The Illinois & Michigan Canal

MANY ILLINOIS EVENTS HAVE CONTRIBUTED to the state and the nation. Some that may easily be overlooked are internal improvements. They are so common in our engrained consciousness that they just become a part of the landscape. They lay there silently with no voice to advocate for their contributions. The Illinois indeed, the canal's contributions prior to its opening outweighed those following it. Despite the period's nationwide canal fever, only two such canals—the Erie and the I rather, it made Illinois and helped shape the country's future. In cooperation with the Erie Canal, the I&M opened the Midwestern interior to the world.Local Indigenous peoples had figured out the location's importance ages ago. They discovered canoes or pirogues could move from the lake to the interior's watershed at a place later called “Mud Lake.” In the wet season, it could be traversed via water and in dryer weather, they could traverse a small portage and achieve the same. In 1673, Jolliet and Marquette learned about this route. They stated that the place would be significant for a canal. Over the years, the information of a canal's potential had not died, but it is reasonable to state that Jesse Hawley, in 1810, reinvigorated the canal's necessity. Hawley, a New York state grain dealer had drafted a series of articles concerning the need for a canal across the state (which would become the Erie Canal). Hawley was looking to reduce his transportation costs. As papers shared stories, his articles received a wider distribution along the East Coast. In his tenth article, he mentioned that connecting Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River via the Illinois River would prove nationally beneficial. An Illinois canal received continual and growing interest.In 1816, Nathaniel Pope, Illinois Territory's delegate to Congress, was on the canal bandwagon. He was instrumental in Illinois statehood. Prior to 1818, his most important contribution was moving the northern-most border farther into Wisconsin Territory. Pope realized the need to keep the canal in Illinois versus sharing ownership with Wisconsin. He utilized an argument that had recently worked for Indiana. The original northern border of Indiana and Illinois began at the southernmost tip of Lake Michigan. Indiana's legislature argued that without direct access to the lake it would be hurt economically. Consequently, Congress reestablished Indiana's northern border to include a 41-mile stretch of Lake Michigan. Pope convinced Congress to move Illinois’ northern border up 51 miles to its present location. This massive addition of land would prove critical to the state's future.Initial plans to finance the canal's construction fell short, and finally, in 1824, the general assembly petitioned the federal government to assist with the cost by a land grant along a surveyed path along the canal. In their memorial, they mentioned this work would connect the nation east to west and north to south by strengthening commercial exchange. Illinois received the land grant, and the canal was official and the word spread.The word spread through various mediums. First, in the era, authors penned a large quantity of travel literature that focused on migration to Illinois. The literature described Illinois as a bucolic dream for families, and many volumes described the state as the destination. The proposed canal and the economic opportunities it held were heavily featured throughout the literature. Simultaneously, canal contractors advertised nationally in papers and some in foreign countries for workers to migrate to northern Illinois. These two components worked in concert to form an influential pull factor to the state.This influence was substantial. Early on, the state's southern part received migration from the upper South. In contrast, beginning in the 1830s, the state's northern part received migration from the northern states and Europe. This latter group were drawn to the canal and its long-term potential. The respective groups brought their values, mores, and political ideologies. By this, Illinois could be viewed as a microcosm of the nation. It is important to realize though that a fair amount of the southern counties held a sizable contingent of antislavery voters. So, if this antislavery voting block were supplemented by more antislavery votes, the state's political climate would shift. That is what occurred in the state's northern tier. In 1830, the state's population sat at only 7 percent in the northern counties, with the remaining 93 percent in the southern two-thirds. A decade later, the population distribution had changed to 32 percent and 68 percent respectively. By the late 1840s, it was almost split in half. This had a highly transformative effect on the state.With growing populations came more governmental representation with local legislatures. In 1824, after a call for a constitutional convention to formally legalize slavery, voters defeated the measure by a slight majority, though informal slavery survived through Black Codes. These constituted voters strictly from the state's southern two-thirds counties. With the continual influx of antislavery migrants in the north, the gap between the two factions shifted with proslavery individuals in the decided minority. The north/south state of Illinois had shifted to a northern state by majority. This happened because of the influx of population into the northern tier of Illinois, and this was instigated merely by the canal's planning. As such, the canal not only affixed the state's northern border, but it also initiated the political ideological shift within those borders well past the canal's heyday. Further examination into the local level highlights northern Illinois’, not just Chicago's role, in nation building. In contemplating our 250th anniversary and all of Illinois’ contributions to achieving this historic milestone, a renewed look into the role of internal improvements is needed.