RiverWeb Teachers Guide

The Teacher's Guide to RiverWeb

Section Three:

East St. Louis - A Prototypical River Town?

PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES:

East St. Louis reflects the same tragedy and triumph that many river towns have experienced over the years. Ranging from competition and rivalries between cities and states over commerce on the Mississippi, to the effects of the railways, to the modern problems of urbanization and crime, East St. Louis is a microcosm of the problems facing river towns in the twentieth century. The section on East St. Louis would be ideal for use to supplement a lecture on any of the these subjects, but when used with other sections of the RiverWeb CD-Rom, such as River Transportation and the Mississippi, can give a unique glimpse of the region of the American Bottoms and offer fascinating insights into the role of the river in forming the culture of middle America.

One way to utilize this section in an American history course would be to compare and contrast the formation and growth of Illinoistown/East St. Louis with similar towns throughout the region or the country during the nineteenth century. In this way we can flesh out the role commerce, technology, and governmental legislation had on the formation of the American city and we can note regional differences and similarities. Another way that we can use the East St. Louis materials is to show the way in which the railroad came to dominate the city, and the benefits and drawbacks of having such a powerful industry as the main source of employment and revenue in the region. However one uses the section, it is an excellent resource on many areas of regional and American history.

EXPLANATION OF MATERIAL:

Over the course of the nineteenth century the face of the American landscape changed, coming to resemble something more recognizable to us today. The RiverWeb CD-Rom and pilot site reflects some of these developments. Cities began to multiply and grow at an astonishing rate, some of them exceeding one million inhabitants by century's end. Steam began to replace sail and animal power as a means of transportation, and electric current slowly came to replace candle power in people's homes. It is important that in viewing our history of the American Bottom region we do not forget the larger context of which it was a part.

Obviously one of the most noticeable features of this history is the rise to prominence of East St. Louis, which was very firmly part of the wider trend of urban growth. To take one measure, by 1840 seven times as many settlements of 8000 inhabitants or more existed than had been the case in 1790. At that time only one out of every thirty Americans lived in cities, but by 1840 the figure was one in twelve, and by 1860 it was one in six. Although the growth of East St. Louis was a part of this trend, it owed its growth as much as anything else to the needs of transport, first by water and later by rail. In fact, the growth of railroads in America in the nineteenth century is one of the truly astonishing features of that period.

East St. Louis had an interesting foundation. Most people know that the city of St. Louis was instrumental in the history of the United States, ranging from its place as a terminal for African-American migration to its preeminent role as the Gateway to the West. Yet the same is not true for East St. Louis, a city just across the river in Illinois, and often overshadowed by its more famous neighbor but which has nonetheless played a critical role in the formation of middle America. Heavily effected by the transportation revolution that saw its docks filled with flatboats, steamboats, wagons, and railroads, East St. Louis became one of America's most important conduits of industry and agricultural goods.

East St. Louis started out as a simple ferry town but soon evolved into one of the great railroad cities in the country. But the city had to pay a price for its prosperity. Along with the growth of the railroads came many of the problems associated with urban growth, such as overcrowding, crime, and corruption. Later, when the railroad industry began its slow decline, East St. Louis had to deal with related problems such as deteriorating race relations, high unemployment, and a devastated economy.

A study of East St. Louis, then, will shed much light on many of the problems faced by similar river towns up and down the Mississippi. One of the more interesting aspects of this history was the growth of river transportation, from the earliest wooden pirogues to the ferries that operated between the two sides of the Mississippi to the heyday of the riverboat, and this is one of the main themes of the East St. Louis materials on RiverWeb. Because this is such an important subject, these materials are included under a separate heading entitled "Artery of a Nation."

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT:

How does the story of James Piggott, the founder of East St. Louis, reflect other American pioneers' experiences? How does it differ?
How has East St. Louis dealt with the problem of living in the shadow of its larger namesake, St. Louis, MO? What effect has this had on the development of East St. Louis?
How did the experience of East St. Louis reflect a greater trend in America? How did it differ?

POSSIBLE ASSIGNMENTS:

Using some of the archival materials like Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi and the Narrative of William Wells Brown, Fugitive Slave, show how the Mississippi River in general and the American Bottoms in particular were depicted in personal, first-hand accounts. Do these accounts give you any insight into the region and the time period?