Race Relations

African American

Pre-Statehood

Court Transcript Concerning Two Cahokia Slaves, 1779

  • A case in which two slaves, Moreau and Manuel, were accused and convicted of poisoning soldiers and other men in Cahokia. The state attorney of Virginia encourages the punishment of death for these two men.
  • Citation: Walworth Alvord, Clarence, ed. Cahokia Records 1778-1790. Vol. II. Collections of the Illinois State Historical LIbrary. Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1907.

Law Concerning Migration of Blacks, 8 December 1813

  • This act prevents free blacks and mulattoes from migrating to Illinois territory. It also stipulates that free blacks and mulattos already living in Illinois must register and establishes harsh punishment for failing to register and for harboring runaway slaves.
  • Citation: Philbrick, Francis S. The Laws of Illinois Territory 1809-1818. Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1950. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

Law Concerning Employment of Slaves, 22 December 1814

  • In 1814, Illinois was experiencing a labor shortage, retarding its ability to build and operate manufacturing facilities. To address this need, the legislature enacted a law allowing slaves to volunteer their services in Illinois. While during their 12 months of service they would be considered indentured servants, their masters' right to own them as property would remain.
  • Citation: Philbrick, Francis S. The Laws of Illinois Territory 1809-1818. Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1950. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

Indentures of Calep and Lucey, 1815 / Typed Transcription

  • These are two indentures written while Illinois was still a territory. They are also located on The RiverWeb American Bottom Landing Website, url.

Early Statehood

Indenture of Judith, Pope County, 1818 / Typed Transcription

  • This indenture was written in 1818, the year Illinois became a state. The indenture system was used to get around the abolition of slavery in Illinois. It resulted in slave conditions, as evidenced by this indenture of a woman named Judith. The 17-year-old was bound to 99 years of service through this indenture.
  • Citation: Turnbaugh, Dr. Roy C. Jr. and Robert E. Bailey. Windows to the Past: A Selection of Illinois County Records from 1818 to 1880. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 1985. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

Indenture of Thomas Estes, 1820

  • This is an indenture written for Thomas Estes. Although Illinois was a free state, it still allowed for long-term servitude through the indenture system.

Journal of the House of Representatives, 3 March 1837 / Typed Transcription

  • Abraham Lincoln and Dan Stone, both legislators from Sangamon County, wrote this entry to protest a resolution from the General Assembly stating the Constitution guaranteed the right to own slaves in states that allowed it and that the federal government could not outlaw slavery in Washington, D.C., and disapproving abolitionists. At the same time, Lincoln and Stone also stated that abolitionists were not entirely correct in their ideals either.
  • Citation: Illinois State Archives Staff. Abraham Lincoln in Illinois: A Selection of Documents From the Illinois State Archives. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 2008. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

Constitutional Convention, 1847

  • The following excerpts were taken out of the Illinois Constitutional Convention Journal of 1847. They all deal with African Americans and their future role in the state of Illinois. The 1847 Constitution is also available on the State and Local Governance page.

Free Negro Bond, 1843 / Typed Transcription

  • In response to the problem of runaway slaves who came to Illinois, a free state, the General Assembly required free blacks and mulattoes living in Illinois to present certificates of freedom to their county commissioners court and to post a $1000 bond. The bond was forfeited if the free black or mulatto became a public charge or failed to conduct himself/herself in conformity with Illinois law.
  • Citation: Turnbaugh, Dr. Roy C. Jr. and Robert E. Bailey. Windows to the Past: A Selection of Illinois County Records from 1818 to 1880. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 1985. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

Petition for Frederick Douglass's Use of City Hall, 12 July 1849 / Typed Transcription

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert E. and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Early Chicago, 1833-1871 A Selection of City Council Proceedings Files. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 1999. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

Resolution Regarding the Fugitive Slave Act, 29 November 1850 / Typed Transcription

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert E. and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Early Chicago, 1833-1871 A Selection of City Council Proceedings Files. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 1999. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

Indenture of Margaret, Fayette County, 1855 / Typed Transcription

  • In 1819, state law stipulated that minor paupers were to be indentured to respectable households as servants. In return for their labor indentures were clothed, fed and housed. Female indentures ended at age 18, while male indentures ended at 21. This indenture is for a “poor girl of color” named Margaret. Included in the indenture is a list of forbidden behavior.
  • Citation: Turnbaugh, Dr. Roy C. Jr. and Robert E. Bailey. Windows to the Past: A Selection of Illinois County Records from 1818 to 1880. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 1985. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

Petition for the Free Use of State Street Market Hall, 17 December 1855 / Typed Transcription

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert E. and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Early Chicago, 1833-1871 A Selection of City Council Proceedings Files. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 1999. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

Civil War Era

Order of the Committee on Schools Providing for Segregation, 23 March 1863 / Typed Transcription

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert E. and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Early Chicago, 1833-1871 A Selection of City Council Proceedings Files. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 1999. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

Late 19th Century

Law Concerning Schools, 1874

  • This series of acts did a variety of things for the public school system. The act authorizes the election of women into school offices. The second and third act deal with administrative issues, while the fourth act protects colored children’s right to attend school without threats or intimidation. All four were passed in 1874. These acts are also included on the Education page and the Women and Gender page.
  • Citation: Gross, William L., ed. The Statutes of Illinois: An Analytical Compilation of All the General Laws of the State in Force at the Present Time, Volume III: Acts of 1873-4. Riverside: H. O. Houghton & Company, 1874.

