Archival Collections for History Fair

The Chicago Public Library has a number of archival collections that support History Fair projects, such as the topics listed below.

A list of archival collections at the Chicago Public Library describes the Library’s holdings and links to online finding aids, which are detailed inventories of collections.

Annexation

In the 1800s Chicago was much smaller. Neighborhoods like Austin, Lake View and Morgan Park were suburbs until they voted to join the city of Chicago. Sources for this topic include:

• Beverly-Morgan Park Collection (collection description)
• Austin Community Collection (finding aid)
• Lake View (collection description)
• Government records of Lake View Township are available in the Municipal Reference Collection.
• Chicago Tribune covered annexations.

Campaign for Mayor in 1983

In 1983, after a difficult campaign, Harold Washington was elected mayor of Chicago. He was the first African American to hold this position. The Harold Washington Archives & Collections Mayoral Campaign Records (collection description) document the 1983 campaign and are available in Special Collections. Other sources:

• Chicago Defender on microfilm
• Chicago Tribune covered the election.

Chicago’s Lakefront: Forever Open, Clear and Free?

From time to time Chicago has built on its lakefront and in its parks. What were the issues over locating the 1893 World’s Fair in Jackson Park? Millennium Park structures in Grant Park? Sources for this topic include:

• James W. Ellsworth Collection (finding aid); Ellsworth was a director of the 1893 World’s Fair
• Records of Millennium Park, Inc. (finding aid)
• Chicago Tribune covered both developments.

CORE and SCLC in Chicago: Which Road to Take

CORE, a national civil rights organization, began in Chicago in 1942 with protests to force desegregation of restaurants and other public accommodations. Chicago CORE’s membership reached its height in the 1960s.

• Chicago Chapter, CORE archives (finding aid) include meeting minutes, correspondence, flyers, programs, news clippings and photographs.

Other collections with relevant files:

• Timuel D. Black, Jr. Papers (finding aid)
• Chicago SNCC History Project Archives (finding aid)
• Chicago Defender Historical Archive (1910-1975)

Creation of the Forest Preserves

Architect Dwight Perkins and landscape architect Jens Jensen were the most prominent advocates of the system of “outer belt parks” that became the Cook County Forest Preserves.

• The Municipal Reference Collection has the official publications of the Cook Forest Preserve District and the Special Park Commission, the group that recommended the establishment of the district.
• The controversy over the founding is well documented in the Chicago Tribune.
• Additional sources, including the state and local laws establishing the Forest Preserve District, are available in the Government Publications Department.

Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work Campaign

In 1929 the Chicago Whip began a campaign encouraging African Americans not to shop at stores that discriminated in hiring. Sources for this topic:

• Timuel D. Black Papers (finding aid)
• Abbott-Sengstacke Family Papers (founders of the Chicago Defender)
• Chicago Defender Historical Archive (1910-1975)
• The archives of the national chapter of CORE are available on microfilm at the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature.

Jobs for Artists and Writers During the Depression

In the Great Depression of the 1930s, President Roosevelt began a series of programs that provided work for artists and writers, as well as other Americans. Check out the exhibit Made by WPA: Illinois Art Project Chicago on the third floor of Harold Washington Library Center.

For collections specifically about African American artists and writers in the Depression, see:

• New Deal Agencies and Black America in the 1930s microfilm collection at the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature
• Marion Perkins Papers (collection description)
• Charles Walton Papers (finding aid)
• Horace Cayton Papers (finding aid)
• William McBride Papers (collection description)

Making Mass Transit a Public Utility

Mass transit started in Chicago in 1859 with a horse railroad running down State Street. Since then the system has changed from horses to electric power—along the way trying out steam power, cable power and other technologies. The system experienced public ownership, private ownership and even ran for many years in bankruptcy. This history is richly documented in:

• Thousands of documents in the Municipal Reference Collection
• A Chronology of Chicago’s Mayors, which includes text of speeches
• Chicago Tribune Historical Archive (1849 to 1987)
• Municipal Reference Collection’s newspaper clipping file

To find additional materials, search the catalog for Chicago Traction and Chicago Transit Authority.

To Poke or Not to Poke: Immunization Questions

Since the development of the smallpox vaccine in the late 1700s, federal, state and local governments have been involved in efforts to immunize the population. These efforts, whether voluntary or mandatory, have often met with controversy. Government publications are one of the best sources of information about vaccinations.

• Congressional hearings, in particular, provide well-reasoned arguments from all sides. To find hearings, search for vaccination in the Chicago Public Library catalog.
• Older hearings are listed in the Congressional Committee Hearing Index available in the Government Publications Department.
• The Government Publications Department has more than 100 years of annual reports and other documents from the Chicago and Illinois health departments. These provide a rich history of vaccination campaigns locally.