HISTORY OF ILLINOIS: FROM ITS COMMENCEMENT AS A STATE IN 1818 - Hardcover

Ford, Thomas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0252021401 ISBN 13: 9780252021404

Publisher: University of Illinois Press, 1995

Synopsis

"Davis writes with an authority derived from his own perceptive
        studies of Illinois during the Jackson period. His account is balanced
        and critical while at the same time recognizing the value of Ford's book."
        -- Robert W. Johannsen, J. G. Randall Distinguished Professor of History,
        University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
      Both cynical and self-serving, Illinois's seventh governor Thomas Ford
        also possessed an unrivaled sensitivity to the dynamics of frontier life.
        He reveals these and other qualities in his classic A History of Illinois,
        which covers the state's first thirty years.
      Ford writes with candor of the lengthy "Hancock County difficulties"
        and the ouster of Mormons from the state. His treatment of the Black Hawk
        War and his writings on the slavery controversy in the state, the murder
        of Elijah Lovejoy, and the larger issues of violence and vigilantism help
        show why this volume has been called the outstanding early survey of Illinois
        history. This reissue of Ford's book includes an introduction by Rodney
        O. Davis and a publication history by Terence Tanner.
 

About this title

From the Back Cover

Both cynical and self-serving, Illinois' seventh governor, Thomas Ford, also possessed an unrivaled sensitivity to the dynamics of frontier life. He reveals these and other qualities in his classic History of Illinois, which covers the state's first thirty years. Ford writes with candor of the lengthy "Hancock County difficulties" and the ouster of Mormons from the state, a considerable feat in light of his personal anti-Mormon tendencies. His lengthy treatment of the Black Hawk War and his writings on the slavery controversy in the state, the murder of Elijah Lovejoy, and the larger issues of violence and vigilantism in the Jacksonian America of which Ford was a part help show why this volume has been called the outstanding early survey of Illinois history. His young associate Abraham Lincoln was one of many early Illinois politicians Ford believed to be guilty of irresponsible behavior as members of the Illinois General Assembly. And, though he was sensitive to the presence of cultural conflict among early immigrants to Illinois and to the peculiarities of developing democratic institutions, Ford was no total admirer of those institutions.

About the Author

1800-1850

Rodney O. Davis and Douglas L. Wilson are codirectors of the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College, in Galesburg, Illinois, and the coeditors of Herndon's Lincoln and Herndon's Informants.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0252021401
• ISBN 13: 9780252021404
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 384