Creating the Land of Lincoln: The History and Constitutions of Illinois, 1778–1870
2019; Oxford University Press; Volume: 106; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1093/jahist/jaz553
ISSN1945-2314
Autores Tópico(s)American Environmental and Regional History
ResumoState constitutional conventions and ratifications illustrate the concerns of delegates and voters at the times those constitutions were developed. Frank Cicero Jr. examines the three Illinois constitutions created between 1818 and 1870. Frontier Illinois grew to over 2,500,000 residents by 1870, including many in the Chicago–northern Illinois area added to the original Illinois Territory. Cicero emphasizes slavery, African American living conditions, and other key issues. The first Illinois constitutional convention, held in 1818, gave the legislature most powers and allowed all white adult men to vote after a short residency period. Slavery was a bitter issue. Despite the Northwest Ordinance (1787), Illinois had over one thousand slaves. Many southern Illinoisans thought that legalizing slavery would ensure rapid growth and that bound labor was essential for saltworks. Other delegates strongly opposed slavery, and the final constitution forbade importing new slaves. It tacitly allowed slavery for existing slaves and bound the children of slaves or long-term indentured servants until males were twenty-one years old and females were eighteen. Slaves from other states could be rented at saltworks until 1825. The Illinois Black Code of 1819 sharply restricted African American activities. Many residents soon sought to expand slaveholding, but voters in 1824 defeated a call for another convention.
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