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146-405: Jean Baptiste Point du Sable ( French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ batist pwɛ̃ dy sɑbl] ; also spelled Point de Sable , Point au Sable , Point Sable , Pointe DuSable , or Pointe du Sable ; before 1750 – August 28, 1818) is regarded as the first permanent non-Native settler of what would later become Chicago , Illinois , and is recognized as the city's founder. The site where he settled near

292-471: A decharge . Those where the cargo could be floated in the canoe if split into two trips were called a demi-charge . There is a report of a voyageur named La Bonga , a 6-foot-5-inch (196 cm) freed slave carrying 7 bales (630 lbs.) for one-half mile when applying to become a voyageur, a feat which trumped the usual requirement that voyageurs be short. Being a voyageur was dangerous, not just because of exposure to outdoor living, but also because of

438-586: A Catholic ceremony in Cahokia in the Illinois Country , a longtime French colonial settlement on the east side of the Mississippi River . It is likely that this couple was married earlier in the 1770s in a Native American tradition. They had a son named Jean and a daughter named Susanne. Point du   Sable supported his family as a frontier trader ( voyageur or coureur des bois ) and settler during

584-403: A Democrat, was elected in 1955, in the era of machine politics . In 1956, the city conducted its last major expansion when it annexed the land under O'Hare airport, including a small portion of DuPage County. By the 1960s, white residents in several neighborhoods left the city for the suburban areas – in many American cities, a process known as white flight – as Blacks continued to move beyond

730-714: A cabin at the mouth of the Pine River in what is now the city of St. Clair . At some time in the 1780s, after the US achieved independence, Point du Sable settled on the north bank of the Chicago River close to its mouth. The earliest known record of Point du   Sable living in Chicago is an entry that Hugh Heward made in his journal on 10   May 1790, during a journey from Detroit across Michigan and through Illinois. Heward's party stopped at Point du   Sable's house en   route to

876-451: A canoe man, and forty-one years in service; no portage was ever too long for me, fifty songs could I sing. I have saved the lives of ten voyageurs, have had twelve wives and six running dogs. I spent all of my money in pleasure. Were I young again, I would spend my life the same way over. There is no life so happy as a voyageur's life! After the British conquered Canada in 1763 , management of

1022-578: A city in 1837 near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed . It grew rapidly in the mid-19th century. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed several square miles and left more than 100,000 homeless, but Chicago's population continued to grow. Chicago made noted contributions to urban planning and architecture , such as the Chicago School , the development of

1168-417: A day. Most of their diet consisted of a few items from a short list of food used for provisioning voyageurs. One was pemmican , consisting primarily of dried meat (pounded into small pieces) mixed with fat. Another was rubaboo or other dishes made from dried peas. Salt pork was more prevalent on the eastern routes. Montreal-based voyageurs could be supplied by sea or with locally grown crops. Their main food

1314-459: A derogatory term. These men were seasonal workers employed mostly during the summer months to transport goods which could weigh as much as four tonnes by canoe. Up to ten men could be required to safely navigate with so much on board. They would travel to the western end of Lake Superior to drop off their goods. Those who overwintered were called hommes du nord (northern men) or hivernants (winterers). Those who were neither primarily traveled

1460-718: A different set of voyageurs. Once or twice a year a larger gathering took place to transfer furs and trade goods among these groups of voyageurs. The largest gatherings occurred at transfer points on the shore of Lake Superior at Grand Portage or Fort William. A rendezvous was also a time for rest and revelry. Since most voyageurs began their careers in their early 20s, the majority of them were not married while they were working. Those who did marry continued to work while leaving their family behind in Montreal. Few voyageurs are recorded as having married later in their lives in New France. There are

1606-493: A fanciful biography". In 1953, Shirley Graham drew from the work of Quaife and Jeremie in a historical novel about Point du   Sable. She described it as "not accurate history nor pure fiction", but rather "an imaginative interpretation of all the known facts". This book presented Point du   Sable as the son of the mate on a pirate ship, the Black Sea Gull , and a freedwoman called Suzanne. Despite lack of evidence and

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1752-601: A granite marker at the site believed to be Point du   Sable's grave in the third St.   Charles Borromeo Cemetery. In 2002 an archaeological investigation of the grave site was initiated by the African Scientific Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago . Researchers using a combination of ground-penetrating radar, surveys, and excavation of a 9-by-9-foot (2.7 m × 2.7 m) area did not find any evidence of any burials at

1898-486: A heart attack soon after. Washington was succeeded by 6th ward alderperson Eugene Sawyer , who was elected by the Chicago City Council and served until a special election. Richard M. Daley , son of Richard J. Daley, was elected in 1989. His accomplishments included improvements to parks and creating incentives for sustainable development , as well as closing Meigs Field in the middle of the night and destroying

2044-475: A larger part of the fur trading business process. The authorities began a process of issuing permits ( congés ). Those travellers associated with the canoe transportation part of the licensed endeavour became known as voyageurs, a term which literally means "traveller" in French. The fur trade was thus controlled by a small number of Montreal merchants. New France began a policy of expansion in an attempt to dominate

2190-610: A model for the new field of social work . During the 1870s and 1880s, Chicago attained national stature as the leader in the movement to improve public health. City laws and later, state laws that upgraded standards for the medical profession and fought urban epidemics of cholera , smallpox , and yellow fever were both passed and enforced. These laws became templates for public health reform in other cities and states. The city established many large, well-landscaped municipal parks , which also included public sanitation facilities. The chief advocate for improving public health in Chicago

2336-417: A new grade with the use of jackscrews for raising buildings. While elevating Chicago, and at first improving the city's health, the untreated sewage and industrial waste now flowed into the Chicago River , and subsequently into Lake Michigan , polluting the city's primary freshwater source. The city responded by tunneling two miles (3.2 km) out into Lake Michigan to newly built water cribs . In 1900,

2482-622: A period of great upheaval for the former southern dependencies of French Canada and in the Illinois Country, where the regions changed hands several times over the course of half a century. In a footnote to a poem titled Speech to the Western Indians , Arent DePeyster , British commandant from 1774 to 1779 at Fort Michilimackinac (a former French fort in what was then the British province of Quebec ), noted that "Baptist Point de   Saible"

2628-537: A place with them Men; however dismal the prospect is for subsistence, they follow their Master wherever he goes. By 1815, the HBC took his advice and began hiring substantial numbers of French-Canadian voyageurs for trading expeditions into Athabasca. Colin Robertson led the first of these HBC expeditions and claimed to have difficulty hiring voyageurs in Montreal because of NWC efforts to thwart him. The NWC realized how important

