Part One: Role of GeographyPart Two: “American” Settlement of Chicago

HISTORY OF CHICAGO

Urban Geography

Urban geography is the study of various aspects of cities including:

• Site = The actual location and surrounding physical environment (like rivers, mountains, climate, soil quality, etc . . .)

• Situation = location relative to its surroundings and other places (factors like accessibility to place itself, other places, and raw materials)

• Evolution, growth and classification of villages, towns and cities

• Economic, political and social aspects of cities

To review what you have already read - We are going to focus on Site & Situation of Early Chicago

Site of the “future” Chicago

• “A swamp on the shore of an enormous lake where a small, sluggish, foul-smelling river wound its way across the flat prairie and through small forests . . .”

• To the east - woodlands• To the west - endless

grasslands• To the south - wetlands• Various wildlife: buffalo,

beavers, elk, wolves, mosquitoes, fish

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What about SITE makes a place desirable to settle?

• You may be able to answer this question for why the place “Chicago” may have been desirable; but the question goes further -- it asks you to make a generalization that can be applied to other places, like New York City, Cincinnati, San Francisco, and St. Louis

• The next five slides show maps that will help you gather evidence to answer this question.

New York City

Cincinnati

San Francisco

St. Louis

Directed Writing - 5 minutes. . . .

• Back to the original question . . .

What about SITE makes a place desirable to settle?

• Silently write your response to this question, making sure that your response can be applied to various places like NYC, Cincinnati, San Francisco, St. Louis and of course, Chicago.

Location, Location, Location

• It’s not enough that physical environment is deemed desirable, there is more to finding the “perfect” location for the successful creation of a city -- This is the situation aspect of urban geography.

• So what else is there about this place - the “future” Chicago - that makes it desirable?

What’s the Situation?

Chicago River• A river provided a harbor

to the lake• This river broke into two

branches - providing access to the interior

• The river, when “flooded” gave access to the Mississippi River

Possibilities ……

• What if there is a canal built to connect the Chicago River to the Des Plaines River?

• This canal would keep the connection between the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan permanent and not based on rain or snowfall.

• Canal = MONEY!!!

Bonus: Access to Lake Michigan

• Located on Lake Michigan • Access to all the Great Lakes though the St. Lawrence

River through Canada and access to the Mississippi River, leading to the Gulf of Mexico

• What does all this access mean?

Part Two: “American”Settlement

• “Discovering” the Land• First Permanent Settler• Native Americans• Fort Dearborn

“Discovering” the Land

• Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet were the first explorers of the region when they came in 1673. • They realized the potential

of the area because of its site and situation.

• However, convincing others was another story. The area would not boom over night.

• For the most part the area was used by fur traders.

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First Permanent Settlers - Jean Baptiste Point du Sable

• Not only first settler of Chicago, but also city’s first Black resident

• Fur Trader with the British government posted in Indiana• Comes to Chicago around 1782 and establishes a farm (at

the Chicago River and present-day Michigan Ave)

Native American Tribes

• Before the Europeans came to the region there were six Native American tribes .• The Miami, Potawatomi,

Kickapoo, Fox, Mascouten, and Illinois.

• For a while Native American and Europeans would get along because only so few came to the area, but when they started taking land conflict arose between the two groups.

• Conflict resulted in the Treaty of Greenville, where six square miles at the mouth of the Chicago River were given to the Americans

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Native Americans continued . . .

• The Treaty of Greenville did not solve the conflict between the Native Americans and European settlers

• The Blackhawk War (1832 )• the Native Americans lead by

Black Hawk lead a revolt against the Americans

• Black Hawk was defeated

• The Native Americans signed all their land over to the United States for money and agreed to go West.

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Protecting its Investment -- Fort Dearborn (1803)

•Built to protect Americans in the area at present day Michigan Ave. and Wacker Drive

•War still broke out in 1812, fort was rebuilt

•Demolished in 1857

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What story should you be able to tell with this notes?

• Part One• Explain how geography impacts the establishment of

cities• Summarize how the site and situation of the location of

Chicago was considered desirable

Part Two• Summarize the story of “ownership” of the land that

would become Chicago

In the future, this information will allow you to• Analyze the growth of Chicago as a metropolis• Predict where and why people settle various areas of the

city