History as They Lived It: A Social History of Prairie du Rocher, Illinois

6. Old and New

6 Old and New For nearly a generation the small population in the Illinois wilderness had been stranded without a stable civil government, in fact being virtually abandoned by all governments. That loss had a psychological impact on the inhabitants. The insufficiency of legal protection for their goods and property, the shifting power structures, the general uncertainty and insecurity took their toll on the villagers. The effects ofthose years were different for each village. At the northern end of the colony, Cahokia retained its courts and maintained order and control by the French citizens throughout the period. Kaskaskia, being the most exposed to the influxes ofAnglo traders, adventurers, and the military, was totally disrupted. Prairie du Rocher, a sufficient distance from Kaskaskia that entrepreneurs and opportunists found residence there inconvenient for their trading and politicking, remained peaceful but very wary of outside interference. Although the Illinois country settled down, thankful for a more stable government, many ofthe laws, regulations, and customs were different from those that the inhabitants had known before. These differences caused misunderstandings not only at the time but in later historical studies. Nineteenth century writers of the United States' 196 Old and New pioneer history tended to overemphasize the non-participatory aspects ofthe government during the French regime. The French were looked upon as passive, content to let others decide their fate. But the French habitants had not been passive. Although fortunately lacking the violent leaders of the French revolution, the spirit of the Jacquerie was revealed in the habitants' persistent and stubborn resistance to military and despotic governments. Their determination to have their rights at law and to uphold their dignity was manifested numerous times under the various political rules as they sought redress, and by their insistence upon the courts. The assemblies after mass had been their equivalent oftown meetings and ifthe paternalistic rule ofthe commandant was accepted, it was due more to internal necessity for family and community wellbeing , rather than any great deference to authority. Also the commandant represented the royal authority, a government against which the Illinois citizens were not interested in rebelling, perhaps because they were not experiencing the injustices prevalent in the home country. The habitants in the Illinois did not suffer from lack of bread as did the peasants in France. Nor was the commandant in the Illinois the same as the governmental officials in France. Rather than a repressive authority with taxation and demands of work and products, he represented to them the positive qualities of government-~stability, assurance of rights, and protection. These qualities were what they had sought throughout the British, Virginian, and now territorial governments . The older Frenchmen, having endured the long hiatus in government , had learned to deal with the chaotic world around them by retreating to their village and maintaining the integrity oftheir homes, farms, families, and customs. The younger people could not recall the comforts ofthe paternalistic French regime, nor were they as cosmopolitan as their parents. Throughout the French regime widespread travel had lead to a degree of sophistication from extensive contacts with France and Canada. The subsequent political regimes caused for one reason or another a more restrictive set ofcontacts. Thrown thus on their own resources, they had developed internal mechanisms to deal with strife. Now faced with another new system, although they 197 History As Thry LivedIt welcomed the stability, there was an understandable hesitation to become involved. Always a familial society, the external pressures increased the cohesiveness ofthe extended family and the village organization where the leaders were interrelated. Old Northwest Territory The ordinance for the Northwest Territory passed by the Continental Congress in 1787 had provisions allowing the French to keep their traditions and customs for the conveyance ofproperty, la Coutume de Paris in essence. The ordinance guaranteed religious liberty and prohibited the further introduction of slavery. The interpretation of this last ruling was that the French were allowed to keep the slaves they had, but others were not to be brought in. The question ofwhether the children ofthese slaves were slave or free remained unanswered for quite some time.1 When Governor Arthur St. Clair arrived March 1790 he found the court system in disrepair. He divided Illinois into three judicial districts~Cahokia, Kaskaskia, and Prairie du Rocher. He established courts-the Court of Common Pleas, General Quarter Sessions , Justices ofthe Peace, and Probate Court. Common Pleas handled civil cases; St. Clair appointed Jean...