Chicago
Chicago’s geography has shaped its growth and its place in American history. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, at the junction of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, it served as a meeting and trading place long before European settlement—for Native Americans and later for explorers and traders. The Illinois and Michigan Canal, completed in 1848, connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi, sparking commercial and population growth. The 1900 reversal of the Chicago River further advanced the city’s social, political, and economic development.