2774-470: A variety of explanations possible for this (including the higher than normal death rates for voyageurs and the opportunity to marry native and Métis women at the rendezvous through local custom weddings). However, it is likely that many voyageurs left for Mississippi or settled in the Canadian West. As French-Canadian voyageurs engaged and brought the fur-trade West, they established multiple settlements in

2920-407: A voyageur carrying seven bundles for half a mile. Hernias were common and frequently caused death. Most voyageurs started working in their early twenties and continued working until they were in their sixties. They never made enough money to consider early retirement from a physically grueling lifestyle. Fur trading was done by canoe and largely by French Canadians. In the fur trade context,

3066-405: A voyageur was penned by John Mongle who belonged to the parish of Maskinongé . He most likely used the services of a clerk to send letters to his wife. These chronicle his voyages into mainland territories in quest of furs. Three major influences molded the lives of voyageurs. First, their background of French-Canadian heritage as farmers featured prominently in their jobs as voyageurs. Working as

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3212-448: A voyageur was seen as a temporary means of earning additional income to support their families and expand their farms. Most voyageurs were born in New France. However, fur trading was not an everyday experience for most of the colonial population. Roughly two thirds of the population did not have any involvement in the fur trade. The second influence came from indigenous communities. Voyageurs learned from indigenous people how to survive in

3358-658: A while then merged in 1821. Management was taken over by the capital-rich HBC, but trading methods were those of the Montreal-based NWC voyageurs. After the merger of the NWC and HBC, much trade shifted to York Factory (the Hudson Bay route) and later some went south to Minnesota . After 1810, the western posts were linked to British bases on the Oregon coast. By mid-century the HBC ruled an inland empire that stretched from Hudson Bay to

3504-474: A zealous Catholic in order to convince a Jesuit missionary to declare him chief of the local Native Americans, but after they refused to accept him as their chief, he left Chicago. Quaife dismisses both of these stories as being fictional. In her 1953 novel, Graham suggests that Point du Sable left Chicago because he was angered that the US government wanted him to buy the land on which he had lived and called his own for

3650-605: Is a popular French-Canadian tale of voyageurs who made a deal with the devil in order to visit their sweethearts during the night, who are located a long distance away. It is a variant of the Wild Hunt . Its most famous version was written by Honoré Beaugrand , and was published in The Century Magazine in August 1892. For voyageur-based fur trade, that main route was divided into two (occasionally three) segments, each traversed by

3796-509: Is also named after Point du Sable in St. Charles , his other notable place of residence. The US Postal Service honored Point du   Sable with the issue of a Black Heritage Series 22-cent postage stamp on 20 February 1987. Chicago Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States . With a population of 2,746,388, as of

3942-437: Is also named for him. DuSable Harbor is located in the heart of downtown Chicago at the foot of Randolph Street . Directly across the Chicago River from the harbor, DuSable Park is a 3.24-acre (1.31 ha) urban park in Chicago currently awaiting redevelopment. The project was originally announced in 1987 by Mayor Harold Washington ; following years of remediation of the site initial development began in early 2024. A park

4088-407: Is known to botanists as Allium tricoccum and known more commonly as "ramps". The first known reference to the site of the current city of Chicago as " Checagou " was by Robert de LaSalle around 1679 in a memoir. Henri Joutel , in his journal of 1688, noted that the eponymous wild "garlic" grew profusely in the area. According to his diary of late September 1687: ... when we arrived at

4234-623: Is now St. Clair, Michigan . Point du Sable is first recorded as living at the mouth of the Chicago River in a trader's journal of early 1790. By then he had established an extensive and prosperous trading settlement in what later became the City of Chicago. He sold his Chicago River property in 1800 and moved to the port of St. Charles , where he was licensed to run a ferry across the Missouri River . Point du   Sable's successful role in developing

4380-482: Is now the U.S./Canada border, and in fact the border was largely defined by that route. The route from Fort William was slightly farther north. The two routes led to and joined at Lac La Croix . Each was a rendezvous point of sorts for the routes that reached into the interior. The other main route started at York Factory where the Hayes River empties into Hudson Bay. It led to Norway House on Lake Winnipeg. Later,

4526-512: Is titled "C'est l'aviron qui nous mène". It goes as follows: M'en revenant de la joli'Rochelle, J'ai rencontré trois jolies demoiselles, C'est l'aviron qui nous mèn', qui nous mont' C'est l'aviron qui nous monte en haut. To this day, school children learn this song as part of French Canadian culture. These songs served a dual purpose for the voyageurs. Not only were they entertaining on long voyages, but their rhythm helped synchronize their paddling. One fur trader, Edward Ermatinger, had

Jean Baptiste Point du Sable - Misplaced Pages Continue

4672-590: Is unknown. By 1804, John Kinzie, another early Chicago settler, had bought the former du Sable house. Kinzie's daughter-in-law, Juliette Magill Kinzie, suggested in her 1852 memoir that "perhaps he [du Sable] was disgusted at not being elected to a similar dignity [great chief] by the Pottowattamies". In 1874, Nehemiah Matson elaborated on this story, claiming that Point du   Sable was a slave from Virginia who had moved with his master to Lexington, Kentucky , in 1790. According to Matson, Point du   Sable became

4818-506: The 2020 census , it is the third-most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles . As the seat of Cook County , the second-most populous county in the U.S., Chicago is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area , often colloquially called "Chicagoland" and home to 9.6 million residents. Located on the shore of Lake Michigan , Chicago was incorporated as

4964-473: The Black Belt . While home loan discriminatory redlining against blacks continued, the real estate industry practiced what became known as blockbusting , completely changing the racial composition of whole neighborhoods. Structural changes in industry, such as globalization and job outsourcing, caused heavy job losses for lower-skilled workers. At its peak during the 1960s, some 250,000 workers were employed in

5110-643: The Calumet River in the industrial far South Side—flow either entirely or partially through the city. Chicago's history and economy are closely tied to its proximity to Lake Michigan. While the Chicago River historically handled much of the region's waterborne cargo, today's huge lake freighters use the city's Lake Calumet Harbor on the South Side. The lake also provides another positive effect: moderating Chicago's climate, making waterfront neighborhoods slightly warmer in winter and cooler in summer. When Chicago

5256-506: The Chicago portage ; they swapped their canoe for a pirogue that belonged to Point du   Sable, and they bought bread, flour, and pork from him. Perrish Grignon, who visited Chicago in about 1794, described Point du   Sable as a large man and wealthy trader. Point du Sable's granddaughter, Eulalie Pelletier, was born at his Chicago River settlement in 1796. In 1800 Point du   Sable sold his farm to John Kinzie 's frontman, Jean La Lime , for 6,000 livres. The bill of sale, which

