ipl-logo

Burnham's Changes In Chicago During The Gilded Age

1254 Words6 Pages

Throughout the 19th century, the American geography noticed a considerable change. As cities grew taller and taller, finally meeting the sky with metal and glass, more and more people moved to live in the intensifying hustle and bustle. This is especially true for Chicago, a sprawling metropolis nestled in Illinois next to the Great Lakes. During the late 19th century, the city became one of the largest in America. New faces constantly appeared in the always busy Chicago train stations, desperate yet hopeful for a new life in the big city. However, not all was well in Chicago during the midst of the World’s Columbian Exposition, otherwise known as The Chicago’s World’s Fair. Chicago was cast in a dark light in American society, especially …show more content…

Even while constructing the fair, there were numerous casualties in the labor force. Burnham himself held an authoritarian rule of the laborers of the Fair. He had ordered one of the construction’s managers to “fire any man who did inaccurate or slouchy work or who failed to do more than his full duty” despite knowing those who were dismissed “faced homelessness and poverty; their families confronted the real prospect of starvation” (Larson 145). Burnham’s actions mirror the strict rules that many business leaders during the Gilded Age had enforced onto their workers. The new, postindustrial work ethic that focused on unskilled and repetitive labor made the majority of America’s laborers disenfranchised with their mundane jobs. Unrest followed, especially in Chicago where industry was a major part of its economy (Woodbridge). This just added to the chaotic atmosphere of the city. During a protest in Chicago with over 25,000 unemployed workers, a man asked the question: “why should the wealth of the country be stored in banks and elevators while the idle workman wanders homeless about the streets and the idle loaders who hoard the god only to spend it in riotous living are rolling about in fine carriages?” (Larson 315). Inequality was rampant during that time, especially in Chicago where the majority lived in miserable

Show More
Related

  • How Has The World's Fair Changed America

    138 Words  | 1 Pages

    Modern America would not have been even near the same had the World's Columbian Exposition not existed. Now this is certainly a bold claim, but the influence of the Fair's ideas in fact reached millions upon millions of Americans, which reinforced their beliefs upon many topics and motivating pride for their country. The welcoming and commemoration of consumption and technology has had the most notable and everlasting influence on American society. The city of Chicago was in devastating condition prior to hosting the World’s Fair.  

    Read More

  • The Devil In The White City Book Review

    311 Words  | 2 Pages

    Narrating a changing time of American history that showcased the enchanting, yet ungodly horrors capability of its citizens, Erik Larson’s nonfiction, historical novel The Devil in the White City follows the events of Chicago’s World Exposition Fair of 1893. Great contradicting powers of the architect, Daniel H. Burnham, chief of works of the Columbian Exposition and Herman Mudgett alias Dr. H. H. Holmes, a physician exploiting his skills for murder, heavily influences the city. Larson massively utilizes resources of recorded accounts of the era to have the story concrete and authentic as if resurrecting the people, time, and place over again. The said author reported to acquire information from archives of historical societies, national libraries,

    Read More

  • Black Metropolis

    536 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the first few chapters of Black Metropolis, St. Clair Drake and Horace R. Cayton provide historical context on the early development of Chicago as the site for an emerging city, which became the American Midwest epicenter that incited significant social, economic and political changes that transformed the country. The authors also establish a foundation that helps to understand the allure of the Windy City, which contributed to the mass exodus of African Americans from the South during the Great Migration that ultimately created the “black metropolis.” While examining the text, what specifically stood out was the following quote: “The distinctive thing about the Black Belt is that while other such “colonies” tend to break up with the passage of time, the Negro area becomes increasingly more concentrated.” This quote indirectly references the

    Read More

  • Exemplification Essay: The Great Chicago Fire

    470 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although this didn’t benefit everyone. Chicago needed a place to get materials from, they chose Singapore, Michigan, a small coastal town. They took lumber and stone from the shore which left Singapore open to all the weather conditions. After a flood and a few sand storms singapore became an uninhabitable place to live, and is now a famous ghost town. This place is now mostly covered in sand dunes near a town called Saugatuck.

    Read More

  • Juxtaposition The Devil In The White City

    622 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson contains many accounts of madness and magic that shaped society in Chicago in the late 19th century. The city of Chicago hoped that hosting the world’s fair would lift their reputation of being the “black city.” Daniel Burnham, the man who created the magic, was put in charge as the lead architect of the fair; he had to overcome many obstacles in order to create the dazzling designs that turned Chicago into the “white city.” Along with the magic comes the madness, the madness is created by H H Holmes who believes the he is the “devil” and goes through Chicago and other cities killing numerous people. Through the novel, The Devil in the White City, Larson uses contrasting juxtaposition, extreme

    Read More

  • Essay On The Haymarket Affair

    978 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Haymarket affair is one most important events in Chicago’s labor protest is questionably still unknown to many of high school kids and down. At this mark in Chicago history several horrifying, and great events happened. Industrial workers were getting fed up with the intense hours and wanted change from their shady bosses. People associated with all the industrial works started to arrange private meeting to talk about what’s wrong within the industries. Soon several of the bosses found out about these meeting and paid the police to eliminate these meetings.

