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Illinois
Capital:
Springfield
State abbreviation/Postal code:
Ill./IL
Nickname:
Prairie State
Origin of name:
Algonquin Indian for "warriors"
Briefs on
Illinois:
Spreading over an area of 149,998 square
kilometers and inhabiting a population of 12,419,293, Illinois is a US
state located in the heart of United States. Illinois is known for
several reasons. It is one amongst world’s wonderful tourist
destinations. It has excellent scenic beauty, vast farmlands, peaceful
long rivers, beautiful historic sites and America’s largest urban
center, Chicago. Due to natural forests, museums and art galleries,
Illinois is an ideal place especially for nature lovers, art and
culture aficionados.
Illinois borders some of the fascinating tourist
destinations such as Lake Michigan to the north-central, Wisconsin to
the north, Iowa and Missouri to the west, Kentucky to the south and
Indiana to the east.
 The capital of Illinois is Springfield.
Springfield is the political hub of Illinois and also a tourist
attraction. But more than Springfield, Illinois is known for the old
city of Chicago. Chicago is a densely populated city, being the third
most populous city of United States.
Chicago is a beautiful city that offers countless
lures and is bustling with visitors all round the year.
Illinois has rich past. Before 1400-1500 AD,
Cahokia the urban center of the pre-Columbian Mississippian culture
was located near Illinois. After them came Illiniwek Confederation or
the Illini which was a political alliance of several tribes. Illinois
got its name from the Illini tribal alliance. But after sometime the
Illini were overpowered by the Potawatomi, Miami, Sauk and the other
tribes.
In 1673 French explorers namely Jacques Marquette
and Louis Joliet explored the Illinois River and succeeded in making
Illinois a French territory. After the French and Indian war Illinois
came under the British control. In 1778 during his campaigns George
Rogers Clark claimed the Illinois Country for the Commonwealth of
Virginia. In 1783 the Illinois region went under the United States of
America and became a part of the Northwest Territory.
On 3rd February 1809 the Illinois
territory was created. In 1818 Illinois became the 21st US
state. The Americans started settling in the region. At first they
occupied the southern half of the state and gradually moved to the
north and other directions. By doing this they displaced the original
inhabitants of the state. Moreover the 1832 Black Hawk War completely
drove out all the native tribes of Illinois particularly those in the
north.
In 1830-1831 Illinois witnessed extreme cold
conditions as snow covered every part of the state, resulting in
turmoil in day-to-day life as well as tourist activities. These
snow-dominated winters were labeled as ‘winter of deep snow’.
Till 1840 Illinois was known as the Sucker State.
It is also known as the Land of Lincoln because president Lincoln
lived a major part of his life here. It was during the time when he
was practicing law in the Springfield city of Illinois.
Illinois was quite active during the civil war
time. it had served the Union Army with around 250,000 soldiers.
Over the years Illinois has developed to a great
extent and has earned a commendable name in various sectors such as
state’s economy, culture and tradition etc.
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