When was slavery banned in Illinois?
1848
Although Illinois’ new Constitution of 1848 outlawed “slavery and involuntary servitude,” slavery continued, but probably on a very limited basis. Records from the State Archives show the last recorded emancipation of an Illinois slave was in 1863, in the middle of the Civil War.
When did Illinois end segregation?
In 1874, state laws forbidding segregation were passed. The Illinois Civil Rights Act of 1885 was passed forbidding discrimination in public facilities and places such as hotels, rail roads, theatres, and restaurants. But anti-discrimination laws had little effect on long standing racial tensions.
Was there ever slavery in Illinois?
For a free state, Illinois had a long tradition of slavery. The first black slaves were brought to the American Bottom area by the French in 1719. Some descendants of those first slaves were still in servitude at the time of statehood in 1818.
Who first brought slaves to Illinois?
French
French settlers first brought African slaves into the Illinois Country from Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti) around 1720 under the terms of the Code Noir, which defined the legal conditions of slavery in the French Empire and restricted the activities of free Negro people.
What side did Illinois fight in the Civil War?
Union army
During the Civil War, 256,297 people from Illinois served in the Union army, more than any other northern state except for New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Where do middle class blacks live in Chicago?
Perhaps even more importantly, the vast majority of Chicagoans who are both black and middle-class live on the South Side, and to a lesser extent, the West Side.
How did slavery start in Illinois?
It begins with the colonial slave laws that came from France (because Illinois was a French territory). And so slavery, at least the enslavement of Africans and then later African American people, started in the French settlements, at least as early as 1720, maybe even before that.
Was Illinois a free state during the Civil War?
A: Before the Civil War, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 made slavery illegal in the territory north of the Ohio River. Any states forming out of this area were to be free. When Illinois became a state in 1818, it added language from the Ordinance to its constitution and declared itself a free state.
Why is southern Illinois called Little Egypt?
Southern Illinois has long been referred to as “Little Egypt.” This nickname may be the result of the practices of early settlers from Northern Illinois who traveled to Southern Illinois to buy grain after a series of bad winters and droughts. In Egypt, the king was thought of as a living god.
Did Southern Illinois fight for the Confederacy?
During the Civil War, more than 259,000 Illinois men served, but not all wore Union blue. There are numerous documented reports of small pockets of men, mainly from the southern reaches of the state, serving in Confederate armies.
Was Illinois a free or slave state?
According to WTTW , slavery was well established in the area when the French first settled here. But it was abolished in 1787 as part of the Northwest Ordinance , and when Illinois was admitted to the union in 1818, it was declared a free state.
When did Illinois abolish slavery?
The Illinois’ Constitution of 1848 specifically banned slavery, section 16 of its Declaration of Rights specifying, “There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the State, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.”.
What were the laws during slavery?
Laws known as the slave codes regulated the slave system to promote absolute control by the master and complete submission by the slave. Under these laws the slave was chattel—a piece of property and a source of labour that could be bought and sold like an animal.