    Read More

  • Out Of This Furnace Sparknotes

    917 Words  | 4 Pages

    Kracha experienced first hand the harshness that working as a laborer in the Gilded Age entailed. While Kratcha was working on the railroad in White Haven he had to line and surface railroad tracks, repair railroad tracks that were already built, and fight fires, all while only being paid ten, or even sometimes nine, cents (21). This difficult, dangerous, and low paid work made it tough for Kracha to earn enough money to be prosperous. When Kracha, Andrej, and Dubik tried to achieve the American Dream in the Steel Mills they were faced with the many dangerous conditions. Hoping to make more money Kracha worked in two of Carnegie’s steel mills.

    Read More

  • The Devil In The White City Essay

    1116 Words  | 5 Pages

    Chicago was seen by outsiders as a land of opportunity the same way our founding fathers saw America as the land of new beginnings. Individuals all across the nation spoke of Chicago as having a “spirit” of it own and “tangible force” that was similar to the American dream (Larson 16). As people spoke so highly of Chicago and its technology, it still did not escape the criticism from other states about how the city would not be able to handle organizing a World’s fair. When the grounds of the World’s Fair were ere being prepared in Jackson Park, Chicago, the soil was too dense to build extravagant buildings, the architects in charge of creating the buildings for the World’s Fair were surprised with all the extra work needed in order for the foundations of the buildings to be sturdy (Larson

    Read More

  • The Devil In The White City Rhetorical Analysis

    819 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Devil in the White City Rhetorical Analysis Essay The Chicago World’s Fair, one of America’s most compelling historical events, spurred an era of innovative discoveries and life-changing inventions. The fair brought forward a bright and hopeful future for America; however, there is just as much darkness as there is light and wonder. In the non-fiction novel, The Devil in the White City, architect Daniel Burnham and serial killer H. H. Holmes are the perfect representation of the light and dark displayed in Chicago. Erik Larson uses positive and negative tone, juxtaposition, and imagery to express that despite the brightness and newfound wonder brought on by the fair, darkness lurks around the city in the form of murder, which at first, went unnoticed.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Gilded Age

    861 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Gilded Age lasted from 1870 to World War 1, “1900s.” The Gilded Age was a period of fast economic development, but also much social struggle. Mark Twain in the late nineteenth century founded the “Gilded” Age, which means covered with gold on the outside, but not really golden on the inside, for example, tin. This period of time was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath. In other words, the outside looked beautiful, but the inside looked old and trashy.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Urbanization In The Gilded Age

    191 Words  | 1 Pages

    After the Civil War, the United States (U.S.) started industrializing in the early nineteenth century, bringing revolutionary revisions to America’s society and its industries. The abundance of natural resources, new inventions, and continuously immigrating workers, along with the creation of the free enterprise system and a spur of railroads, enabled the country to industrialize successfully. Soon America’s small towns were transformed into large cities filled with factories. In the late 1800s, a period known as the Gilded Age came about, suggesting that America’s industrialization and urbanization had two facets. On the surface, the U.S. showcased golden success and prosperity, while the interior aspect began to unveil the unsettling realities

    Read More

  • Research Paper On Chicago World's Fair Of 1893

    1153 Words  | 5 Pages

    Ryan McCaffery Mrs. Yale-Wasdyke / Mr. Herman AP U.S. History II 5 September 2016 The city of Chicago’s transition from the Black City to the White City was able to not only revitalize the city, but the country as a whole.  Americans, especially Chicagoans, were in dire need of something to reinstill pride in their nation, and the White City was able to do just that.

    Read More

  • How Did The Chicago World Fair Exemplifies The Gilded Age In America?

    736 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1893, America opened its Columbian Exposition in Chicago, celebrating the 400th anniversary of Columbus discovering America, even though it was a year late. The exposition, also called the Chicago World Fair, was large, consisting of many buildings and displays from other countries of the world. This was a time to show the kind of advancements and technologies that had come about during this time. At the time of the fair opening, the United States was going through what was called the Gilded Age. From 1870 to the early 1900s the nation transitioned from being primarily agricultural to being an industrial nation focussed on manufacturing.

    Read More

  • How Did The Transportation Revolution Affect American Society

    478 Words  | 2 Pages

    “In 1820, about 58 towns more than 2500 inhabitants; by 1840, there were 126 such towns, located mostly in the Midwest and Northeast.” The fastest growth occurring in areas were near canals, railroads, and roads because of the easy access of raw and manufactured materials. Toward the later 19th century, the settlers began to move west for cheaper property because the land inhabited near the town built around transportation was getting

    Read More

  • The Positive Effects Of The Great Chicago Fire Of 1871

    1183 Words  | 5 Pages

    “Late one night, when we were all in bed, Mrs. O’Leary lit a lantern in the shed. Her cow kicked it over, then winked her eye and said, ‘There’ll be a hot time in the old town tonight!’ (Abbott)” In 1871, a disaster arose in Chicago and reshaped the city permanently: a fire scorched around three square miles of land, leveled thousands of buildings, and stole hundreds of lives (“Chicago Fire of 1871”). Although the effects of this tragedy were harrowing, it actually served as the catalyst which allowed Chicago to become one of America’s largest, most influential cities.

    Read More

More about Burnham's Changes In Chicago During The Gilded Age

Open Document