Illinois Territory
| Territory of Illinois | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
the United States | |||||||||||
| 1809–1818 | |||||||||||
 | |||||||||||
| Capital | Kaskaskia | ||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||
• 1810 | 12,282 | ||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||
| • Type | Organized incorporated territory | ||||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||||
• 1809–1818 | Ninian Edwards | ||||||||||
Joseph Phillips | |||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Established by Congress | March 1 1809 | ||||||||||
• Military Tract of 1812 created in western Illinois | May 6, 1812 | ||||||||||
• Granted statehood | December 3 1818 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
The Territory of Illinois was an
History of the area
The area was earlier known as "Illinois Country" (Pays des Illinois) while under French control, first as part of French Canada and then in its southern region as part of French Louisiana. The British gained authority over the region east of the Mississippi River from the French, with the 1763 Treaty of Paris marking the end of the French and Indian War and of the French North American colony of New France.
During the
The area became part of the United States'
Boundaries
The Illinois Territory originally included lands that became the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, the eastern portion of Minnesota, and the western portion of the upper peninsula of Michigan. As Illinois was preparing to become a state, the remaining area of the territory was attached to the Michigan Territory.
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
Kaskaskia was the territorial capital. The 1810 census showed a population of 12,282.[2]
In the 1810 United States census, 2 counties in the Illinois Territory reported the following population counts:[3]
| Rank | County | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randolph | 7,275 |
| 2 | St. Clair | 5,007 |
| Illinois Territory | 12,282 |
Officials
Ninian Edwards served as governor of the territory during its entire existence. Its secretaries were:[4][5]
- 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
See also
- Historic regions of the United States
- History of Illinois
- Illinois Country
- Illinois Territory's At-large congressional district
- Illinois-Wabash Company
- List of governors of dependent territories in the 19th century
- List of governors of Illinois
- Military Tract of 1812
- Territorial evolution of the United States
- War of 1812
References
- ^ 2 Stat. 514
- ISBN 978-1591143628. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
- ^ Forstall, Richard L. (ed.). Population of the States and Counties of the United States: 1790–1990 (PDF) (Report). United States Census Bureau. pp. 47–49. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
- ^ Edwards, Ninian Wirt (1870). History of Illinois, from 1778 to 1833; and Life and Times of Ninian Edwards. Springfield, The Illinois State Journal Company. pp. 28. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
- ^ "Governor Ninian Edwards Biography". Genealogy Trails. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
External links
Primary sources
- Act dividing Indiana Territory, 1809
- An 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
- Solon J. Buck: Illinois in 1818
- Animated Map: Boundaries of the United States and the Several States
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