The message of taking pride in learning the history of Illinois’s statehood and applying it to today was addressed at the Bicentennial last night.

Dr. Samuel Wheeler, State of Illinois historian and director of research and collections of the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum, spoke at the Bicentennial at the auditorium in Buzzard Hall.

Wheeler said we should understand our state’s history and shape what we learn from it to better the generations to come.

“In my opinion, the Bicentennial is not simply about examining where we’ve been as a state and talking about a lot of the history over the last 200 years; it’s an opportunity for us all to dream about the future,” he said. “What do we want the next 200 years to look like? How much further does the arm of justice need to bend for us to ensure true freedom and true equality? That’s a Bicentennial challenge for you to figure out. I challenge you to actively work to make that a reality.”

Wheeler said people often talk about Lincoln’s contributions when they are asked to ponder prominent historical figures from Illinois, but others are forgotten about.

One man who does not get talked about enough is abolitionist and past governor Edward Coles, the man we named our county after, Wheeler said.

Shortly after Illinois became an official state in 1818, some of its earliest politicians wanted to turn it into a slave state with the passage of an updated State Constitution, but Coles ran for governor, won and stopped it from happening, he said.

“Coles (spends) the entire four-year salary that he has as governor to defeat that measure. He buys the newspaper that’s being published in Illinois, the newspaper that helped fuel the move toward statehood (and) he puts articles in every issue that’s talking about the evils of slavery—talking about the idealism of what Illinois is supposed to be,” Wheeler said. “At the end of the day, what happened in 1824 (was that) the referendum measure (was) defeated. (That was) incredibly significant for the future of Illinois.”

Wheeler said Coles is remarkably important to the history of Illinois because he was not a politician; rather, he was a courageous man who fought for justice and the betterment of posterity.

“In my book, Edward Coles goes down as a true Illinois statesman. What’s the definition of a statesman? Somebody that is not worried about the next election but is worried about the next generation. That’s Coles,” he said.

Jim Edgar, Eastern alum and previous Illinois governor, said despite the trials and tribulations of our state’s history, we should still take time to learn about what Illinois was back in 1818 compared to what it is today.

Many figures from Illinois’s early statehood had a large influence on the United States, Edgar said, and appreciating their contributions to our state will help us to understand our lives on a grander scale.

“Illinois has been through some tough times in the last few years. We’ve had some governors who have given us bad publicity, we had a financial mess (and) people kind of ridicule Illinois,” he said. “I was thinking tonight as (Wheeler) was talking about some of the Illinoisans in our early history who’ve not only had an impact on Illinois but this nation, and we should feel proud about this state.”

Logan Raschke can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].