AHC/WI: Chicago-sized city in Indiana instead of Illinois

Challenge: Create a scenario in which Indiana has a Chicago-sized city instead of Illinois.

How will that affect things? (Indiana will be a lot more liberal than OTL for sure)
 
Well, Indiana would be pulled to the left and Illinois would probably be conservative like Indiana.

Perhaps try switching Gary and Chicago around?
 
Well, Indiana would be pulled to the left and Illinois would probably be conservative like Indiana.

Perhaps try switching Gary and Chicago around?

The problem with Gary is that it was formed in 1906, while Chicago was formed in 1833 and then had a huge growth spurt.
 
Unless ASB's move the Chicago River, I really don't see it happening. The only way you could possibly achieve this is if the people of Indiana invest in building a canal to connect lake Michigan to the Wabash River, while at the same time the area around the Chicago River is made inhospitable for trade.

Edit:

There's also the Calumet river, but that would require a lot of work on the Ilinois side of the border. If Illinois is going to have to help in building a route, why wouldn't they want the port in their state?

Another way is the Kankakee. This might be better than the Wabash. It still requires a canal, but it's closer than the Wabash. The only problem is you're still going to have to go through Illinois to link up to the Illinois river, then the Mississippi.
 
Last edited:
Unless ASB's move the Chicago River, I really don't see it happening. The only way you could possibly achieve this is if the people of Indiana invest in building a canal to connect lake Michigan to the Wabash River, while at the same time the area around the Chicago River is made inhospitable for trade.

A few [especially] feisty natives would work fine for this purpose.
 
Switch 'em around then. Have the founders of Chicago go "We should go to Indiana instead" and found Gary-ATL-Chicago.

Before Chicago was Chicago, it was Fort Dearborn, an important fort on the Chicago River that had historical significance. Gary was nowhere near anything like that.
 
The reason Chicago became important is that it was able to link the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. You go from Lake Michigan to the Chicago River to the Des Plaines River to the Illinois River to the Mississippi River. You only need a relatively small canal or portage to link Lake Michigan to the Chicago River and the Chicago River to the Des Plaines. It is a natural portage and that is why Chicago is important.

For any city in Indiana to do the same, you either need to switch from the Des Plaines to the Kankakee River because that is the only major river that could link Lake Michigan to the Mississippi in Indiana, or as another poster responded utilize the Calumet River. Neither is as ideal as the Chicago.

There is a lot of geographical determinism here.
 
Drop a very large and very dirty nuke on Chicago somehow

A city in Indiana [don't know enough to determine which] takes up the slack and eventually becomes Chicago sized
 
The reason Chicago became important is that it was able to link the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. You go from Lake Michigan to the Chicago River to the Des Plaines River to the Illinois River to the Mississippi River. You only need a relatively small canal or portage to link Lake Michigan to the Chicago River and the Chicago River to the Des Plaines. It is a natural portage and that is why Chicago is important.

For any city in Indiana to do the same, you either need to switch from the Des Plaines to the Kankakee River because that is the only major river that could link Lake Michigan to the Mississippi in Indiana, or as another poster responded utilize the Calumet River. Neither is as ideal as the Chicago.

There is a lot of geographical determinism here.

I wanted to say this.
 

Dirk_Pitt

Banned
Have it so that the Northwest Ordinence of 1787 demands only 4 states instead of 5 and make the Indiana territory that included OTL Indiana and Illinois into a state. Bingo!
 
Have Chicago not rebuilt to the same extinct after it burned down, or have a new city on the Indiana side capitalize while Chicago flounders.
 
Top