Brief Mention of Slavery in the Memoir of Edward William West, 1895

  • This memoir touches upon the issue of slavery in the new territory and state of Illinois and shares the authors own views on the subject. 
  • Citation: West, Edward William. Memoirs: Record of the Events in the Life and Times of Edward William West, Belleville, Illinois, A. D. 1895. In "Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society," vol. 22, no. 2. July, 1929.

"Wanted! 175 Colored Miners!" Flyer, 1898

  • Flyer created by the owners of the Chicago-Virden Coal Company, in Virden, Ill., which was distributed in Birmingham, Ala., to advertise jobs for African-American miners in the Virden mine. The labor dispute occurring at Virden is not mentioned in the flier. When the African-American miners arrived via train, a shoot-out took place between the Illinois miners and hired guards on the train. Additional documents and discussion questions relating to Virden are located on the Industry and Labor page.
  • Credit: This image is courtesy of Dr. Rosemay Feurer, professor of history at Northern Illinois University.

Early 20th Century

"Mob Will Feel Weight of Law," 17 August 1908

  • Detailed article describing many aspects of the 1908 Springfield race riot aftermath: Governor Deneen orders prosecution of rioters; soldiers occupy the city streets; Springfield residents feel passive sympathy towards mob; blacks flee city.
  • Citation: Chicago Tribune, 17 August 1908.

"A Negro Town in Illinois," The Independent, 27 August 1908 / Summary by Page

  • A profile of Brooklyn, Ill. The town was believed to have been founded by runaway slaves in 1858, and was governed and populated almost exclusively by blacks.
  • Citation: Summers, Iverson B. "A Negro Town in Illinois." The Independent 65, no. 3117 (27 August 1908): 464-470.

"The Race War in the North," The Independent, 3 September 1908

  • "The Race War in the North" by William English Walling assesses the race riot that occurred in Springfield on 14-15 August 1908. Walling asserts that white residents have initiated a permanent race war. He notes the incident occurred in an important and historical northern city with a small black population and coincided with attempts to disenfranchise blacks. Also features photographs from around Springfield.
  • Citation: Walling, William English. "The Race War in the North." The Independent 65, no. 3118 (3 September 1908): 529-534.

World War I

"Negroes Plan to Be Neighbors of Evanston Elks," 6 February 1918

  • Discrimination existed in the north as well as the Jim Crow south, as evidenced by this article in the Chicago Tribune, appearing 6 February 1918. The author's use of words like "threatening" and "invasion" to describe the possibility that a club of African-Americans might purchase land next to a white Elks clubhouse shows just how strongly whites felt about maintaining segregation.
  • Citation: Chicago Tribune, 6 February 1918.

The Great Depression

Letter Concerning Race Relations at the University of Illinois, 23 October 1937

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Hard Times In Illinois: 1930-1940. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 2002. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

On Stage America's Greatest Colored Musical Review "Dixie to Broadway," WPA Poster, 1937

  • During the Great Depression, the Roosevelt administration commissioned artists through the Works Progress Administration to create posters, some promoting African-American cultural events and history. While we find elements of these events and language offensive today, they reflect the reality of the 1930s. This poster is about African American entertainers, performances and portrayals. This is a poster for the Federal Theatre Project presentation of "Dixie to Broadway" at the Lincoln Theatre, Decatur, Illinois, showing a chorus girl, band and cotton plant.
  • Citation: “On Stage America’s Greatest Colored Musical Revue ‘Dixie to Broadway,” Chicago: Globe Poster Corp., 1937, accessed through "By the People, For the People: Posters from the WPA, 1936-1943." Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaposters/.

Cavalcade of the American Negro: Story of the Negro's Progress During 75 Years, WPA Poster, 1940

  • During the Great Depression, the Roosevelt Administration commissioned artists through the Works Progress Administration to create posters, some promoting African-American cultural events and history. While we find elements of these events and language offensive today, they reflect the reality of the 1930s. This poster was created for a book about African American history, showing a man holding a broken chain and lamp.
  • Citation: “Cavalcade of the American Negro: The Story of the Negro’s Progress During 75 Years, Compiled by the Illinois Writer Project / Cleo,” Chicago: Illinois WPA Art Project, 1940, accessed through "By the People, For the People: Posters from the WPA, 1936-1943." Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaposters/.

World War II

Communication from Hannah A. Woods of the Illinois Association of Colored Women, 6 August 1942

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert E. and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Illinois at War, 1941-1945. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 1994. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.