Illinois Constitution and Government Unit 25 State History

Illinois Constitution and Government Unit 25

State History • Marquette and Joliet were discovered in 1673, however the state was not fully admitted into the Union until 1818 • Prior to being admitted into the Union, the French and the English each controlled the area for a period • Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La. Salle and his lieutenant and successor, Henry de Tonty represented for France • Fort de Crevecoeur was established near Peoria in 1680 • 1682 Fort St. Louis on Starved Rock • Pimitouri, one of the first white villages was established in 1691 (later called Peoria) • Cahokia was organized in 1699 and in 1703 Kaskaskia was organized

State History Cont. • France was defeated by Great Britain in the French and Indian War • France had to give up claim to its possessions east of the Mississippi. • British rule was short over IL because of American militia, led by George Rodgers Clark (1778) captured the villages of Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes, thus ending forever the foreign rule in IL

State History Cont. • 1778 – 1782 IL was established as a county of Virginia • During the next 5 years, the area had no legally constituted government • 1787 - 1800, IL became part of the Northwest Territory • 1800 – Indiana was established and IL was included

State History Cont. • 1809 – IL and Wisconsin was made a territory (Kaskaskia was the capital and Ninian Edwards of Kentucky served as the 1 st territorial governor) • December 3, 1818, IL (est. population 35, 000) was admitted as a statehood. • Kaskaskia – State Capital • Shadrach Bond – 1 st governor • 1832 – Last Indian uprising in IL was Black Hawk War when Chief Black Hawk and his Sauk and Fox warriors defeated the white militia at Stillman’s Run.

State History Cont. • IL capital moved from Kaskaskia to Vandalia • 1839 – Springfield becomes the capital • Shortly after Springfield becoming the capital, the state was divided on slavery • 1858 – Abraham Lincoln challenged Stephen A. Douglas (U. S. Senator) on the national policy on slavery • 1858 – Lincoln was defeated as senator • 1860 – Lincoln won the presidential nomination of the Republican Party and became the 1 st Republican president

State History Cont. • 1837 – John Deere invents the prairie plow • IL becomes a leading agricultural state • 1870 – Coal mining was one of Illinois’ largest industries

Illinois Constitution • 1818 – 1 st Constitution of IL adopted by a convention that met at Kaskaskia • 33 delegates attended, representing 15 counties (majority of the population was in the southern part) • Constitution wrote at this convention became legal once approved by Congress and IL was admitted to statehood • Constitution of 1818 did not interfere with the status of slaves already in the state but it did prohibit any further extension of slavery.

Illinois Constitution Cont. • 1824 – Some public support for a constitution that was more favorable to slavery (public rejected) • Governor Edward Coles kept IL a free state • 1848 – New constitution adopted (increase of power to the people because they could elect officers that had been previously appointed) • 1862 – New constitution was discussed but not adopted • 1870 – New constitution adopted (lasted for more than 100 years)

Illinois Constitution Cont. • November 1969 - IL voters elect delegates to the constitutional convention (constitution of 1870 was outdated) • 1970 – Convention met for the 1 st time and began working on a new constitution • Sam Witwer was elected president of the convention (after a 23 year fight for a new constitution)

Illinois Constitution Cont. • September 3, 1970 – New constitution written and adopted at the convention • December 15, 1970 – Constitution approved by the voters • July 1, 1971 – New constitution went into force • The purpose of the new constitution was to give greater protection to individual rights, modernize government at all levels and to improve the revenue (tax) system of the state

The Great Seal of Illinois • Eagle carrying a shield in its talons • Stars and stripes in the shield represent the original 13 states of the Union • 1 st design (basic) was created in 1818 • August 26, 1818 is the date of the state’s 1 st constitution • 1818 represents the year of statehood • 1868 represents the year the current seal was adopted

Organization of State Government State Responsibilities State Government • State highway construction, local laws, intrastate commerce, traffic laws, education, marriage, divorce laws, hospitals, voting regulations • 3 branches • Checks and balances • Bill of Rights

Organization of State Government • Article 4 of the U. S. Constitution • Amendment 10 of the U. S Constitution