5402-478: The City Beautiful movement , and the steel-framed skyscraper . Chicago is an international hub for finance, culture , commerce, industry, education, technology, telecommunications, and transportation . It has the largest and most diverse finance derivatives market in the world, generating 20% of all volume in commodities and financial futures alone. O'Hare International Airport is routinely ranked among

5548-624: The Dalles des Morts rapids: They preferred running the Dalles; they had not gone far, when to avoid the ridge of waves, which they ought to have kept, they took the apparent smooth water, were drawn into a whirlpool, which wheeled them around into its Vortex, the Canoe with the Men clinging to it, went down end foremost, and [they] all were drowned; at the foot of the Dalles search was made for their bodies, but only one Man

5694-663: The Great Lakes had been opened. The Hudson's Bay Company opened in 1670. The North West Company opened in 1784, exploring as far west and north as Lake Athabasca . The American Fur Company , owned and operated by John Jacob Astor , was founded in 1808. By 1830, the American Fur Company had grown to monopolize and control the American fur industry. By the late 18th century, demand in Europe grew substantially for marten , otter , lynx , mink and especially beaver furs, expanding

5840-527: The Great Lakes to connect to the Mississippi River. A flourishing economy brought residents from rural communities and immigrants from abroad. Manufacturing and retail and finance sectors became dominant, influencing the American economy . The Chicago Board of Trade (established 1848) listed the first-ever standardized "exchange-traded" forward contracts, which were called futures contracts . In

5986-525: The Jefferson Township , which now makes up most of Chicago's Northwest Side . The desire to join the city was driven by municipal services that the city could provide its residents. Chicago's flourishing economy attracted huge numbers of new immigrants from Europe and migrants from the Eastern United States . Of the total population in 1900, more than 77% were either foreign-born or born in

Jean Baptiste Point du Sable - Misplaced Pages Continue

6132-503: The Miami , Sauk and Meskwaki peoples in this region. The first known permanent settler in Chicago was trader Jean Baptiste Point du Sable . Du Sable was of African descent, perhaps born in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti), and established the settlement in the 1780s. He is commonly known as the "Founder of Chicago." In 1795, following the victory of the new United States in

6278-578: The New Negro Movement , in art, literature, and music. Continuing racial tensions and violence, such as the Chicago race riot of 1919 , also occurred. The ratification of the 18th amendment to the Constitution in 1919 made the production and sale (including exportation) of alcoholic beverages illegal in the United States. This ushered in the beginning of what is known as the gangster era, a time that roughly spans from 1919 until 1933 when Prohibition

6424-848: The Nile Expedition to relieve Major General Charles George Gordon , who had been besieged by the Islamist Mahdist movement. Wolseley demanded the services of the voyageurs and insisted that he could not travel up the Blue Nile without the voyageurs to assist his men as river pilots and boatmen. The demand for the voyageurs, however, slowed down the British response, and ultimately the relief of Khartoum came two days too late. The voyageur's routes were longer distance fur trade water routes that ships and large boats could not reach or could not travel. The canoes travelled along well-established routes. These routes were explored and used by Europeans early in

6570-803: The Northwest Indian War , an area that was to be part of Chicago was turned over to the U.S. for a military post by native tribes in accordance with the Treaty of Greenville . In 1803, the U.S. Army constructed Fort Dearborn , which was destroyed during the War of 1812 in the Battle of Fort Dearborn by the Potawatomi before being later rebuilt. After the War of 1812, the Ottawa , Ojibwe , and Potawatomi tribes ceded additional land to

6716-411: The University of Chicago , Northwestern University , and the University of Illinois Chicago , among other institutions of learning . Professional sports in Chicago include all major professional leagues , including two Major League Baseball teams. The name Chicago is derived from a French rendering of the indigenous Miami–Illinois word shikaakwa for a wild relative of the onion ; it

6862-663: The Washington and Jackson Parks. During World War I and the 1920s there was a major expansion in industry. The availability of jobs attracted African Americans from the Southern United States . Between 1910 and 1930, the African American population of Chicago increased dramatically, from 44,103 to 233,903. This Great Migration had an immense cultural impact, called the Chicago Black Renaissance , part of

7008-399: The prairie , the pemmican trade was as important a source of trade goods as the beaver trade was for First Nations further north. This trade was a major factor in the emergence of a distinct Métis society. Packs of pemmican would be shipped north and stored at the major fur posts Fort Alexander , Cumberland House , Île-à-la-Crosse , Fort Garry , Norway House and Edmonton House ). Music

7154-528: The world's top six busiest airports by passenger traffic , and the region is also the nation's railroad hub. The Chicago area has one of the highest gross domestic products (GDP) of any urban region in the world, generating $ 689 billion in 2018. Chicago's economy is diverse , with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce. Chicago is a major destination for tourism , including visitors to its cultural institutions , and Lake Michigan beaches . Chicago's culture has contributed much to

7300-474: The 1660s. By the late 17th century Europeans had wintered on Rainy Lake west of Lake Superior, and by the 1730s regular routes led west from Lake Superior. Montreal was a main origination point for voyageur routes into the interior. From Montreal the route divided in two routes. The main trade route from Montreal went up the Ottawa River , then through rivers and smaller lakes to Lake Huron . The other followed

7446-422: The 1780s is recognized as the establishment of the first continuous settlement, which ultimately grew to become the city of Chicago. He is therefore widely regarded as the first permanent resident of Chicago and has been given the appellation "Founder of Chicago". [Point du Sable] is not yet honored in his own house (which Chicagoans call the "Kinzie House") or on his own land. No street bears his name and, save for

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7592-490: The 1800s, Chicago became the nation's railroad hub, and by 1910 over 20 railroads operated passenger service out of six different downtown terminals. In 1883, Chicago's railway managers needed a general time convention, so they developed the standardized system of North American time zones . This system for telling time spread throughout the continent. In 1893, Chicago hosted the World's Columbian Exposition on former marshland at

7738-477: The 1850s, Chicago gained national political prominence as the home of Senator Stephen Douglas , the champion of the Kansas–Nebraska Act and the "popular sovereignty" approach to the issue of the spread of slavery. These issues also helped propel another Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln , to the national stage. Lincoln was nominated in Chicago for U.S. president at the 1860 Republican National Convention , which

7884-681: The 57th mayor of Chicago. Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois on the southwestern shores of freshwater Lake Michigan. It is the principal city in the Chicago Metropolitan Area , situated in both the Midwestern United States and the Great Lakes region . The city rests on a continental divide at the site of the Chicago Portage, connecting the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes watersheds . In addition to it lying beside Lake Michigan, two rivers—the Chicago River in downtown and

