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Will It Play in Peoria?: June 2, 1954—Peoria, Illinois

Andrew Marble

in Boy on the Bridge: The Story of John Shalikashvili's American Success

The chapter is set in June 1952 in Peoria, Illinois, on the eve of high school graduation. Told from the perspective of Donna Bechtold, John Shalikashvili’s girlfriend, the chapter raises the theme ... More

The chapter is set in June 1952 in Peoria, Illinois, on the eve of high school graduation. Told from the perspective of Donna Bechtold, John Shalikashvili’s girlfriend, the chapter raises the theme of nature vs. nurture by introducing Shalikashvili as a newly arrived refugee in the United States, showing his capacity for empathy and tenderness, and giving a sense of the aristocratic ideals he brought with him to the New World. By contrasting Bechtold’s terrible home life, particularly her abusive mother, with her guesses at how wonderful Shalikashvili’s family must be, it introduces the theme of the influence that parents and upbringing have on our development. It also prepares the reader for the following three chapters, each of which is told mainly from the perspective of a different Shalikashvili relative.Less

Betrayal: June 3, 1954—Peoria, Illinois

Andrew Marble

in Boy on the Bridge: The Story of John Shalikashvili's American Success

Returning to Peoria, Illinois, on the morning after the June 1952 high school graduation, the chapter tells, through Donna Bechtold’s eyes, how John Shalikashvili fought to assimilate to life in the ... More

Returning to Peoria, Illinois, on the morning after the June 1952 high school graduation, the chapter tells, through Donna Bechtold’s eyes, how John Shalikashvili fought to assimilate to life in the United States, how manipulative and strategic he could be and how this helped him to be well-liked at school, and how he struggled with demons from his wartime past (post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD). It also reveals that Bechtold, despite all he has done for her, is set to betray him.Less

Lincoln's Political Faith in the Peoria Address

John Y. Simon, Harold Holzer, and Dawn Vogel

in Lincoln Revisited: New Insights from the Lincoln Forum

This chapter explores Abraham Lincoln's political faith in the Peoria Address as an ultimate moral justification of American public life, one that combines the moral and religious teachings of the ... More

This chapter explores Abraham Lincoln's political faith in the Peoria Address as an ultimate moral justification of American public life, one that combines the moral and religious teachings of the Bible with the Founders' republicanism. It argues that the Peoria Address was the most mature and profound expression of Lincoln's political thought to date in 1854, and that its rich teaching on the moral foundations of American popular government has been overshadowed by scholarly attention given to earlier works like the Lyceum Address of 1838, and to subsequent works like the Second Inaugural Address of 1865. There has been no comprehensive treatment of the Peoria Address as exemplary of Lincoln's integration of religion and politics. The chapter seeks to remedy this gap in the voluminous Lincoln literature. Even a cursory reading of Lincoln's speeches and writings reveals that his interpretation of American democracy was thoroughly imbued by the Judeo-Christian worldview revealed in the Bible.Less

The Hole in the Map

in The Sangamo Frontier: History and Archaeology in the Shadow of Lincoln

The first true cartographic representation of what would become central Illinois was surveyed and drawn by Major Stephen Long in the late summer of 1816. The war had just ended, and Long's official ... More

The first true cartographic representation of what would become central Illinois was surveyed and drawn by Major Stephen Long in the late summer of 1816. The war had just ended, and Long's official assignment was to map the Illinois River as part of a reevaluation for the need to replace the existing Fort Clark, situated in what was still an important Native American locale. Not only was the resulting map the first accurate survey of that river, it was also the first to record the uplands of central Illinois, which had no obvious connection to a riverine route to Peoria. Instead, the map, which included a survey that extended over fifty miles east of the river, was probably also designed to better document the alternate route to Peoria. This alternate was the old trail followed by rangers during the war. Officially, the land office at Edwardsville could not begin surveying the lands crossed by the old trail, as they still belonged to the Kickapoo. The region surrounding the Sangamon Valley was now a hole in the map of the future state—still claimed by Indians, still largely unknown, and still dangerous to travel.Less

“Little Women's Libbers” and “Free to Be Kids” Children and the Struggle for Gender Equality in the United States

Lori Rotskoff

in When We Were Free to Be: Looking Back at a Children's Classic and the Difference It Made

