The Erie Canal brought increased commercial activity in the Great Lakes, and the small town of Chicago became one of the fastest growing settlements in North America, benefiting from its location in one of the few natural harbors on the southern section of Lake Michigan. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 incorporated Illinois into the U.S., and in 1818 it achieved statehood.
independence in 1783, American settlers began arriving from Kentucky via the Ohio River, and the population grew from south to north. The French were the first Europeans to arrive, settling near the Mississippi River in the 17th century, in a region they called Illinois Country, part of the sprawling colony of New France. What is now Illinois was inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous cultures, including the advanced civilization centered in the Cahokia region. Described as a microcosm of the entire United States, Illinois has long been considered a bellwether in social, cultural, and political terms. Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has been among the world's ten busiest airports for decades. Additionally, the Mississippi, Ohio, and Wabash rivers form parts of the state's boundaries. Owing to its central location and geography, the state is a major transportation hub: the Port of Chicago enjoys access to the Atlantic Ocean through the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway, and to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River via the Illinois Waterway. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and immense farmland in the north and center, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a highly diverse economy. Chicago is the state's largest city and the fifth largest city in North America with the capital in Springfield, located in the center of the state other major metropolitan areas include Metro East (of Greater St. states, it has the fifth largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth largest population, and the 25th largest land area. Illinois ( / ˌ ɪ l ə ˈ n ɔɪ/ ( listen) IL-ə- NOY) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States.
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