The Positive Effects Of The Great Chicago Fire Of 1871

The Chicago Race Riots of 1919 was a major conflict that began in Chicago Illinois because of racial tension between black and whites because of cultural differences. The Chicago race riots is also referred to as the “Red Summer” because of all the bloodshed that took place the summer after World war 1. The race riots began on July 27th, 1919 and ended August 3rd, 1919. On the first day of the riots thirty eight people died, 23 were black, 15 were white and 537 people. The race riots are a part of Chicago’s history that had a major affect on racial, political and social problems. The riots began after the death of Eugene Williams. Eugene Williams was a young black male who drowned due to swimming at an all white beach and rocks being thrown

magic that shaped society in Chicago in the late 19th century. The city of Chicago hoped that

The death Eugene Williams, one of the majors point of the Chicago Race Riots of 1919, it was one of the things that actually started to make the majority of African-Americans act. Eugene was hit and killed by a thrown rock by a white male on the breakwater, even after his identity was established he wasn’t arrested. Even to make matters worse one of the males accompanying him was arrested instead in the chaos. Of course, many people fought but the majority of the race moved out of the south, the southern states passed new constitutions and laws that dehumanized African-Americans and made them into slaves, they even had to flee from the Ku Klux Klan. This led to The Great Migration, which changed Chicago politically and culturally.

Most likely the dry weather and the buildings that was mostly made out of wood started the fire. Since most of the buildings was made out of wood the fire burned it easily and spreaded quick.(”Legend has it that a cow kicked over a lantern in a barn and started the fire, but other theories is that humans or even a meteor might have been responsible for the event that left an area in flames’’).(McHugh, Janet. ebscohost)

Dr. H. H. Holmes was a serial killer during the time of the World’s Columbian Exposition. Between the time he arrived in Chicago and the time of his death, it is said to be that he killed several hundred people. Holmes was born and raised in New Hampshire but eventually found his way to Chicago. He was a different man and found joy in killing humans. Most of his murders occurred in his Castle in Englewood near Chicago. The question is, why did Holmes pick Chicago of all places? Why not somewhere else? Chicago was a place for H.H. Holmes to commit his crimes because the city had a growing population, it was going to host the World’s Columbian Exposition, and because Chicago was a selfish city.

In Erik Larson’s novel The Devil in the White City takes place during the Gilded Age. During this period of time everything appears good and golden on the outside when in reality everything was full of corruption. In the novel, the author takes the reader to the city of Chicago, where the city is “swelled “in population causing the city to expand in all “available directions” (Larson 44). As Chicago became the “second most populous [city] in the nation after New York” there was an urge that city show off to the world and the nation of how great it was through the Chicago World’s Fair (Larson 44). The Chicago World’s Fair was an opportunity for the city to come together and create event so spectacular to shock the world. However, as Chicago prepared to awe people with this extravagant fair the city faced skepticism on weather or not issues of urbanization, sanitation, and crime would be fixed in time for the World’s Fair.

Many times, the strength of an establishment is not fully realized until it has proven its ability to overcome a setback and become better for it. Chicago is a primary example of a city which proved its strength by undergoing disaster, and becoming better for it. Perhaps the most jarring of these disasters was the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, symbolized by the second of four stars on the Chicago flag. This tragedy, claiming the lives of hundreds and causing millions of dollars in damage, was horrid, but the city overcame and grew to be one of America’s most influential cities. A crucial element of Chicago’s history, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 can be understood by studying the cause of its severity, its impact on the city, and the recovery efforts of the people.