This chapter focuses on the letter written by a fifth-grade girl from Peoria, Illinois, Randi Lewis, that was addressed to the editors of Ms., the first popular, unambiguously feminist magazine ... More

This chapter focuses on the letter written by a fifth-grade girl from Peoria, Illinois, Randi Lewis, that was addressed to the editors of Ms., the first popular, unambiguously feminist magazine published in the United States. While her mother was the household's official subscriber, Randi also looked forward to the magazine's monthly delivery. Although Randi lived far from the Ms. headquarters in New York City, she believed that the magazine's creators would understand some of her deepest concerns. In her letter, Randi unburdened her frustration over social injustices she perceived at recess and in the classroom. Her expression of allegiance to liberal feminism—what she called “all this equal rights”—was striking in its simplicity: “I believe in it, too.”Less

The End of the Trail

in The Sangamo Frontier: History and Archaeology in the Shadow of Lincoln

North of Sangamo and at the end of Edwards' Trace, most of the French character of Peoria quickly dissolved into the soil after Captain Craig's fires died out in the fall of 1812. The villagers did ... More

North of Sangamo and at the end of Edwards' Trace, most of the French character of Peoria quickly dissolved into the soil after Captain Craig's fires died out in the fall of 1812. The villagers did not return to the ruins, although a few families resettled down river on the opposite shore. Animals moved into the abandoned Fort Clark, and for a short time, Peoria was a very quiet place. After a few years of silence, the Americans began to visit, following the trace from the south. At first, they came to hunt or fish, but soon they began building their log houses. By the mid-1820s, Peoria—the last stand for the old ways of the eighteenth century—had become an American place. In less than a generation, the residents of Peoria began looking for the archaeological traces of its French heritage. This chapter describes excavations and artifacts from Peoria.Less

Rumors of War

Gillum Ferguson

in Illinois in the War of 1812

This chapter examines how, across Illinois Territory, relations between red and white were already changing. At Chicago, the members of the small American community remained confined to Fort Dearborn ... More

This chapter examines how, across Illinois Territory, relations between red and white were already changing. At Chicago, the members of the small American community remained confined to Fort Dearborn and the fortified agency house nearby. At Peoria, French villagers who had long enjoyed cordial relations with the Indians now began finding great numbers of their cattle killed, and the carcasses sometimes left at their doorsteps. At the southern end of the territory, at the mouth of Grand Pierre Creek, lived a family named Crawford, who was on civil terms with passing Indian hunting parties. The day the Indians learned of war, they painted their faces, assumed a hostile attitude, commandeered the family's boat, loaded it with game, and then paddled off down the river, never to return.Less

Peoria

Gillum Ferguson

in Illinois in the War of 1812

This chapter explores how Governor Ninian Edwards began to prepare a counterstroke as the Indians' offensive of August and September 1812 stalled and receded. The natural target was Peoria, where ... More

This chapter explores how Governor Ninian Edwards began to prepare a counterstroke as the Indians' offensive of August and September 1812 stalled and receded. The natural target was Peoria, where hostile Indians—Kickapoo, Potawatomi, and Piankashaw—were gathered in large numbers, and from which they had just launched their abortive raid on the settlements. Lacking assistance from outside the territory, Edwards would have to rely on the territory's own resources, which were very slender. The governor estimated that there were no more than 2,000 adult white males scattered between the Mississippi and the Wabash, while more than 1,000 Indian warriors could assemble at Peoria within a matter of days. None of the militiamen who had defended the territory during the spring and summer had been paid, and to obtain volunteers, Edwards was forced to pledge his own resources to guarantee payment.Less

The University of Experience

Simine Short

in Locomotive to Aeromotive: Octave Chanute and the Transportation Revolution

This chapter details the start of Octave Chanute's journey toward becoming a civil engineer. Sixteen-year-old Octave read that engineers working for the expanding railroads needed to possess ... More

This chapter details the start of Octave Chanute's journey toward becoming a civil engineer. Sixteen-year-old Octave read that engineers working for the expanding railroads needed to possess universal knowledge. To become a civil engineer he had much to learn, but he felt sure that intelligent and earnest work would provide his key to success. The remainder of the chapter covers various events in Octave's life including his apprenticeship on the Hudson River Railroad; his marriage to Annie James in 1857; his real estate investments; his move to Peoria, Illinois, in 1854; and his roles in the construction of the Peoria & Oquawka Railroad, Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, Ohio & Mississippi Railroad; Chicago & Alton Railroad, and the Union Stock Yards in Chicago.Less

