The Territory of Illinois was an

organized incorporated territory of the United States The territory of the United States and its overseas possessions has evolved over time, from the colonial era to the present day. It includes formally organized territories, proposed and failed states, unrecognized breakaway states, internationa ...

that existed from March 1, 1809, until December 3, 1818, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

. Its capital was the former French village of

Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were one of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in ...

(which is still a part of the State of Illinois). The northern half of the territory, modern Wisconsin and parts of modern Minnesota and Michigan became part of the Territory of Michigan.

History of the area

The area was earlier known as "

Illinois Country The Illinois Country (french: Pays des Illinois ; , i.e. the Illinois people)—sometimes referred to as Upper Louisiana (french: Haute-Louisiane ; es, Alta Luisiana)—was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s in what is n ...

" while under French control, first as part of

French Canada French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fre ...

and then in its southern region as part of

French Louisiana The term French Louisiana refers to two distinct regions: * first, to colonial French Louisiana, comprising the massive, middle section of North America claimed by France during the 17th and 18th centuries; and, * second, to modern French Louisi ...

. The British gained authority over the region east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

from the French, with the 1763 Treaty of Paris, marking the end of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Colonel George Rogers Clark took possession of the region for

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

, which established the " County of Illinois" to exercise nominal governance over the area. Virginia later (1784) ceded nearly all of its land claims north of the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...

to the

Federal government of the United States The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

. The area became part of the United States'

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

(from July 13, 1787, until July 4, 1800), and then part of the Indiana Territory. On February 3, 1809, the 10th United States Congress passed legislation establishing the Illinois Territory, after Congress received petitions from residents in the Mississippi River areas complaining of the difficulties of participating in territorial affairs in Indiana Territory. The portions of the Illinois Territory north of what became the State of Illinois were in 1818 annexed to

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit ...

, and after several administrative arrangements became a part of the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...

(1837), the

State of Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake ...

(1848), and a northern section of the

State of Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to i ...

(1858).

Boundaries

The Illinois Territory originally included lands that became the states of Illinois,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, the eastern portion of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

, and the western portion of the upper peninsula of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

. As Illinois was preparing to become a state, the remaining area of the territory was attached to the

. The original boundaries of the Territory were defined as follows: "...all that part of the Indiana Territory which lies west of the Wabash river, and a direct line drawn from the said Wabash river and Post Vincennes, due north to the territorial line between the United States and Canada..."

was the territorial capital. The 1810 census showed a population of 12,282. In the 1810 United States census, 2 counties in the Illinois Territory reported the following population counts:

Officials

Ninian Edwards served as governor of the territory during its entire existence. Its secretaries were: * Nathaniel Pope (1809–1816) * Joseph Phillips (1816–1818)

End of the Territory

In 1818, the southern half of the territory was admitted to the United States as the State of

.The northern half, modern Wisconsin and parts of modern Minnesota and Michigan became part of the Territory of Michigan.

References

External links

Primary sources

Act dividing Indiana Territory, 1809An Act to enable the people of the Illinois Territory to form a constitution and state government, and for the admission of such state into the Union on an equal footing with the original states (April 18, 1818)Resolution declaring the admission of the state of Illinois into the Union (December 3, 1818)

Secondary sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Illinois Territory States and territories established in 1809 States and territories disestablished in 1818 10th United States Congress Former organized territories of the United States Pre-statehood history of Illinois Pre-statehood history of Michigan Pre-statehood history of Minnesota Pre-statehood history of Wisconsin