It was on today's date, December 3, in 1818, (#190) that President James Monroe signed a congressional resolution admitting Illinois as the 21st State of the United States (#191).
I am so delighted to celebrate this significant milestone for Illinois, a special place, because it is home in the truest sense of the word, the place where I was born and of which I've been a citizen all my life.
(I'm furthermore delighted to enhance the celebration as I reach a milestone on my blog, for this post in tribute to Illinois's 200th Anniversary of Statehood is the 300th post on this blog.)
And it's amazing to think of where Illinois has started and what it has become. Our heritage is truly embedded in the wide open flat lands, where various aboriginal peoples lived, like the Illiniwek (#192), from whom this state gets its name, when the early French settlers came and made the name "Illinois". Their name means "tribe of superior men" in the Algonquin language.
It's this history that I got to celebrate in story and song with Barry Cloyd leading a presentation I attended a couple of weeks ago: As he told a narrative of Illinois's history, including significant events and people, he interspersed songs appropriate to the time period.
He ended his presentation on a reflective note, and then sang the Illinois state song, entitled "Illinois" (#193). I got kind of emotional as he strummed on his guitar and sang, while I started singing along, too.
Whenever I travel outside of Illinois, upon crossing back into the state, I sing the first verse of the Illinois state song, and sometimes carry on to the other four verses. It's a habit I developed many years ago as a way to emphasize how special this place is.
Indeed, I feel the song's lyrics aptly encapsulate all that Illinois is, in such eloquent, poetic verse--please see the link above to read the lyrics.
Our origins are in a land of vast prairies, so that it is fitting Illinois is nicknamed the "Prairie State" (#194). And from those prairie lands came a robust agricultural economy, one of Illinois's mainstays to this day (#195). Within those prairies are waterways (#196), which served as a vital link in the middle of the continent, from which arose Chicago (#197), a great city where many people converged to create quite a melting pot of neighborhoods and suburbs (#198).
Illinois became a state in the antebellum era, and many of its people played a prominent role in working to end slavery, especially when the fiercely divisive sociopolitical atmosphere broke out into war. Generals Grant and Logan (#199) were two prominent Illinois residents who contributed significantly to the war effort. And, of course, Abraham Lincoln left his mark on Illinois much as Illinois left a mark on him, so that Illinois has become known as the "Land of Lincoln".
That's what makes Illinois's story so wondrous, and what makes our contribution to the narrative of the United States so notable.
For the Centennial of Illinois 100 years ago, a monument went up in Logan Square in Chicago, where it still stands, as you can see in the photos below--a neighborhood that's part of my family's heritage because my Dad grew up there. I feel the monument serves as a notable symbol for our history (#200). And it's this history we remember as we look forward to what lies ahead in the future, striving to make it a bright for all people.
On this special day of celebration, I am pleased that I have left a mark on Illinois as much as it has left a mark on me, so as the world has made its mark on Illinois just as Illinois has made its mark on the world.
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| Here I am in Kaskaskia, the first state capital city of Illinois, where the government of Illinois first came together back in 1818. The sign on the building, which I belive is the rectory for the Immaculate Conception Chapel, reads, "Kaskaskia, Randolph County, Where Illinois Began." I thank the woman I met at the chapel who got this photo of me. |
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| The Illinois Bicentennial Flag flies in the wind on a pole by the structure housing the Liberty Bell of the West in Kaskaskia. All photos is the post are mine, unless otherwise stated. |
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| At the Vandalia Statehouse Historic Site in Vandalia, below the US flag atop the pole flies the Illinois Bicentennial Flag. |
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| The Logan Square Centennial Monument. |
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| Thanks to the person sitting on a bench who agreed to take a photo of me posing by the aforementioned monument. |
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| The sign reads, "To Commemorate the Centenary of the Admission of Illinois as a Sovereign State of the American Union. December 3, 1818, with the year in the Roman numerals MDCCCXVIII. Erected by the Trustees of the B.F. Ferguson Fund 1918." Below are images of the various figures who played a part in Illinois history. |
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| I thank the fellow visitor who got this photo of my posing at the current Illinois State Capitol, near the rotunda. To the left of me is the US flag, and to the immediate right is the Illinois state flag, and to the far right of me is the Illinois Bicentennial flag. |
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| I thank the fellow fairgoer who got this photo of my posing by a sign that speaks to who I am: "Born. Built. Grown" in Illinois. |
Here are the other blog posts with items on my 200 List for Illinois's Bicentennial:
Time to Start Celebrating Illinois's Bicentennial
Land of Lincoln
Presidents' Day Illinois Style
Celebrating Chicago
In Tribute to Tom Skilling and His 40 Years on WGN
Illinois Government Affairs
The Lasting Legacy in Art
Springfield, Springfield--O What Celebration!
At Yesteryear's Pace
An Illinois Collection upon the Illinois River
Ascending to the Highpoint of Illinois
A Capital Excursion
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