1692–1712: The Rock Is Abandoned: (Neekarenta aašipehkwa)

Mark Walczynski

in The History of Starved Rock

This chapter assesses how, for the decade following the French withdrawal from Starved Rock, Lake Peoria would become the primary focus for French traders and missionaries. Most of the Illinois ... More

This chapter assesses how, for the decade following the French withdrawal from Starved Rock, Lake Peoria would become the primary focus for French traders and missionaries. Most of the Illinois subtribes, including the Kaskaskia and Peoria, also became well established at Lake Peoria. With the Indians and the French gone, the land in the Starved Rock area began to heal. Human activity at Starved Rock between 1691 and 1712 appears to have been very limited, as are any surviving records that could provide knowledge of the site's occupation. Occasionally, a party of canoe men or Indians passed the once-famous Rock, and some of them surely told of what they had once observed there. One of the more interesting accounts occurred in November of 1698, when four canoes en route to the Mississippi from Michilimackinac passed Starved Rock. At that time, three missionaries of the Société des Missions Étrangères (Society of the Foreign Missions)—Fathers Jean-François Buisson de St. Cosme, Antoine Davion, and François Jolliet de Montigny—made their way down the Illinois River, guided by none other than Henri Tonti. St. Cosme's perceptions recorded in his journal are interesting as they provide insight into his concerns regarding the deteriorating relations between the French and the Mesquakie.Less

1712–1730: Starved Rock and the Fox Wars: (Mihšikatwi Aašipehkonki—Mahkwaskimina)

Mark Walczynski

in The History of Starved Rock

This chapter addresses the conflict between the Peoria and the Mesquakie Indians, hostilities that historians today call the Fox Wars. To counter potential British inroads into French trade turf, and ... More

This chapter addresses the conflict between the Peoria and the Mesquakie Indians, hostilities that historians today call the Fox Wars. To counter potential British inroads into French trade turf, and to nullify the effects of illegal traders in Wisconsin, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac invited the Mesquakie to settle near his new post at Detroit, in the Lower Peninsula, where other regional tribes had previously settled. Unfortunately for the tribe, by the time the first Mesquakie group—led by a chief named Pemoussa—arrived at Detroit in 1712, Cadillac was no longer commandant of the post. Soon after the Mesquakie had settled near the fort, they created unrest by stealing livestock and taunting other tribes. Later, an Illinois chief named Makouandeby threatened the Mesquakie; this would inspire the Mesquakie to attack the Illinois for years to come. Mortal enmity was now sealed between the Mesquakie and their allies and the French and their Indian allies. Makouandeby's insults were added to a long list of grievances that the tribe held against the French and now, against the Illinois. This affront to Mesquakie honor was yet another reason why the Fox Wars grew to become so violent. It ensured that the Starved Rock Peoria would become targets of Mesquakie wrath and reprisals.Less

1730–1776: We Leave, Never to Return: (Nimecimehkaamina)

Mark Walczynski

in The History of Starved Rock

This chapter describes the events in Starved Rock from 1730 to 1776. By 1732, nearly all Peoria Indians were living at villages in the Illinois Valley, at either Starved Rock or at Lake Peoria. For ... More

This chapter describes the events in Starved Rock from 1730 to 1776. By 1732, nearly all Peoria Indians were living at villages in the Illinois Valley, at either Starved Rock or at Lake Peoria. For the Illinois, especially the Peoria and possibly some Cahokia living at Starved Rock, it appeared that the Mesquakie threat had been extinguished. Rather than continue their campaign of genocide against the Mesquakie, the French administration decided to utilize its resources where they were needed most—in the lower Mississippi Valley against the fierce Chickasaw tribe, who were allies and trade partners of the British. Meanwhile, in Europe, the French became embroiled in a conflict with the British known as the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), a conflict that spilled over to North America, where it is commonly and incorrectly called the French and Indian War. By 1777, the Potawatomi were firmly ensconced in the Illinois Country. Like the Potawatomi, the Mascouten and Kickapoo Indians also moved into Illinois. None of these groups, however, established themselves at Starved Rock.Less