PRAIRIE TIDES (TV)
Summary
This documentary, narrated by David Cormalleth, tells
the story of the Illinois and Michigan (I & M) Canal and
the formation of Chicago via reenactments and vintage
photos and illustrations. The program begins in 1673 at
the Illinois River, where French Canadian explorer Louis
Jolliet and missionary Jacques Marquette discovered a
small stream that flowed into Lake Michigan. They
realized that the Mississippi River and Great Lakes
were only separated by a small section of land, the
Portage Trail. Jolliet realized that if the prairie
land were to be turned into a canal, it would connect
the entire continent through the Indian land of Chicago.
By 1818, Jolliet's prairie canal was still simply a
dream as Chicago began burgeoning into a fur-trading
town. Sixteen-year-old Gurdon Hubbard arrived in
Chicago at the time, entering into the fur trade.
Hubbard soon adopted Jolliet's dream to create a canal,
despite the fact that the shallow lagoon at the end of
the Portage Trail had been named Mud Lake due to its
impossibility to navigate. Meanwhile, Native Americans
had 300,000 acres of their land taken from them as
President James Madison began plans to dig the canal.
By 1822, Hubbard was the leading fur trader in the newly
formed Illinois state. By 1826, Illinois still did not
have enough money to build the canal, and Chicago was
floundering, becoming increasingly obscure. In 1827,
Illinois learned that Congress had given them the canal
land, enabling the state to begin building the canal.
Five years later, Chief Blackhawk led a band of Indians
back into Illinois, surprised to see that his land had
been given away by the United States. After a brief
uprising, Blackhawk and his men were defeated and
attacked by troops as they fled. As all Indians tribes
were forced to vacate their land, many settlers returned
north into Illinois, hoping to capitalize on the
prairie's fertile soil. Meanwhile, a debate arose over
whether the area would benefit more with a canal or a
railroad. Eventually, it was settled that the I & M
Canal would be built as tiny Chicago began to explode.
Canal diggers began being recruited from the East,
utilizing many Irish ŽmigrŽs. On July 4, 1836, the
canal had its groundbreaking with many celebrating in
the streets. At the ceremony, Hubbard, a newly
appointed canal commissioner, turned the first spadeful
of earth, before a riverside riot erupted. In the
summer of 1836, with exquisite design in place courtesy
of engineer William Gooding, digging on the canal began
under "backbreaking" conditions. As construction grew,
so did sanitation problems in canal towns such as
Chicago, where the streets were full of muddy, raw
sewage. With Chicago blossoming out of control, the
bloated economy collapsed in 1837. A national
depression began and canal land quit selling, slowing
the digging process. In 1842, the state of Illinois
went bankrupt and digging stopped, the canal only
halfway finished. Soon, state legislators realized that
the only way to get out of debt was, ironically, to
finish building the canal and start generating capital.
Gooding was forced to create a new plan for completing
the canal. In 1845, work on the canal finally resumed.
Meanwhile, political attacks on Gooding were
intensifying, with politicians wanting their own friends
in control of the canal. In the spring of 1848, the
ditch was filled and the I & M Canal was complete. On
April 23, 1848, the first boat traveled the full length
of the canal. In the first year of its existence,
commerce flowed through the canal and the region. Also,
passenger boats came through the canal, with many
declaring it a serene way to travel. The Chicago Board
of Trade was founded to organize the chaos of canal
trade and allow Chicago to become the "grain capital of
the world." Soon, other technologies such as the
telegraph and the railroad entered Chicago, bringing the
city into even greater prominence as the city's
population neared 250,000 by 1864. However, Chicago's
sewage problem was growing worse, with typhoid
epidemics running rampant. Ultimately, a solution was
engineered which resulted in canal communities beneath
Chicago receiving the sewage, much to their citizens'
dismay. In 1871, the Great Fire overtook Chicago and
turned the heart of the city to ashes. Within three
years, Chicago had risen again, under a most remarkable
rebirth. In 1886, Hubbard, the man eventually
identified with modern commerce in Chicago, died at the
age of eighty-four. In 1893, Chicago was presented to
the world as it lobbied to score the World's Fair. A
bigger, wider canal was constructed at the turn of the
century, with the I & M falling into disrepair. In
1984, President Ronald Reagan declared the I & M Canal
the first National Heritage Corridor in the nation,
requiring it to be restored and preserved.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WTTW Chicago, IL
- DATE: September 18, 2003 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:03:34
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:91416
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Canals; Chicago - History
- SERIES RUN: WTTW (Chicago, Illinois) - TV, 2003
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Constance Mortell … Executive Producer, Producer, Director
- MaryAnn Dezulskis … Producer
- Randy Baustert … Producer
- Robin Malpass … Producer
- Lisa Masseur … Producer
- John Yaworsky … Producer
- Bill Youmans … Director
- Don Manelli … Writer
- Steve Mullen … Music by
- David Cormalleth … Narrator, Cast, Father Raho
- Big Bear, Sterling … Cast, Old Indian
- Matthew Defty … Cast, Jolliet
- Joe Slattery … Cast, Hubbard
- Joel Kessel … Cast, Reporter 1
- Michael Cullen … Cast, Duncan
- Michael Calvert … Cast, Metea, Washakie
- Stephen B. Scott … Cast, Gooding
- Manuel P. Galvan … Cast, Reporter 2
- Dan Lemmonier … Cast, Schuler
- Robin Malpass … Cast, Aurelia King
- Jason Brett … Cast, Whittier
- Thomas H. Malpass … Cast, Andreas
- Steven Perry … Cast, Grinton
- Matthew Defty … Cast, Voyageur
- David Gista … Cast, Voyageur
- Jim Woodward … Cast, Louis Jolliet
- Greg Gissler … Cast, Jacques Marquette
- Paul Michael Arnold … Cast, Gurdon Hubbard at age16
- Bill Procter … Cast, Brave
- Leo Terian … Cast, Brave
- Jim Hart … Cast, Brave
- Chris Mitri … Cast, Brave
- Hayna Sine … Cast, Chief
- Elyse Smith … Cast, Watseka
- Matt Stratton … Cast, Soldier
- Lee Morrison … Cast, Soldier
- Jay Ramierz … Cast, Horseman
- Israel Martinez … Cast, Horseman
- Bob Elmore … Cast, Survey Man
- Trey Smith … Cast, Survey Man
- Stephen C. Meyers … Cast, William Gooding
- Giacomo Leone … Cast, Father Raho
- Bob Kruse … Cast, Stone Mason
- Matt Burrows … Cast, Stone Mason
- Larry Bird … Cast, Boat Captain
- Jason Phalen … Cast, Boat Captain
- John Yaworsky … Cast, Boat Captain
- Phillip Hoxsey … Cast, Mule Driver/Young Schuler
- Bruce Etheridge … Cast, Steersman
- Gary Shofner … Cast, Steersman
- Steve Vorhees … Cast, Hoagie
- Steve Dey … Cast, Lock Tender
- Randy Nissen … Cast, Packet Boat Family
- Anna Nissen … Cast, Packet Boat Family
- Sue Nissen … Cast, Packet Boat Family
- Paul Nissen … Cast, Packet Boat Family
- Kathie Dey … Cast, Pioneer Girl
- John Caruso … Cast, Governor Duncan
- Bill Vogel … Cast, Trailsman
- Woody Jewett … Cast, Trailsman
- Steve Helis … Cast, Blacksmith
- Bill Jankowski … Cast, Telegraph Agent
- Chief Blackhawk
- William Gooding
- Gurdon Hubbard
- Louis Joliet
- James Madison
- Jacques Marquette
- Ronald Reagan