Unit 1 Flashcards
What and who called the area around Chicago home before the arrival of the Europeans?
Native Americans lived there before it was just grassland
Where did Chicago get its name?
Wild leek or onions that proliferated in the area gave gave off a distinct smell
Who were the first Europeans to come through Chicago and why did they come?
French explorer joliet and marquette came and took over the area
Who made it possible for Europeans to see Chicago for the first time?
father games marquette and the explorer louis joliet made their way from green bay to explore the west, Illinois indians lead them on a shortcut
What did Jolliet recommend the French government build in Chicago and why?
he recommended the french build a canal would connect the great lakes with the Mississippi, thus insuring French control orer the interior of the continent
Why did the grand plans that Jolliet had for Chicago come to nothing in this early period of
settlement?
Joliet’s plans for a short canal proved optimistic
Despite their loss in the French and Indian (Seven Years War) French culture continued to
dominate in Chicago in 1763. How did American settlers react to this?
the Quebee act and the proclamation act (1768) when created the proclamation designed to keep British Settlers East of the appalachians, exasperates americans. The americans. The americans intrelsts seem frustrated by a distant parliament and imperial bureaucracy.
Who was the first permanent resident of Chicago? What did he do for a living?
point de sable came to chicago to build a home at the rivers mouth
What were some of the things that Point de Sable owned that made him a prominent
resident?
The family had considerable material possessions - several buildings, including a milk house, a chicken house, and a barn that housed thirty head of livestock
What were the two primary reasons Point de Sable decided to leave Chicago?
the treaty of Greenville between the New Americans government and the Indians may had a direct impact on de sable and caused him to leave the area in 1800
Who was the first white “father of Chicago”? Why did early historians elevate him to the
status of Chicago’s symbolic first citizen?
John Kinzie, a white protestant scotsman involved in trade and politics would be a fitting symbol for the new settlement that appeared on the banks of the Chicago River
What did people like Kinzie do to make money in early Chicago?
Kenzie sent trading expedition out from Chicago across the old North-West and obtained the obtained the privilege , in partnership with caption Whistler’s son, of providing supplies to the troops a fort dearborn trading with fur trappers, supplying the soldiers of the fort hiring out men, lending money and even slave trading
What are two examples of Kinzie’s “cut-throat” approach to politics?
- John Kenzie fled but was able to return
- Kinzie and Whistler argued Kinzie’s willingness to trade alcohol to the Indians and then having them removed
- John Kenzie argued with Jean la lime and stabbed him to death
Why was Chicago abandoned between August 15, 1812 and July 1816?
- the destruction of liquor and weapons angered the Indians
- on the morning of August 15 1812, a small band of 55 army regulars, 12 militia, 9 women, and 18 children, loaded into two wagons and left Chicago for Wayne.
After by 1822 what group of people were running Chicago? What groups were rapidly
losing power in the Chicago area?
John Jacob Astor’s American Fur company, the young nation’s first monopoly, dominated the local trade. In 1819 Jean Beaubien came to Chicago from Milwaukee to head it’s local interests. The Indians no longer seemed to present a threat.
What was agreed in Chicago on September 26
th and 27
th of 1833?
more than 6 thousand Indians arrived at Chicago to meet with Federal representatives, who forced the native Americans to sign two treaties on September 26th and 27th 1833. They agreed to leave the area in three years, and the only hybrid culture that had dominated Chicago and Northern Illinois since the arrival of the french soon disappeared
What changed about Chicago’s future with the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825?
The opening of the Erie canal in 1825 connected New York City via the Hudson River to Buffalo and the great lakes. Now a water connection created an east-west trading route that required a good port as far west and South on the great lakes as possible. The river held out the promise of a vast inland harbor if only a few obstacles could be overcome.
What was the great project that was envisioned to make Chicago an important trade route?
By 1838, congress spent over 200,00 to create Chicago’s Harbor and by the Mid-1840’s over 1,000 ships arrived annually. This water-borne trade, along with Fort Dearborn and the removal of Indians from the area, proved to be crucial for the small settlement as Chicago eventually developed into the great gateway and emporium to the west.
What role did boosters, such as William Butler Ogden, play in the rise of Chicago?
They provided crucial to the city’s development as they came to dominate the social, political, and Economic life of the settlement. Advertising the advantages of Chicago over it;s other Western Rivals. St. Luis, cincinnati, Galena, and Milwaukee - they exploited their connections to the yankee East.
Who were some of the Yankees that arrived in Chicago and what did they do to make
money and gain influence?
Walter L. Newberry formly Windsor Connections, made a fortune as a land speculator and when on the promote libraries. They joined the legendary booster John Stephen wright, born in Sheffield, Massachusetts, who took the first census of the city and published a handsome lithographed map of the towns shacks he termed edifices and buildings.
What problem did signs in Chicago such as “No Bottom Here” and “Shortest Road to China”
highlight?
streets remained unpaired and the problem of mud made travel difficult throughout much of the year. Chicagoans had to wade knee deep to get a round town. Wagons often got stuck in the mud
What were the goods that were being traded through Chicago in the 1840s and 1850s?
Sugar and molasses from new orleans, as well as corn, wheat, sugar, and coal.
What were some of the issues created by the rise of the lake trade?
the lake trade had it’s problems. Storms caused wrecks and ships cluttered and the bottom of the great lakes. Lake sailors worked very long hours under difficult conditions.
What changed about travel in Chicago as a result of the construction of the railroads?
as rail lines spread across the American West making the trie safer, faster, and more comfortable.
