Chicago Journal

The Chicago Journal: A Living Archive of Chicago, Illinois is a sweeping journey through the rise of one of the great cities of America, chronicled through one of its earliest daily newspapers. Part of the acclaimed Living Archive Series published by Robert Shumake and Shumake Media Group, this volume preserves the documented story of the Chicago Journal and the city of Chicago, Illinois, restoring it for a new generation of readers, students, genealogists, and history lovers.

Founded in 1844, the Chicago Journal — one of the city's pioneer papers chronicled the dramatic transformation of Chicago from a muddy frontier outpost into a booming nineteenth-century metropolis, until it ceased publication in 1929. Inside, you'll explore the city's explosive growth at the foot of Lake Michigan, the railroads and commerce that made it the crossroads of the nation, and the pivotal nomination of Abraham Lincoln for president in Chicago in 1860.

This book honors Chicago's era of dramatic change with honesty and care — the abolitionist movement and the city's early Black community, the devastating Great Fire of 1871 and the city's swift rebuilding, the Haymarket affair and the labor struggles of the Gilded Age, and the displacement of the Potawatomi and other Indigenous peoples through the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. Readers will encounter the merchant princes and reformers who built the city, including Jane Addams and the Progressive era's push for social change, as Chicago grew from a lakeside outpost into a metropolis.

The volume also features the city's weather and climate history, its business and cultural institutions, and a rich obituary section invaluable for Chicago, Illinois genealogy and family history research. Researched and restored using advanced artificial intelligence and drawing on resources such as the Library of Congress, this historic newspaper archive returns the heritage of Chicago, Illinois to the public it serves. An essential addition to any collection of Chicago history, Midwestern history, and nineteenth-century American history.