8030-518: The Chicago River settlement was little recognized until the mid-20th century. In Chicago, a school , museum , harbor , park , bridge , and road have been named in du Sable's honor. There are no records of Point du Sable's life prior to the 1770s. Though it is known from sources during his life that he was of African descent, his birth date, place of birth, and parents are unknown. Juliette Kinzie , another early pioneer of Chicago , never met Point du   Sable but said in her 1856 memoir that he

8176-455: The Chicago River were devastated; by 1933 over 50% of industrial jobs in the city had been lost, and unemployment rates amongst blacks and Mexicans in the city were over 40%. The Republican political machine in Chicago was utterly destroyed by the economic crisis, and every mayor since 1931 has been a Democrat . From 1928 to 1933, the city witnessed a tax revolt, and the city was unable to meet payroll or provide relief efforts. The fiscal crisis

8322-689: The City of Chicago and a private donor, Haitian-born Lesly Benodin, erected a large bronze bust of Point du   Sable by Chicago-born sculptor Erik Blome. In October 2010, the Michigan Avenue Bridge was renamed DuSable Bridge. Previously, a small street with the alternative spelling De   Saible Street had been named after him. In 2021, Lake Shore Drive in Chicago was renamed in honor of Point du Sable. Several institutions have been named in his honor. DuSable High School opened in Bronzeville , Chicago, in 1934. The DuSable campus today houses

8468-631: The Daniel Hale Williams Prep School of Medicine and the Bronzeville Scholastic Institute. Margaret Taylor-Burroughs , a prominent African-American artist and writer, taught at the school for twenty-three years. She and her husband co-founded the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center , located on Chicago's South Side . DuSable Hall, built in 1968, on the campus of Northern Illinois University

8614-527: The Mississippi River. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed an area about 4 miles (6.4 km) long and 1-mile (1.6 km) wide, a large section of the city at the time. Much of the city, including railroads and stockyards , survived intact, and from the ruins of the previous wooden structures arose more modern constructions of steel and stone. These set a precedent for worldwide construction. During its rebuilding period, Chicago constructed

8760-458: The Montreal trade was taken over by English speakers, while the trapping and physical labour continued to be done by French Canadians. The independent coureurs des bois continued to be replaced by hired voyageurs. Since the west country was too far for a round trip in one season, each spring when the ice broke up, boats set out from Montreal and winterers started east. They exchanged their goods at Grand Portage on Lake Superior and returned before

8906-459: The North American fur trade declined, although it continues to this day. Fur animals became less plentiful, and demand for furs dropped. Products such as silk became popular and replaced beaver fur, reducing the fur trade further. With the completion of the railway and the closure of Fort William as a rendezvous point, both occurring in 1892, that year is considered by some to mark the end of

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9052-494: The North-West Territories, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Yukon. These French/Francophone settlements and communities still exist and thrive today. The Métis Nation (Indigenous/Michif), Franco-Manitobans , Fransaskois , Franco-Albertans , Franco-Columbians, Franco-Ténois and Franco-Yukonais all have origins heavily linked to voyageurs. Franco-Manitobans celebrate their history and heritage with

9198-603: The Pacific. The Carlton Trail became a land route across the prairies. HBC land claims were transferred to Canada by the Rupert's Land Act 1868 . From 1874 the North-West Mounted Police began to extend formal government into the area. The fur trade routes grew obsolete starting in the 1880s, with the coming of railways and steamships. Several factors led to the end of the voyageur era. Improved transportation methods lessened

9344-523: The Saint Lawrence River and Lake Erie to Lake Huron. Grand Portage on the northwest shore of Lake Superior was the jumping-off point into the interior of the continent. It was reached with a very long portage, (nine miles) hence its name. By 1803, the NWC had moved its rendezvous point from Grand Portage slightly farther east to Fort William . In the late 18th century, Fort William supplanted Grand Portage. The trunk from Grand Portage followed what

9490-562: The South arrived in the city to work in the steel mills, railroads, and shipping yards. On December 2, 1942, physicist Enrico Fermi conducted the world's first controlled nuclear reaction at the University of Chicago as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project . This led to the creation of the atomic bomb by the United States, which it used in World War II in 1945. Mayor Richard J. Daley ,

9636-553: The United States in the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis . The Potawatomi were forcibly removed from their land after the 1833 Treaty of Chicago and sent west of the Mississippi River as part of the federal policy of Indian removal . On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of about 200. Within seven years it grew to more than 6,000 people. On June 15, 1835, the first public land sales began with Edmund Dick Taylor as Receiver of Public Monies. The City of Chicago

9782-775: The United States of foreign parentage. Germans , Irish , Poles , Swedes , and Czechs made up nearly two-thirds of the foreign-born population (by 1900, whites were 98.1% of the city's population). Labor conflicts followed the industrial boom and the rapid expansion of the labor pool, including the Haymarket affair on May 4, 1886, and in 1894 the Pullman Strike . Anarchist and socialist groups played prominent roles in creating very large and highly organized labor actions. Concern for social problems among Chicago's immigrant poor led Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr to found Hull House in 1889. Programs that were developed there became

9928-483: The United States. Described as handsome and well educated, Point du   Sable married a Potawatomi Native American woman, Kitihawa , and they had two children. In 1779, during the American Revolutionary War , he was arrested by the British on suspicion of being an American Patriot sympathizer. In the early 1780s he worked for the British lieutenant-governor of Michilimackinac on an estate at what

10074-572: The above information, other historical records suggest that Point du   Sable bought land in Peoria from J.   B. Maillet on 13   March 1773 and sold it to Isaac Darneille in 1783, before he became the first "permanent" resident of Chicago. Point du Sable left Chicago in 1800. He sold his property to Jean La Lime , a trader from Quebec , and moved to the Missouri River valley, at that time part of Spanish Louisiana. The reason for his departure

10220-404: The bark of large paper birch trees, stretched over a frame of white cedar . The Maître canoe, or canot de maître (master's canoe), was used on the Great Lakes and the Ottawa River . It was about 36 feet (11 m) long and 6 feet (1.8 m) wide, weighed about 600 pounds (270 kg) and carried three tons of cargo or 65 90-pound (41 kg) standard packs called pièces . Their crew

10366-412: The city include the central business district, called the Loop , and the North, South , and West Sides . The three sides of the city are represented on the Flag of Chicago by three horizontal white stripes. The North Side is the most-densely-populated residential section of the city, and many high-rises are located on this side of the city along the lakefront. The South Side is the largest section of

10512-529: The city was affected by a series of tenant rent strikes , which lead to the formation of the Chicago Tenants Protective association, passage of the Kessenger tenant laws, and of a heat ordinance that legally required flats to be kept above 68 °F during winter months by landlords. Chicago was the first American city to have a homosexual-rights organization. The organization, formed in 1924,

