chicago]], which became a leading cultural, economic, and population center; its [[metropolitan area]], informally referred to as [[Chicago metropolitan area|Chicagoland]], holds about 65% of the state's 12.8 million residents.  

   

Illinois has a highly diverse [[Economy of Illinois|economy]], with the [[global city]] of [[Chicago]] in the northeast, major industrial and [[agricultural productivity|agricultural]] hubs in the north and center, and [[natural resource]]s such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south. Owing to its central location and favorable geography, the state is a major [[transportation hub]]: the [[Port of Chicago]] has access to the [[Atlantic Ocean]] through the [[Great Lakes]] and [[Saint Lawrence Seaway]] and to the [[Gulf of Mexico]] from the [[Mississippi River]] via the [[Illinois Waterway]]. Chicago has been the nation's [[railroad]] hub since the 1860s,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Freight Railroad Chronology |url=https://www.aar.org/chronology-of-americas-freight-railroads/ |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=Association of American Railroads |language=en-US |archive-date=November 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110181851/https://www.aar.org/chronology-of-americas-freight-railroads/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and its [[O'Hare International Airport]] has been among the world's busiest airports for decades. Illinois has long been considered a [[Macrocosm and microcosm|microcosm]] of the United States and a [[bellwether]] in American culture, exemplified by the phrase ''[[Will it play in Peoria?]]''.<ref name="so">{{cite news |last=Ohlemacher |first=Stephen |date=May 17, 2007 |title=Analysis ranks Illinois most average state |publisher=The Southern Illinoisan |agency=Associated Press |location=Carbondale, Illinois |url=http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2007/05/17/top/20300809.txt |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 10, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114074348/http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2007/05/17/top/20300809.txt |archive-date=January 14, 2009}}</ref>{{TOC limit|limit=3}}

[[File:Springfield,Illinois-Old State Capitol.jpg|thumb|[[Old State Capitol State Historic Site|Old State Capitol]]: Abraham Lincoln and other area legislators were instrumental in moving the state capitol to centrally located Springfield in 1839.]]

Though it was ostensibly a "[[Slave and free states|free state]]", there was nonetheless [[History of slavery in Illinois|slavery in Illinois]]. The ethnic French had owned black slaves since the 1720s, and American settlers had already brought slaves into the area from [[Kentucky]]. Slavery was nominally banned by the Northwest Ordinance, but that was not enforced for those already holding slaves. When Illinois became a state in 1818, the Ordinance no longer applied, and about 900 slaves were held in the state. As the southern part of the state, later known as "Egypt" or "Little Egypt",<ref>{{cite news |last=Simon|first=John Y.|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2001/06/24/the-other-illinois-how-egypt-lost-its-clout/ |title=The other Illinois: How Egypt lost its clout |publisher=Chicago Tribune |date=June 24, 2001 |access-date=April 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714034522/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-06-24/news/0106240357_1_illinois-egypt-logan |archive-date=July 14, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Davis| first=Rich |url=http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/may/02/backroads-tourism/ |title=Southern Illinois Backroads Tourism: In Little Egypt it means bluffs, Superman, even scuba diving |publisher=Evansville Courier & Press |access-date=April 29, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117082832/http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/may/02/backroads-tourism/ |archive-date=January 17, 2013}}</ref> was largely settled by migrants from the South, the section was hostile to free blacks. [[Edward Coles]], the second Governor of Illinois who was born in Virginia, participated in a campaign to block extending existing slavery in Illinois after winning the [[1822 Illinois gubernatorial election]]. In 1824, state residents voted against making slavery legal by a vote of 6640 against to 4972 for.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.poemsforfree.com/cc25.html |title=Chapter 25 : The Result |publisher=Poemsforfree.com |access-date=2015-06-11}}</ref>

[[File:Embarkation of General McClernand's Brigade at Cairo.jpg|thumb|right|[[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] troops embarking at [[Cairo, Illinois|Cairo]] on January 10, 1862]]

During the Civil War, and more so afterwards, Chicago's population skyrocketed, which increased its prominence. The [[Pullman Strike]] and [[Haymarket affair|Haymarket Riot]], in particular, greatly influenced the development of the American [[labour movement|labor movement]]. From Sunday, October 8, 1871, until Tuesday, October 10, 1871, the [[Great Chicago Fire]] burned in downtown Chicago, destroying {{cvt|4|sqmi|spell=in}}.<ref>{{cite book|first=Roland |last=Tweet |title=Miss Gale's Books: The Beginnings of the Rock Island Public Library |location=Rock Island, IL |publisher=Rock Island Public Library |year=1997 |page=15}}</ref>

{{Main|United States presidential elections in Illinois}}

[[Ronald Reagan]] was born in Illinois, in the city of [[Tampico, Illinois|Tampico]], raised in [[Dixon, Illinois]], and educated at [[Eureka College]], outside [[Peoria, Illinois|Peoria]]. Reagan later moved to [[California]] during his young adulthood. He then became an actor, and later became [[Governor of California|California's Governor]] before being elected president.