A history of Illinois
Subtitle: from its commencement as a state in 1818 to 1847
By: Thomas Ford ; annotated and introduced by Rodney O. Davis ; bibliographical note by Terence A. Tanner.
Contributors: Davis, Rodney O.
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Published: 1995
Place of publication: Urbana
Language: eng
Number of pages: 343
Subjects: Illinois -- History -- 1778-1865.
Description: 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.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [317]-330) and index.
Originally published: Chicago : S.C. Griggs, 1854.