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History Reference Center
Full-text articles to support research in history and genealogy and lesson plans to support student learning.
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In a small town near Chicago in 1953, twelve-year-old Tommy faces escalating problems at home and with his Catholic school friends and is dealing with the threat of a communist living nearby, but taking over his hospitalized sister's paper route introduces him to neighbors who he comes to rely on for help.
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A tale inspired by the historic Tri-State tornado of 1925 follows the experiences of businessman Paul Graves and his family, who throughout a year after the storm watch their community struggle to rebuild and who miscalculate growing resentment about the twist of fate that left their home and business untouched.
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When the Depression hits in Cairo, Illinois, and Oscar Ogilvie's father must sell their home and vast model train set-up to look for work in California, eleven-year-old Oscar is left with his dour aunt, where he befriends a mysterious drifter, witnesses a stunning bank robbery, and is suddenly catapulted onto a train that takes him to a different time and place.
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"Illinois, 1874: With a birthmark covering half her face, thirteen-year-old Madelyn Branch is accustomed to cold and awkward greetings, and expects no less in Reliance, Illinois. After all, her mother, Rebecca, was careful not to mention a daughter in the Matrimonial Times ad which brought them to the struggling river town. When Rebecca weds, Madelyn poses as her mother's younger sister, and earns a grudging berth in her new house. Deeply injured...
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In 1971, a small-town high school baseball team from rural Illinois playing with hand-me-down uniforms and peace signs on their hats defied convention and the odds. Led by an English teacher with no coaching experience, the Macon Ironmen emerged from a field of 370 teams to become the smallest school in Illinois history to make the state final, a distinction that still stands. There, sporting long hair, and warming up to Jesus Christ Superstar, the...
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1860: Elizabeth Packard's husband, Theophilus, feeling threatened by Elizabeth's intellect, independence, and unwillingness to stifle her own thoughts, has her committed to an insane asylum. The conditions in the asylum are horrific. But most disturbing is that many other rational women have also been committed not because they need treatment, but were instead conveniently labeled "crazy" so their voices are ignored. No one is willing to fight for...
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"John Alves, son of a famous Presbyterian martyr on the Portuguese island of Madeira, spends his childhood in jail and in poverty. When he meets Mary Freitas--though the adopted daughter of a master botanist, her true lineage is the subject of dangerous rumor--a spark kindles a lasting bond. But soon their families must confront the rising blood tide of warfare between Catholics and Protestants. Fleeing with only what they can carry, John and Mary...
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"Although Illinois saw no dramatic witch trials, witchcraft has been a part of Illinois history and culture from French exploration to the present day. On the Illinois frontier, pioneers pressed silver dimes into musket balls to ward off witches, while farmers dutifully erected fence posts according to the phases of the moon. In 1904, the quiet town of Quincy was shocked to learn of Bessie Bement's suicide, after the young woman sought help from a...
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During a visit to her grandparents' Illinois farm in 1944, ten-year-old Molly tries to prove the innocence of a German-American neighbor whom the FBI suspects of smuggling anti-American propaganda. Includes historical notes about life on the home front in World War II.
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"Like Golden Hill, Cahokia Jazz inhabits a different version of America, and like Golden Hill it has a propulsive and brilliantly twisty plot set within a fully imagined world. Only this world is full of fog, cigarette smoke, dubious motives, danger, and dark deeds. And in the main character of Joe Barrow, we have a hero of truly heroic proportions, and a troubled soul to fall in love with. One snowy night at the end of winter, Barrow and his partner...
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