10658-415: The city's first African American woman mayor and its first openly LGBTQ mayor, was elected to succeed Emanuel as mayor in 2019. All three city-wide elective offices were held by women (and women of color) for the first time in Chicago history: in addition to Lightfoot, the city clerk was Anna Valencia and the city treasurer was Melissa Conyears-Ervin . On May 15, 2023, Brandon Johnson assumed office as

10804-424: The city's first female mayor, was elected. She was notable for temporarily moving into the crime-ridden Cabrini-Green housing project and for leading Chicago's school system out of a financial crisis. In 1983, Harold Washington became the first black mayor of Chicago. Washington's first term in office directed attention to poor and previously neglected minority neighborhoods. He was re‑elected in 1987 but died of

10950-448: The city, encompassing roughly 60% of the city's land area. The South Side contains most of the facilities of the Port of Chicago . Voyageur Despite their fame, their lives were arduous and not nearly as glamorous as folk tales made out. For example, they had to be able to carry two 90-pound (41 kg) bundles of fur over portages . Some carried four or five, and there is a report of

11096-454: The coast or waterways accessible by ship. Soon, coureurs des bois achieved business advantages by travelling further inland to trade. By 1681, the King of France decided to control the traders by publishing an edict that banned fur and pelt trading in New France. As the trading process moved deeper into the wilderness, transportation of the furs (and the products to be traded for furs) became

11242-488: The context of the fur trade business were more distinct. Voyageurs were canoe transportation workers in organized, licensed long-distance transportation of furs and trade goods in the interior of the continent. Coureurs de bois were entrepreneurial woodsmen engaged in all aspects of fur trading rather than just transportation of furs and trade goods. The coureurs de bois came before the voyageurs, and partially replaced them. For those coureurs des bois who continued,

11388-416: The continued debate about Point du   Sable's early life, parentage, and birthplace, this popular story has been repeated and widely presented as being definitive. In 1815, a land claim that had been submitted by Nicholas Jarrot to the land commissioners at Kaskaskia , Illinois Territory , was approved. In the claim Jarrot asserted that a "Jean Baptiste Poinstable" had been "head of a family at Peoria in

11534-515: The convention hall, with anti-war protesters, journalists and bystanders being beaten by police. Major construction projects, including the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower , which in 1974 became the world's tallest building ), University of Illinois at Chicago , McCormick Place , and O'Hare International Airport , were undertaken during Richard J. Daley's tenure. In 1979, Jane Byrne ,

11680-479: The district and forcing a shutdown of electrical power. The area was shut down for three days and some buildings did not reopen for weeks; losses were estimated at $ 1.95 billion. On February 23, 2011, Rahm Emanuel , a former White House Chief of Staff and member of the House of Representatives , won the mayoral election. Emanuel was sworn in as mayor on May 16, 2011, and won re-election in 2015. Lori Lightfoot ,

11826-421: The downstream portion of this route was traversed by York boats rather than canoes. A significant route led from Lake Winnipeg west to Cumberland House on Cumberland Lake , a hub with routes leading in four different directions. Most routes ended at the limits of what could be travelled in a round trip from a major transfer point (such as Grand Portage) in one season. Voyageur canoes typically were made from

11972-526: The fair was technological innovation over the century since Chicago's founding. During World War II , the city of Chicago alone produced more steel than the United Kingdom every year from 1939 – 1945, and more than Nazi Germany from 1943 – 1945. The Great Migration, which had been on pause due to the Depression, resumed at an even faster pace in the second wave , as hundreds of thousands of blacks from

12118-399: The fair. At the time, few Chicagoans had even heard of Point du   Sable, and the fair's organizers presented the 1803 construction of Fort Dearborn as the city's historical beginning. The campaign was partially successful, however, with a replica of Point du   Sable's cabin being presented as part of the "background of the history of Chicago". In 1965, a plaza called Pioneer Court

12264-544: The first noted in the written record to have crossed the Chicago Portage and traveled along the Chicago River, as part of their 1673 Mississippi Valley expedition. Over the following years, visits by the French continued and occasional intermittent posts were established, including those by René LaSalle , Henri de Tonti , Pierre Liette and the four-year Mission of the Guardian Angel . Point du   Sable's residence in

12410-544: The forethought to record some of these songs. This is how eleven voyageur's songs came to be known today. Ermatinger travelled for the HBC from 1818 to 1828 as a clerk and learned these songs firsthand. These came to light only in 1943 when the Ermatinger family archives gave them to the Public Archives of Canada so that they may be copied. The Chasse-galerie , also known as "The Bewitched Canoe" or "The Flying Canoe,"

12556-571: The high school, he has no monument. Cadillac is honored in Detroit, Pitt in Pittsburgh, Cleveland in Cleveland ;– but the father of Chicago has no street or statue of stone to call his own. Ebony , December 1963. By the 1850s, historians of Chicago recognized Point du   Sable as the city's earliest non-Native permanent resident, but for a long time the city did not honor him in

12702-460: The history of the settlement of the continent. Most led to Montreal. Later many led to Hudson Bay. Hudson Bay and Montreal routes joined in the interior, particularly at Lake Winnipeg . The 1821 merger of the NWC and HBC resulted in a shift towards using the route with direct access to the ocean, the Hudson's Bay route, away from the Great Lakes route. Both shores of Lake Superior had been explored by

12848-533: The interior (beyond Grand Portage) without wintering in it. They would pick up the goods from Lake Superior and transport them inland over large distances. Because of their experience, approximately one-third of the mangeurs de lard became hommes du nord . The voyageurs worked for trading companies such as the North West Company (NWC) and the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). They were retrieved furs from all over North America but were especially important in

12994-443: The interval between these stops. Between eight and ten in the evening, travel stopped and camp was made. Voyageurs were expected to work 14 hours per day and paddle at a rate of 55 strokes per minute. Few could swim. Many drowned in rapids or in storms while crossing lakes. Portages and routes were often indicated by lob trees , or trees that had their branches cut off just below the top of the tree. Canoe travel included paddling on

13140-613: The long trek to Hudson Bay. As a result, Colin Robertson sent a message to the HBC London Committee in 1810 suggesting that they begin hiring French Canadian voyageurs of their own: I would warmly recommend to your notice the Canadians; these people I believe, are the best voyageurs in the world; they are spirited, enterprising, & extremely fond of the Country; they are easily commanded; never will you have any difficulty in setting

13286-451: The lowest points are along the lake shore at 578 ft (176.2 m), while the highest point, at 672 ft (205 m), is the morainal ridge of Blue Island in the city's far south side. Lake Shore Drive runs adjacent to a large portion of Chicago's waterfront. Some of the parks along the waterfront include Lincoln Park , Grant Park , Burnham Park , and Jackson Park . There are 24 public beaches across 26 miles (42 km) of

