ABSTRACT
Embracing Jacques Marquette as a specifically Catholic civic founder likewise unfolded against the backdrop of the Colonial Revival movement, a far-flung idea with many facets that was commonly expressed in trends in US architecture, home furnishings, and public depictions of a glorious American past. In 1876, exhibits on early American life and culture acted to heal the wounds brought about by the horrible American Civil War. Chicago's exposition aimed to embrace and educate new Americans who came from Europe by depicting a shared Protestant and Catholic past. The Mississippi River wends through the twists and turns of North American history just as it does through the heart of the North American continent. To comprehend the depth and breadth of this history, it is critically important for us to remember that its name is Native American in origin, its earliest written descriptions the product of French hands.
