James E. Davis

Now in paperback! Frontier Illinois James E. Davis "A comprehensive, readable history of this distinctive prairie state before the Civil War. . . . This deft synthesis of existing knowledge is likely to become the standard modern history of Illinois." —Kirkus Reviews "Davis provides an incisive portrait of prairie society. . . . A fresh and sophisticated survey of early Illinois." —Choice "O, this is a delightful country!" one newly arrived settler wrote to a friend back East. Indeed, as James E. Davis shows, many newcomers found Illinois a hospitable and relatively peaceful place in which to start a new life. In this sweeping history of the making of the state, Davis tells the story of Illinois from the Ice Age to the eve of the Civil War. He describes the earliest Indian civilizations, the coming of LaSalle and Joliet and the founding of the French colony, the brief history of British Illinois, and the complex history of subsequent settlement that brought distinct cultural traditions to Illinois. A major theme of this book is the relative absence of violence, at least after the Blackhawk War of 1832, even over explosive issues such as slavery. Davis treats these developments in careful detail, while keeping the reader mindful of the experiences of Illinois' ordinary people. James E. Davis is William and Charlotte Gardner Professor of History and Professor of Geography at Illinois College. He is author of Frontier America, 1800–1840: A Comparative Demographic Analysis of the Settlement Process and Dreams to Dust. A History of the Trans-Appalachian Frontier series—Walter Nugent and Malcolm Rohrbough, general editors Sales territory is worldwide A History of the Trans-Appalachian Frontier 1998; 432 pages, 13 b&w photos, 5 maps, notes, bibl., index, 6 x 9 cloth 0-253-33423-3$39.95 L / £28.50 paper0-253-21406-8$18.95 t / £13.50

So why did he kill her and then lay down for a while, why didn't he call an ambulance, at least for himself. He could have said it was self defence, he had the bump on his head to prove it. Maybe he figured no one would believe him.

The Illinois frontier offered abundant opportunity, noted English traveler William Oliver after his journey to America in 1841-42, but life there was hard. Accordingly, Oliver advised the wealthy and comfortable to remain in England and counseled the unprosperous to seek their fortunes in America. Written for the poor who would migrate and published in 1843, his Eight Months in Illinois: With Information to Immigrants sought only to provide pertinent, valid, and practical information about what people might encounter in the frontier state. What Oliver actually accomplished, however, was to impart invaluable insights into and analyses of American life during an era of sweeping social, and political change. In his new foreword to this edition, James E. Davis stresses Oliver's sincere desire to help British immigrants succeed in America. Oliver, Davis notes, ""devoted dozens of pages of advice on numerous matters: various routes to Illinois and their advantages and disadvantages, processes of settling, qualities of western houses, costs of obtaining a new farm."" As a document covering the Middle West in the 1840s, Eight Months in Illinois: With Information to Immigrants has few equals. Its portrayal of farming and trade in relatively primitive times is historically accurate. It paints a plain picture, laying out the essential facts and presenting the typical incidents that enable us to trace the course of a settler's simple, diligent, laborious day-to-day life. And he did so without a trace of anti-American bias. Eight Months in Illinois: With Information to Immigrants is reprinted from the 1924 Walter Hill edition.

Two questions the authors addressed in developing the handbook were: 1) how can we make the information useful for everyone regardless of where they live? 2) How can we make students familiar with the information the book contains and answer the everyday questions they will confront as citizens? To answer these questions the authors made this book interactive, a format in which students help write the book. Students will complete the book by answering questions and filling in their responses. With sections on the duties and roles of the citizen, worker, consumer, and individual or family member, this book contains all the basic information necessary for day-to-day survival as a new citizen of the US.