13432-468: The mouth of the Chicago River around the 1780s is memorialized as a National Historic Landmark , now located in Pioneer Court . Point du Sable was of African descent, but little else is known of his early life prior to the 1770s. During his career, the areas where he settled and traded around the Great Lakes and in the Illinois Country changed hands several times between France, Britain, Spain and

13578-521: The need to transport of furs and trade goods by canoe. The presence and eventual dominance of the Hudson Bay York boat -based entry into the fur trade areas eliminated a significant part of the canoe travel, reducing the need for voyageurs. Completion of the Canadian Pacific rail line in 1882 finally eliminated the need for long-distance transportation of furs by voyageurs. Also, the volume of

13724-557: The parish burial register does not mention his origins, parents, or relatives; it simply describes him as nègre (French for negro ). The St.   Charles Borromeo Cemetery was moved twice in the 19th   century. Oral tradition and records of the Archdiocese of St. Louis suggested that Point du   Sable's remains were also moved. On 12   October 1968, the Illinois Sesquicentennial Commission erected

13870-498: The present location of Jackson Park . The Exposition drew 27.5 million visitors, and is considered the most influential world's fair in history. The University of Chicago , formerly at another location, moved to the same South Side location in 1892. The term "midway" for a fair or carnival referred originally to the Midway Plaisance , a strip of park land that still runs through the University of Chicago campus and connects

14016-417: The previous two decades. The 1795 Treaty of Greenville , which ended the Northwest Indian War , and the subsequent westward migration of Native Americans away from the Chicago area might also have influenced his decision. The French came to the North American mid-continent region in the 17th   century. Though probably not the first Europeans to visit the area, Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette were

14162-593: The problem of sewage contamination was largely resolved when the city completed a major engineering feat. It reversed the flow of the Chicago River so that the water flowed away from Lake Michigan rather than into it. This project began with the construction and improvement of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and was completed with the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal that connects to the Illinois River , which flows into

14308-573: The regions they travelled and adopted many traditional methods and technologies. Voyageurs also brought Western materials and techniques that were valued by the communities they encountered. The final influence was the social structure of the voyageurs life. Since this group was limited to men , it was highly masculine. These men engaged in activities such as gambling, drinking, fighting; interests which were reserved for men of this trade. The terms voyageur, explorateur , and coureur des bois have had broad and overlapping uses, but their meanings in

14454-484: The rivers froze five months later. To save the cost of hauling food from Montreal, Métis around Winnipeg began large-scale production of pemmican . The Hudson Bay trade was diverted southwest to the edge of the prairie, where pemmican was picked up to feed the voyageurs on their journey northwest to the Athabasca country. Competition from the NWC forced the HBC to build posts in the interior. The two companies competed for

14600-407: The rough work. Drowning was common, along with broken limbs, compressed spines, hernias, and rheumatism. Outdoor living also added to the hazards to life and limb with swarms of black flies and mosquitoes, often kept away by sleeping with a smudge fire that caused respiratory, sinus and eye problems. It was dangerous work, despite their expertise. David Thompson 's narrative describes an attempt to run

14746-510: The rugged Athabasca region. Athabasca was one of the most profitable fur-trade regions in the colonies because pelts from further north were thicker and of superior quality to those trapped further south. Originally the HBC was content to stay close to its trading posts along the shores of Hudson Bay and have indigenous trading partners bring the pelts to them. However, once the NWC began sending voyageurs into Athabasca it became easier for indigenous trappers to simply trade with them than to make

14892-584: The runways. After successfully running for re-election five times, and becoming Chicago's longest-serving mayor, Richard M. Daley declined to run for a seventh term. In 1992, a construction accident near the Kinzie Street Bridge produced a breach connecting the Chicago River to a tunnel below, which was part of an abandoned freight tunnel system extending throughout the downtown Loop district. The tunnels filled with 250 million US gallons (1,000,000 m ) of water, affecting buildings throughout

15038-596: The said place called "Chicagou" which, according to what we were able to learn of it, has taken this name because of the quantity of garlic which grows in the forests in this region. The city has had several nicknames throughout its history, such as the Windy City , Chi-Town, Second City, and City of the Big Shoulders. In the mid-18th century, the area was inhabited by the Potawatomi , an indigenous tribe who had succeeded

15184-628: The same manner as other pioneers. Point du Sable was generally forgotten during the 19th   century; instead, the Scots-Irish trader John Kinzie from Quebec, who had bought his property, was often credited for the settlement. A plaque was erected by the city in 1913 at the corner of Kinzie and Pine Streets to commemorate the Kinzie homestead. In the planning stages of the 1933–1934 Century of Progress International Exposition , several African-American groups campaigned for Point du   Sable to be honored at

15330-570: The spring they would carry furs from these remote outposts back to the rendezvous posts. Voyageurs also served as guides for explorers such as Pierre La Vérendrye . The majority of these canoe men were French Canadian; they were usually from Island of Montreal or seigneuries and parishes along or near the Saint Lawrence River ; many others were from France. Voyageurs were mostly illiterate and therefore did not leave many written documents. The only known document left behind for posterity by

15476-570: The steel industry in Chicago, but the steel crisis of the 1970s and 1980s reduced this number to just 28,000 in 2015. In 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. and Albert Raby led the Chicago Freedom Movement , which culminated in agreements between Mayor Richard J. Daley and the movement leaders. Two years later, the city hosted the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National Convention , which featured physical confrontations both inside and outside

15622-446: The supposed grave site, leading the archaeologists to conclude that Point du   Sable's remains may not have been reinterred from one of the two previous cemeteries. Though there is little historical evidence regarding Point du   Sable's life before the 1770s, there are several theories and legends that give accounts of his early life. Writing in 1933, Quaife identified a French immigrant to Canada, Pierre Dandonneau, who acquired

15768-414: The term picked up the additional meaning of "unlicensed". Another name sometimes given to voyageurs is engagés , indicating a hired wage-earner. There were several types of voyageurs, depending on the job that they carried out. Because of their diet, which consisted largely of salt pork , voyageurs who travelled only between Montreal and Grand Portage were known as mangeurs de lard (pork eaters)

15914-430: The title "Sieur de   Sable" and whose descendants were known by both the names Dandonneau and Du   Sable . Quaife was unable to find a direct link to Point du   Sable, but he identified descendants of Pierre Dandonneau as living around the Great Lakes region in Detroit, Mackinac, and St.   Joseph. He speculated that Point du   Sable's father may have been a member of this family, while his mother

