The nonnative population of Illinois has increased…

The nonnative population of Illinois has increased rapidly following the War of 1812, exceeding fifty thousand in 1820; a development that has sharpened previous disputes about land ownership, especially in the lead-mining region north of the Rock River, an area claimed by the close allies of the Sauk, the Fox.

In 1828, the U.S. government liaison, Thomas Forsyth, informs the tribes that they should begin vacating their settlements east of the Mississippi.

Sauk warrior and leader Black Hawk (or Black Sparrow Hawk: Makataimeshekiakiak), finally forced from Sauk and Fox tribal lands in Illinois, tries gamely but without success to enlist neighboring Kickapoo, Potawatami and Winnebago tribes in an anti-American coalition.