Explore Illinois: Discover Cantigny Park, the Haymarket Martyrs Monument, and Beyond

CHICAGO – As the United States approaches the milestone of its 250th anniversary, it is a fitting time to delve into the narratives that have shaped the nation, with a particular focus on the Chicago area. The “Illinois America 250” Passport offers a guided exploration of these significant stories. In this final installment of our Chicago-area journey, Jasmine Minor brings attention to some notable stops.

We embark on the concluding segment of our passport tours, beginning with a visit to the First Division Museum at Cantigny, where history is preserved in vivid detail.

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The museum houses an extensive collection of artifacts, uniforms, and personal stories that chronicle the First Infantry Division’s pivotal role in America’s key military engagements.

“Visitors will encounter exhibits on the Battle of Cantigny, D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, Vietnam, and other significant conflicts where the First Infantry Division was actively engaged, often at great cost,” explained Will Buhlig from the First Division Museum at Cantigny. “In addition to these combat stories, we also highlight the military’s humanitarian and security efforts, which are equally crucial.”

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However, it is important to remember that America’s narrative extends far beyond the battlefield.

All right, it’s time for our next stop. We’re heading over to the get you Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum.

“Europeans did not start with the do not mark the beginning of American history, just the beginning of the history of the United States, the political unit. And so we’re excited to talk about this,” Michael Lamble, Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum, said.

Native tribes had been living around the Great Lakes for generations before the United States existed, building communities rooted in trade and a deep connection to the land. When European settlers arrived, that balance shifted, disease reduced populations, the fur trade changed their economy, and a series of treaties with the U.S. government forced them to give up large portions of their homeland.

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“We’re really excited to be able to talk about the ways in which Potawatomi, specifically, and native peoples in general, in Illinois and Chicago land are reclaiming ancestral lands, reclaiming ancestral, traditions, ancestral lifeways, within the history of America at large,” Lamble said.

We’re heading over to the Haymarket Martyrs Monument. Let’s learn more about how Chicagoland played a role in labor relations. Check it out.

The Haymarket Affair began as a peaceful labor rally in what’s now the West Loop but turned violent when someone threw a bomb at police.

“Because of the panic and there being no light, the crowd dispersed, probably a number of workers,” Larry Spivack, president emeritus of the Illinois Labor History Society, said. “We know a number of workers were killed, but it’s not documented. How many? And nobody knows who threw the bomb. There is, to this day, nobody knows. That’s one of the great American mysteries.”

The explosion and ensuing gunfire left several officers and civilians dead, sparking national fear. In the aftermath, several activists were arrested and controversially convicted, making the event a lasting symbol of labor rights struggles and injustice. The affair produced the eight-hour workday.

For more information, visit https://www.il250.org/passport.