16060-487: The trade and adding thousands to the ranks of voyageurs. From the beginning of the fur trade in the 1680s until the late 1870s, the voyageurs were the blue-collar workers of the Montreal fur trade. At their height in the 1810s, they numbered as many as three thousand. For the most part, voyageurs were the crews hired to man the canoes that carried trade goods and supplies to trading locations where they were exchanged for furs, and "rendezvous posts," such as Grand Portage at

16206-415: The trade. French influence extended west, north, and south. Forts and trading posts were built with the help of explorers and traders. Treaties were negotiated with native groups, and fur trading became very profitable and organized. The system became complex, and the voyageurs, many of whom had been independent traders, slowly became hired laborers. By the late 17th century, a trade route through and beyond

16352-551: The unemployed. In the spring of 1937 Republic Steel Works witnessed the Memorial Day massacre of 1937 in the neighborhood of East Side. In 1933, Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak was fatally wounded in Miami, Florida , during a failed assassination attempt on President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt . In 1933 and 1934, the city celebrated its centennial by hosting the Century of Progress International Exposition World's Fair . The theme of

16498-625: The visual arts, literature , film, theater , comedy (especially improvisational comedy ), food , dance, and music (particularly jazz , blues , soul , hip-hop , gospel , and electronic dance music , including house music ). Chicago is home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago , while the Art Institute of Chicago provides an influential visual arts museum and art school . The Chicago area also hosts

16644-463: The voyageur era. Later, many French Canadians stayed in the bush for the prospecting and mineral exploration trades that grew from the middle of the 19th century into viable industries, especially in Northern Ontario . Nonetheless, the voyageurs enjoyed one prominent revival in the minds of the British public – at the end of 1884, Field Marshal Garnet Wolseley was dispatched to Khartoum with

16790-466: The voyageurs were to their success and were unwilling to give them up easily. This competition for experienced labour between the HBC and the NWC created the largest demand for voyageurs in Montreal since before the merger of the XY Company and the NWC. James H. Baker was once told by an unnamed retired voyageur: I could carry, paddle, walk and sing with any man I ever saw. I have been twenty-four years

16936-399: The water with all personnel and cargo, carrying the canoes and contents over land (this is called portaging ). In shallow water where limited water depth prevented paddling with the cargo in the canoe but allowed canoes to be floated, methods that combined these were used, such as pulling by hand, poling, or lining with ropes. Circumstances where only an empty canoe could be floated were called

17082-644: The waterfront. Landfill extends into portions of the lake providing space for Navy Pier , Northerly Island , the Museum Campus , and large portions of the McCormick Place Convention Center. Most of the city's high-rise commercial and residential buildings are close to the waterfront. An informal name for the entire Chicago metropolitan area is "Chicagoland", which generally means the city and all its suburbs, though different organizations have slightly different definitions. Major sections of

17228-415: The western end of Lake Superior . They then transported the furs back to Lachine near Montreal, and later also to points on the route to Hudson Bay . Some voyageurs stayed in the back country over the winter and transported the trade goods from the posts to farther away French outposts. These men were known as the hivernants (winterers). They also helped negotiate trade in indigenous communities. In

17374-491: The word also applied, to a lesser extent, to other fur trading activities. Voyageurs were part of a licensed, organized effort, a distinction that set them apart from the coureurs des bois . Additionally, they differed from engagés (hired men, actually indentured servants), who were much smaller-scale merchants and general laborers. Mostly immigrants, the engagés were men required to go anywhere and do anything their masters told them as long as their indentureship

17520-525: The world's first skyscraper in 1885, using steel-skeleton construction. The city grew significantly in size and population by incorporating many neighboring townships between 1851 and 1920, with the largest annexation happening in 1889, with five townships joining the city, including the Hyde Park Township , which now comprises most of the South Side of Chicago and the far southeast of Chicago, and

17666-458: The year 1783, and before and after that year", and that he "had a house built and cultivated land between the Old Fort and the new settlement in the year 1780". This document has been taken by Quaife and other historians as evidence that Point du   Sable lived at Peoria on the Illinois River prior to going north to settle in Chicago. However, other records demonstrate that Point du   Sable

17812-431: Was John H. Rauch, M.D. Rauch established a plan for Chicago's park system in 1866. He created Lincoln Park by closing a cemetery filled with shallow graves, and in 1867, in response to an outbreak of cholera he helped establish a new Chicago Board of Health. Ten years later, he became the secretary and then the president of the first Illinois State Board of Health, which carried out most of its activities in Chicago. In

17958-492: Was "a handsome negro", "well educated", and "settled in Eschecagou". When he published this poem in 1813, DePeyster presented it as a speech that he had made at the village of Arbrecroche (now Harbor Springs, Michigan ) on 4   July 1779. This footnote has led many scholars to assume that Point du   Sable had settled in Chicago by 1779. But letters written by other traders in the late 1770s suggest that Point du   Sable

18104-428: Was "a native of St.   Domingo" (the island of Hispaniola ). This became generally accepted as his place of birth. Historian Milo Milton Quaife regarded Kinzie's account of Point du   Sable as "largely fictitious and wholly unauthenticated", later putting forward a theory that he was of African and French-Canadian origin. A historical novel published in 1953 helped to popularize the claim that Point du Sable

18250-525: Was 6–12; 8–10 was average. On a portage they were usually carried inverted by four men, two in front and two in the rear, using shoulder pads. When running rapids they were steered by the avant standing in front and the gouvernail standing in the rear. The northern canoe or canot du nord was used west of Lake Superior. It was about 25 feet (7.6 m) long and 4 feet (1.2 m) wide with about 18 inches (460 mm) of draft when fully loaded, and weighed about 300 pounds (140 kg). Its cargo

18396-705: Was a part of everyday life for the voyageur. Voyageurs sang songs while paddling and working, as well as during other activities and festivities. Many who travelled with the voyageurs recorded their impressions from hearing the voyageurs sing, and that singing was a significant part of their routine. But few wrote down the words or the music. As a result, records of voyageur songs tend to be skewed towards those that were also popular elsewhere in Canada. Examples of voyageur songs include " À la claire fontaine ", " Alouette ", " En roulant ma boule ", " J'ai trop grand peur des loups ", and " Frit à l'huile ". Another such song

18542-480: Was at this time settled at the mouth of Trail Creek ( Rivière du   Chemin ) at what is now Michigan City, Indiana . In August 1779, during the American Revolutionary War , Point du   Sable was arrested as a suspected Patriot at Trail Creek by British troops and imprisoned briefly at Fort Michilimackinac. An officer's report following his arrest noted that Point du Sable had many friends who vouched for his good character. The following year, Point du Sable

18688-514: Was born in 1745 in Saint-Marc in Saint-Domingue (later known as Haiti ). If he was born outside continental North America, there are competing accounts as to whether he entered as a trader or from the north through French Canada , or from the south through French Louisiana . Point du Sable married a Potawatomi woman named Kitihawa (Christianized to Catherine) on 27   October 1788, in