Wicker Park was just a prairie before two brothers Charles and Joel Wicker purchased land along Milwaukee Avenue in 1870. When the Great Chicago Fire happened, and the city was starting to rebuild itself some chicagoans looked beyond the city limits. The land attracted families wanted to rebuild after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. The Great Fire spurred the first wave of development. Homeless chicagoans looked for building new houses. Eleven days after the fire the Aid society had 200 lots on Milwaukee Avenue for the construction of cheaps homes for the victims of the fire along Milwaukee Ave(Kreashko,2015). German, Scandinavians and other immigrants moved to Wicker Park after the Great Fire(Heidemann,2013). Wicker Park became a resident

H.H Holmes confessed, “I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing”. During this time Holmes was growing to be America’s first recorded serial killer and taking place in the tail end of the Industrial Revolution, technology and architecture improved to new levels. Much like Holmes, life in the city was chaotic. Chicago at the time was moving to a more industrialized society. Architecture was becoming a booming business. Skyscrapers were being constructed among other new buildings, and in the midst of the already progressive city, Chicago had been elected as the host for the Columbian Exposition. The fair would take up a large park in the city and bring people from around the world to experience a new social and cultural event. Beside the hectic fair was violence within the city. Death was normal in a growing place like Chicago. In Erik Larson’s novel, the World Fair uplifts

A shock city is the urban place that represents a massive and rapid changes in social, economic, and cultural life (urbanization) due to many factors, including new models of transportation such as railroads, industrialization, and other factors. The first city that was considered the “shock city” was actually Manchester, England. It grew very quickly, and it was the world’s first industrialized city and the home of the cotton industry, cottonopolis - a metropolis centered on cotton trading. Same as Manchester, Chicago was also the “shock city” of North America because of its rapid growth. Both cities were industrial cities, Chicago rose from a struggling village sunk in the middle of a grassland creek to a metropolis city. Between 1830 to

On May 11, 1894 a widespread strike lead by railroad workers brought business to a complete cessation; only willing to discontinue until the federal government took unprecedented action to end the strike. The Pullman Strike began “as a peaceful labor protest against a single Chicago employer (54)”, and later ended up “into a national labor boycott of more than twenty railroads and then into a violent confrontation between the federal government, the railroad companies, and American workers (55.)” With the “mix of employer resistance, government aggression, worker bitterness, and general economic desperation (54)”, the Pullman Strike presented questions towards the “rights of employers and workers in an industrialized democracy and about the role

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was one of the greatest catastrophes in the history of the United States history. The holocaust burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871. Within hours the great city of Chicago was destroyed. Before the fire broke out on Sunday night, October 8, there had been a drought causing everything to be dry and extremely flammable. The city of Chicago was so flammable because almost the entire city was made out of wood. Even buildings that claimed to be fire proof were destroyed. The fire killed hundreds of people and destroyed almost the entire city. Even though the fire was one of the largest disasters in U.S history, Chicago reborn from the ashes and build again making the city one of the most

Throughout this weeks reading on Chapter 4, we focus in on the Progressive Era and the establishment of urban America. The industrial revolution was at its peak and the United States was developing rapidly. Immigration, manufacturing output, and urban development grew faster than any other time in the nation’s history. Not only that, but scientific developments changed lives and revolutionary theories challenged traditional beliefs. As Rury suggests, “ . . . it is probably safe to say that there was a greater degree of social change at the point than any other, simply because of the magnitude of economic expansion an population movement” (Rury 136). It was a time of globalization, when there was movement around the world on an unprecedented scale. Even when compared to

Hurricanes can be powerful storms that form over ocean water in the tropics. Hurricane Sandy occurred in 2012 along the east coast along the United States. Hurricanes cause wide havoc to many coastal cities and inland cities and are very dangerous.

The detrimental Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire is considered to be one of the most tragic disasters in history. On March 25th, 1911, a fire broke out and killed 146 garment workers who were mostly women. These women worked countless hours with low wages and inhumane working conditions in a factory. Even though this event was tragic, the triangle shirtwaist fire helped to shape the new world for the better. The multitude of workers trapped within the inferno to their demise was the final straw for the mistreatment of America’s workers. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire led to imperative reforms that sought for adequate conditions for workers and the advent of the Progressive Era. (Source 2).