This was originally the author’s PhD thesis, submitted at the University of Wisconsin Department of History. He wrote in the Introduction that the settlement of Illinois, “may be divided into four clearly defined periods, viz: (1) the period of the French occupation; (2) from the coming of the Americans to the opening of steam navigation on the Great Lakes; (3) from the opening of steam navigation on the Great Lakes to the opening of the railroads across the prairies; (4) after the opening of the railroads.” This book is about the third of these periods.