Little Egypt (region)
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- Alternate meaning: Stage name of Farida Mazar Spyropoulos
Little Egypt is the southern area of the state of Illinois in the United States of America. It is generally considered that portion of Illinois south of Effingham. The southernmost part of Little Egypt is Cairo. The southern part of Illinois is geographically, culturally, and economically different from the remainder of Illinois.
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Origin of name
The exact origin of these nicknames for this region is not entirely clear, but there appear to be a number of factors that have contributed to their development and popularization over time. One reason that the area became popularly known as Egypt centers on Southern Illinois’ role in supplying grain to northern and central Illinois following a harsh winter in 1830–31. Upper Illinois suffered from a long winter and late spring, so crops were not planted until June, and much of that harvest was killed by an early September frost. Southern Illinois had milder weather, however, and produced grain, much of which was shipped north. Wagon trains came south and returned home with corn. Many people believe the similarities with the Bible story of Jacob’s sons going to Egypt to buy grain and survive a famine may have resulted in the nickname. One pioneer, Daniel Brush, founder of Carbondale, recalled in his memoirs how grain was shipped from points on the Big Muddy River and Mississippi River to central and northern Illinois that year. He, too, supports the notion that the role southern Illinois played in feeding those areas led to the rise of the "Egypt" moniker.
Another theory is related to a comparison of the land mass surrounded by the great Mississippi and Ohio Rivers with that of Egypt’s Nile delta region. According to Hubbs, the nickname may date back to 1818, when a large tract of land was purchased at the confluence of the rivers and its developers named it Cairo. Today, the town of Cairo still lies on a peninsula where the Ohio River joins the Mississippi. Other settlements in that portion of the state have names with Egyptian or Middle Eastern origins: Thebes, Dongola, Lebanon, and Karnak.
During the American Civil War, anti-slavery citizens of northern Illinois would draw less than flattering parallels between the pro-slavery Confederate sympathizers in southern Illinois and the bondage and injustice inflicted on the Hebrews during their "Egyptian bondage"[1] (http://dig.lib.niu.edu/civilwar/politics.html).
These Egyptian influences are not only concentrated in Little Egypt, but farther south. About one hundred miles south of Cairo, along the Mississippi, lies Memphis, Tennessee, which also was named after an Egyptian city on the Nile with the same name. Memphis also has a giant pyramid for a sporting venue.
When hoochie-coochie dancer (belly dancer) Farida Mazar Spyropoulos appeared in the World Columbian Exposition in 1893 in Chicago, she performed as "Little Egypt". The name of the region in Illinois appears to have changed from "Egypt" to "Little Egypt" at this time.
Other derivatives and similarities of the Egyptian theme for the region:
- Mounds similar to the pyramids located in Cahokia
- Egyptian High School, located in the extreme southern portion of the state
- The man-made Lake of Egypt
- The nickname of the athletic team members at the region's main university, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and the school mascot, Saluki, is the name of a dog breed that originated in the Middle East.
Geography
Illinois has been partially covered at times by glaciers. However, southern Illinois was covered only partially by the Illinoisan Glacier and not at all by the Wisconsinan Glacier. Thus, the geography of southern Illinois is considerably more hilly and rocky than central or northern Illinois. Areas of far southern Illinois are much more similar to the Ozarks than to central or northern Illinois.
Additionally, the rich farm land of northern and central Illinois is not found in southern Illinois.
Economy
There are two main centers of commerce for southern Illinois, neither of which is located in Illinois. For the western part of Little Egypt, the economic center is St. Louis, Missouri. For the eastern part, the economic center is Evansville, Indiana.
The main agricultural products of southern Illinois are crops such as corn, soybeans and apples. Southern Illinois also has significant oil and coal deposits. However, there is very limited manufacturing within southern Illinois.
Culture
Culturally, southern Illinois is tied closely with Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri. The immigration route from the east coast westward ran along the Ohio River. Thus, settlers who came to southern Illinois had previously settled Kentucky, Tennessee and continued to migrate into Missouri and Arkansas. A road between Golconda and Jonesboro carried settlers and commerce across southern Illinois as well as the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears.[2] (http://www.illinoishistory.com/trailoftears.html)
The area of Little Egypt is very similar to the extent of the range in Illinois of the South Midlands dialect of American English (a dialect spoken throughout the above areas).
Even though Illinois was a "free state" prior to the American Civil War, slaves were present in Little Egypt as long-term indentured servants or as descendants of slaves in the area before statehood. In 1834, citizens of Alton, Illinois, near St. Louis, lynched abolitionist printer Elijah P. Lovejoy. Many Democrats in southern Illinois favored the South. John A. Logan, a southern Illinois congressman who would later become a general in the Union Army, even compared the southern secessionists to the Founding Fathers. Despite having a Democratic majority and southern sympathizers, Little Egypt had the highest Union recruitment rates in the state and Union Clubs were formed to physically intimidate dissenters.
On April 15, 1861 the citizens of Marion, Illinois passed a resolution calling for the division of Illinois and the secession of southern Illinois. The resolution stated:
"Resolved: 1. That we, the citizens of Williamson County, firmly believing, from the distracted condition of our county---the same being brought about by the elevation to power of a strictly sectional party---the coercive policy of which toward the seceded States will drive all the border slave States from the Federal Union, and cause them to join the Southern Confederacy.
"2. That, in such event, the interest of the citizens of Southern Illinois imperatively demands at their hands a division of the State. We hereby pledge ourselves to use all means in our power to effect the same, and attach ourselves to the Southern Confederacy.
"3. That, in our opinion, it is the duty of the present administration to withdraw all the troops of the Federal government that may be stationed in Southern forts, and acknowledge the independence of the Southern Confederacy, believing that such a course would he calculated to restore peace and harmony to our distracted country.
"4. That in view of the fact that it is probable that the present Governor of the State of Illinois will call upon the citizens of the same to take up arms for the purpose of subjecting the people of the South, we hereby enter our protest against such a course, and, as loyal citizens, will refuse, frown down, and forever oppose the same."
The resolution was repealed shortly thereafter, but General Benjamin Prentiss on his way to a garrison in Cairo, Illinois left a company of men near Marion.
It has been suggested that one purpose of troops stationed in Cairo, Illinois was not only to guard the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers during the American Civil War but also to keep the southern portion of the state from seceding.
See also: List of Illinois regions
External Links
- Democrats and Republicans in Illinois: http://dig.lib.niu.edu/civilwar/politics.html