18834-610: Was built on the site of Point du   Sable's homestead as part of the construction of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of America building. The Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable Homesite was designated as a National Historic Landmark on 11 May 1976 as a site deemed to have "exceptional value to the nation". Pioneer Court is located at what is now 401   N.   Michigan Avenue in the Michigan–Wacker Historic District . At this site in 2009,

18980-467: Was called the Society for Human Rights . It produced the first American publication for homosexuals, Friendship and Freedom . Police and political pressure caused the organization to disband. The Great Depression brought unprecedented suffering to Chicago, in no small part due to the city's heavy reliance on heavy industry. Notably, industrial areas on the south side and neighborhoods lining both branches of

19126-452: Was dried peas or beans, sea biscuit and salt pork. In the Great Lakes area, some maize and wild rice could be obtained locally. By the time trade reached what is now Winnipeg, the pemmican trade developed. Métis would go southwest onto the prairie in Red River carts , slaughter bison , convert the meat into pemmican, which they carried north to trade at NWC posts. For people on the edge of

19272-476: Was found, his body much mangled by the Rocks. When traveling, the voyageurs did not have time for hunting or gathering. They carried their food with them, often with re-supply along the route. A northern canoe with 6 men and 25 standard 90-pound packs needed about four packs of food per 500 miles. A voyageur's day was long, rising before dawn and travelling before their first meal. Voyageurs typically ate two meals

19418-462: Was founded in 1837, most of the early building was around the mouth of the Chicago River, as can be seen on a map of the city's original 58 blocks. The overall grade of the city's central, built-up areas is relatively consistent with the natural flatness of its overall natural geography, generally exhibiting only slight differentiation otherwise. The average land elevation is 579 ft (176.5 m) above sea level . While measurements vary somewhat,

19564-452: Was half or less of that of a Maître canoe, about 25–30 pièces , and its crew was 4–8, with 5–6 being average. It was carried upright by two men. The canot bâtard (hybrid canoe) was between the Maître canoe and north canoe in size. The canoes used by Native Americans were generally smaller than the freight canoes used by the voyageurs, but could penetrate smaller streams. The express canoe

19710-566: Was held in a purpose-built auditorium called the Wigwam . He defeated Douglas in the general election, and this set the stage for the American Civil War . To accommodate rapid population growth and demand for better sanitation, the city improved its infrastructure. In February 1856, Chicago's Common Council approved Chesbrough 's plan to build the United States' first comprehensive sewerage system. The project raised much of central Chicago to

19856-464: Was incorporated on Saturday, March 4, 1837, and for several decades was the world's fastest-growing city. As the site of the Chicago Portage , the city became an important transportation hub between the eastern and western United States. Chicago's first railway, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad , and the Illinois and Michigan Canal opened in 1848. The canal allowed steamboats and sailing ships on

20002-653: Was likely an enslaved woman. In 1951, Joseph Jeremie, a native of Haiti, published a pamphlet in which he said he was the great-grandson of Point du   Sable. Based on family recollections and tombstone inscriptions, he claimed that Point du   Sable was born in Saint-Marc in what was then Saint Domingue, studied in France, and returned to Haiti to deal in coffee before traveling to French Louisiana. Historian and Point du   Sable biographer John F. Swenson has called these claims "elaborate, undocumented assertions   ... in

20148-544: Was living and working under the British at the Pinery in Michigan in the early 1780s. The Kaskaskia land commissioners identified many fraudulent land claims, including two previously submitted in the name of Point du   Sable. Nicholas Jarrot, the claimant, was involved in many false claims, and Swenson suggests that this one was also fraudulent, made without Point du   Sable's knowledge. Although perhaps in conflict with some of

20294-401: Was not a physical type, but a canoe used to rapidly carry messages and passengers. They had extra crew and carried no freight. Voyageurs often rose as early as 2 am or 3 am. Provided that there were no rapids (requiring daylight for navigation) early in the day, they set off very early. They would stop for a few minutes each hour to smoke a pipe. Distance was often measured by "pipes",

20440-476: Was not limited to beaver pelts. Beavers were not particularly valued and people preferred "fancy fur" or "fur that is used with or on the pelt". The fur trade was viewed as secondary to fishing during this era. The earliest North American fur trading did not include long-distance transportation of the furs after they were obtained by trade with the First Nations ; it started with trading near settlements or along

20586-501: Was ordered transported to the Pinery on the St. Clair River north of Detroit . From the summer of 1780 until May 1784, Point du   Sable managed the Pinery, a tract of woodlands owned by British officer Lt.   Patrick Sinclair , on the St. Clair River in eastern Michigan. This may have been a choice given by him from the British, offering him release from his imprisonment to manage the Pinery. Point du   Sable with his family lived in

20732-494: Was rediscovered in 1913 in an archive in Detroit, detailed all of the property Point du   Sable owned, as well as many of his personal effects. This included a house, two barns, a horse-drawn mill, a bakehouse, a poultry house, a dairy, and a smokehouse . The house was a 22-by-40-foot (6.7 m × 12.2 m) log cabin filled with fine furniture and paintings. After Point du Sable sold his property in Chicago, he moved to St. Charles , west of St. Louis, which at that time

20878-455: Was repealed. The 1920s saw gangsters , including Al Capone , Dion O'Banion , Bugs Moran and Tony Accardo battle law enforcement and each other on the streets of Chicago during the Prohibition era . Chicago was the location of the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929, when Al Capone sent men to gun down members of a rival gang, North Side, led by Bugs Moran. From 1920 to 1921,

21024-469: Was resolved by 1933, and at the same time, federal relief funding began to flow into Chicago. Chicago was also a hotbed of labor activism, with Unemployed Councils contributing heavily in the early depression to create solidarity for the poor and demand relief; these organizations were created by socialist and communist groups. By 1935 the Workers Alliance of America begun organizing the poor, workers,

21170-549: Was still in place. Until their contract expired, engagés were servants of their masters, who were most often voyageurs. Fewer than fifty percent of engagés remained in New France when their contracts ended. The others either returned to France or died while indentured. After the French presence in Canada ended following the British conquest during the Seven Years' War , fur trade was still continued by their descendants. The early European fur trade with Indigenous peoples

21316-426: Was still part of Spanish Louisiana . He was commissioned by the colonial governor to operate a ferry across the Missouri River . In St.   Charles, he may have lived for a time with his son, and later with his granddaughter's family. Late in life, he may have sought public or charitable assistance. He died on 28 August 1818 and was buried in an unmarked grave in St.   Charles Borromeo Cemetery. His entry in

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