This Week In Illinois History: The Sucker State (May 17, 1955)
This 1884 map depicting state nicknames was created by H. W. Hill & Co. of Decatur, Illinois, manufacturer of Hill’s Hog Ringers.
Credit Library of Congress (LC-DIG-pga-03942)
On May 17, 1955, the Illinois General Assembly approved the official state slogan: Land of Lincoln. Before that, Illinois was known as the Prairie State. But Illinois had an older, unofficial slogan that dates back to the state’s earliest days: the Sucker State.
During the 1800s, Illinoisans were known far and wide as “suckers.” But this term predates the derogatory usage of “sucker” as someone who is easily deceived.
A 10-year-old girl working in a textile mill in 1908.
Credit Library of Congress (LC-DIG-nclc-01345)
On May 15, 1903, Illinois established the nation’s first eight-hour workday … for children. The new law also established that children could not work more than 48 hours a week.
Before this, factories worked children 12 to 14 hours a day and used them to crawl into hazardous machinery because of their small size. Labor unions, progressive politicians, school officials, the press, even some business leaders tried to change the laws to protect children, but they were up against wealthy, powerful business leaders and politicians who profited off child labor.
After decades of fighting and failure, women took charge. In the late 1800s, Jane Addams, the women’s rights advocate and founder of Hull House, joined several female reformers to launch their own child welfare movement. They recruited women and mothers from all walks of life and lobbied educators, politicians and judges to
HAYS, Kansas A few years ago, Stuart Beckman drove 65 miles with a neighbor to attend a wedding in Saint Francis in the northwest corner of Kansas. The