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Mapmaker Louis Joliet set out to find the Great River (also known as the Mississippi River). Jacques Marquette accompanied him on his journey. These were probably the first white explorers of the Mississippi River.
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Settlers established a village along the Ohio River called Losantiville, which was renamed Cincinnati in 1790. It became an important port city when steamboats began moving along the Ohio River.
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Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out from what is now St. Louis, Missouri, to explore the west. They hired a fur trapper as a guide and his wife, Sacajawea, helped the explorers communicate with Native Americans along the way. They reached the Pacific Ocean in November 1805.
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Many African Americans, who had settled west of the Mississippi River after gaining their freedom after the Civil War, established a settlement in Kansas they called Nicodemus.
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Jane Addams established a neighborhood center called the Hull House. Here, she taught young, immigrant mothers how to care for their children. She also provided day-care support and helped immigrants find jobs so that they could support themselves and their families.
