History 219: Illinois and Local History

Course Outline

Spring 2003

Overall course objective: The student should be able to understand and explain pivotal social, political and economic events in the state's history.

Class 1 (January 21st)

· Illinois Geography and Geology

· Native American Cultures in Illinois

· Required readings

· Suggested readings

Class 2 (January 28th)

· The French Incursion into Illinois

· British Rule and the War of Independence

· The Northwest Ordinance

· Required readings

· Suggested readings

Class 3 (February 4th)

· The Territorial Period and Early Statehood

· The Early Development and Rise of Chicago

· Required readings

· Suggested readings

Class 4 (February 11th)

· Early Foreign Immigration and Ethnic Contributions

· Construction of the Illinois‑Michigan Canal

· Required readings

· Suggested readings

Class 5 (February 18th)

· The Ambivalent Status of African‑Americans in Illinois

· The Constitution of 1848

· Required readings

· Suggested readings

Class 6 (February 25th)

· Illinois during the 1850s

· The Rise of the Railroad

· Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas

· Required readings

· Suggested readings

Class 7 (March 4th)

· Illinois in the Civil War

· Repeal of the “Black Code"

· The Constitution of 1870

· Required readings

· Suggested readings

Class 8 (March 11th)

· The Rise of the Industrial State

· The Great Chicago Fire of 1871

· The Rise of New Immigrant Groups

· Required readings

· Suggested readings

Class 9 (March 18th)

· Labor Movements: The Haymarket Riot of 1886 and the Pullman Strike of 1894

· Rising Influence of Women as Reformers

· Required readings

· Suggested readings

Class 10 (April 1st)

· Chicago Politics at the Turn of the Century

· The Columbian Exposition of 1893

· Required readings

· Suggested readings

Class 11 (April 8th)

· The Great Migration: The New Movement of African‑Americans to Illinois

· Illinois during World War I

· Social Turmoil after the War: The "Red Scare” and Race Riots of 1919

· Required readings

· Suggested readings

Class 12 (April 15th)

· Prohibition and the Rise of Organized Crime

· "Bloody Williamson" and the Resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in Illinois

· Required readings

· Suggested readings

Class 13 (April 22nd)

· Illinois during the Depression

· Illinois during World War II

· Required readings

· Suggested readings

Class 14 (April 29th)

· The Postwar Rise of the Suburbs

· Richard J. Daley and the Democratic Machine

· Required readings

Class 15 (May 6th)

· Racial and Political Turmoil of the 1960s

· Required readings

· Suggested readings

Class 16 (May 13th)

· Constitution of 1970 and Aftermath

· Required readings

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Go to Suggested Readings

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Last updated September 23, 2003