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Western Great Lakes: Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin

This, along with the construction of multiple railroad lines, helped to make Chicago into a transportation hub. Chicago was also the nation’s busiest

along with Wisconsin and parts of Michigan and Minnesota. On December 3, 1818, Illinois became the 21st state. Its boundaries were the same as exist today. Kaskaskia served briefly as the state capital. In 1819, though, the capital was moved to Vandalia. Kaskaskia and Vandalia are both located in southern Illinois. At the time, that’s where almost all of the state’s 35,000 or so residents lived. Gradually, though, settlers began moving onto the vast prairies of cen- tral and northern Illinois. There they found fertile land for farming. In 1839, Springfield became the state capital. It’s located in central Illinois’ Sagamon County. Chicago, meanwhile, had entered a period of rapid growth. In 1833, Chicago had only about 200 residents. By 1850, the population had swelled to nearly 30,000. By 1860, close to 110,000 people would call Chicago home. The Illinois & Michigan Canal (completed in 1848) connected Lake Michigan with the Chicago River— and ultimately with the Mississippi.

The Native American warrior Black Hawk (1767–1838) led his band of Sauk and Fox Indians against American troops during the War of 1812. In 1832, angry about the loss of Sauk territories in Illinois, he resumed fighting against American soldiers. This conflict, which raged from April to August of that year, became known as the Black Hawk War.