1. Would you vote to remove Chicago from Illinois?
Why or why not

2. Illinois: Major Economic Growth

3. Illinois Cleared for Development
Following the Black Hawk war, Illinois was totally cleared of Indians
Many people flood onto the plains (Central Illinois)
population increased
114,982 to 272,427
Over doubled in 5 years
Panic of 1837
Actually brought in more immigrants
Cheap land and new start

4. Very Positive Portrayal of Illinois
“beautiful groves of timber, and rich, undulating, and dry prairies; richest quality; an undulating surface, a rich, deep, black, sandy, calcareous soil; a beautiful situated village; the most extensive and fertile-tract; a soil of exhaustless fertility.”
“For miles we saw nothing but a cast expanse of what I can compare to nothing else but the ocean itself… We saw at intervals, groves of trees, which looked like islands in the ocean.”

7. Improved Transportation
The National Road
Steamboats
Erie Canal

8. The National Road
Semi-paved road which improved travel from Cumberland Maryland to Vandalia
Finished in 1839
Brought immigrants

9. Steamboats Made two way travel on the Mississippi possible
200 steamboats on Illinois rivers by 1835
Over 400 in 1845

10. First Steamboat 1807: The Clermont
First boats were too long, heavy, rounded, and had low horsepower

11. Boldly going to Louisville
The Enterprise
Boldly going to Louisville

12. Development of Steamboats
Start becoming more powerful, and using lightweight pre-manufactured lumber

13. Eventually Become Epic

14. More Robust Boats on the Great Lakes

15. Erie Canal Opened in 1825 Linked Chicago to the Eastern Seaboard
363 Miles Long (Hudson R. to Lake Erie)
40 Feet Wide
4 feet Deep

16. Boats had to be pulled by horse through the canal

17. Had to raise over 600 feet in elevation
Used locks to raise boats in elevation

18. Benefits in Illinois Shifted trade from New Orleans to East Coast
Selling crops to New York
Made immigration to Illinois much easier
Buffalo NY to Chicago took 9 days in 1841
1840 cost $20
1850 cost $10

19. Immigrants… Not liked by original Illinoisans
Mostly of southern heritage
New York investors speculated on land prices
Land buying craze in 1830s and 1840s
Coincided with “Yankee Invasion” of 1830s and 40s
Central Illinois plains being developed
6 feet of black soil under tough sod
Plowed by immigrants (German)
Panic of 1837 dropped land prices
Allowed immigrants to come to Illinois

20. Yankee Influence in Illinois
Missionary view brought
Pushing their views on others
Sober, abolitionists, industrious
Fast-talking salesmen
“Being Yanked”
Pro-education
Illinois State Normal University 1857

21. Writing Assignment
You are to write a letter to your cousin explaining how your journey went getting to Illinois.

22. Technology Progresses
Cyrus Hall McCormick
Developed a wheat reaper in Virginia
Pulled by horse or ox
Increased wheat harvests from 3 acres a day to 15
Increased farming capacity
1847 moved business to Chicago
Mass producing wheat reapers

23. John Deer Blacksmith from Vermont Developed the steel plow
Moved to Illinois in 1837
Developed the steel plow
Designed to bust tough prairie sod
Increased ability to farm Illinois plains
Built factory in Moline