BOSS Richard Daley

The book The Devil In the White City by Erik Larson re-tells the story of Chicago’s World Fair, while H.H. Holmes, also known as “America’s first serial killer”, emerges as a dark force within the fair. Switching back and forth between the experiences of the head fair administrator, Burnham, and the other directors along with the evils of Holmes, the reader begins to understand the world of tragedy and crime that lies behind the public’s excitement. From a devastating storm to the deaths of multiple builders, suspense builds as tragedy is followed by more tragedy. Through the use of contrasting ideas and ethical clauses highlighted by symbolisms and descriptions within the book, Erik Larson creates an underlying argument that one’s pursuit of pride and success often causes destruction and comes at the price of another’s well-being.

Larson’s, The Devil in the White City, recounts a defining time period for America. Larson sheds light on the ageless conflict: Good v.s. Evil, as he recounts the events that took place at the fair that changed America. With America falling behind in global dominances and its need to strive, Daniel Burnham tries to successfully construct the Chicago World's fair and hopes it will spark the turn of the century. As Burnham tries to builds up the White City, and while H. H. Holmes flourished in the dominant Black City, Larson takes the reader on a tour of both cities. As Holmes lives in the shadows of the Black City, he successfully murders many people without any suspicion. Holmes’s ability to manipulate, his charisma, and his bravado marks

Erik Larson’s book Devil in the White City is full of magic and madness that has shaped the society of the late 19th century that is specific to in Chicago. The issues that have been handled through this time frame that are addressed in this book is that how Chicago was known to be the black city at first, and how the city hoped that hosting the World’s fair would increase their reputation. Secondly, the magic of a man named Daniel Burnham that did put the plans of the world fair in Chicago into life and the obstacles that he had overcame. Next, once the world fair was complete, it has made Chicago “The White city,” by its dazzling designs and attractions that made it memorable. Then, the madness of H.H. Holmes and how his evil deeds has

In the empirical article, “Black Philly after the Philadelphia Negro,” Marcus Anthony Hunter examines the once populated Seventh Ward and the effects that political neglect and racial barriers had on this primarily black area, which ultimately led to its urban decay. Similarly, in recent years, we see this occurring in Vesterbro, Copenhagen. However, we notice how the neglect towards Vesterbro stems from other factors such as immigration, crime, and a poor economy. Hunter examined the archives of the Seventh Ward, specifically after W.E.B. Du Bois’ initial study of the Seventh Ward. From the 1920s through the 1940s, Hunter found that the poor living conditions did not improve. Instead, they were constant, suggesting that Republican politicians neglected this black area. “This period also offers a historical window into the shifting allegiances of black Americans, and their retreat from the Republican Party and embrace of the Democratic Party” (Hunter). Hunter claimed that the shift in

Chicago, though, wasn’t any less corrupt following the Great War, and public officials who got indicted frequently turned to Darrow for their defense. One of those officials was Oscar DePriest, the first African-American alderman in Chicago, who was charged with conspiracy to allow gambling houses and houses of prostitution to operate in the Windy City. Playing the race card and claiming that money that came to DePriest was campaign donations – not bribery – DePriest was acquitted. Another was the chief of police Charles C. Healy, facing the same charges as DePriest. And, like DePriest, Darrow won his acquittal.

In this documentary by Marshall Curry, the audience follows the campaign and everyday reality of Cory Booker. Curry addresses several very interesting aspects of Booker, his opponent, and the harsh reality inside some political campaigns. Wasserman draws similar conclusions and reiterates several main points in his book, The Basics of American Politics. Wasserman states that "Power may involve force (often called coercion), persuasion, or rewards. But its essence is the ability to change another's actions" ( Wasserman 3). He points out that one of the main aspects of politics is having power over a group of individuals and influencing them to do something that they may or may not necessarily want to do. In the case of the 2002 election for mayor in Newark, New Jersey, Sharpe James uses his power to manipulate the people of Newark to believe lies, rumors, and outrageous accusations about Booker. James has been mayor of Newark for 32 years and uses his superior role to threaten or force people to not only vote for him but to

Corruption in campaigns, in the modern sense of candidates being swayed by corporate influence, was a result of the changes brought on by the Industrial and Technological Revolutions. These revolutions created millionaire captains of industry whose immense influence and power held sway over the future of the United States both economically and politically. Elections and campaigning methods drastically changed as technology allowed candidates to reach voters through new kinds of advertising. Gone were the days when being born in a log cabin was the key to door of the Oval Office, the effectiveness of a candidate’s campaign now correlated with the amount of money backing it. The early twentieth century also saw the continuance of the widespread corruption, particularly in the railroad industry, but also in political campaigns, that had plagued the late nineteenth century before it. The significance of this is that, while corruption had no doubt existed prior to this period, the sheer scale of this new corruption and the magnitude of the resulting political scandals was unlike anything America had witnessed before. Muckraking writer Lincoln Steffens, in his book The Shame of the Cities, described the problem of the political sphere of his time by stating: “politics is business. That 's what 's the matter with it. That 's what 's the matter with everything.” (Steffens 2) Something clearly needed to be done to stem the rising corruption and action came as the progressive movement

A machine politician in the old tradition, Daley will use patronage to control the Illinois state vote and obtain tax breaks and zoning-law favors for real estate interests and others that support him.

A View of what was to come for racial segregations and violence was an event that occurred in 1926 when an African American man named Dr.Ossian H. Sweet bought a home in Detroit. This case would later be known as the Sweet Case of 1926. Dr.Sweet was a very smart man who knew exactly what he was doing when he bought the house in a white neighborhood in detroit “ He was middle class, educated, and man of culture; his enemies were ignorant, racist, and proletarian. His ordeal became a test for Detroit, and a preview of American society’s dilemmas and agonies for the next four decades” (Widick, 5). What happened next after sweet moved into his house was an event that shook the people. A white man had been shot and and was dead. The problem was

City and country are so remotely different but vastly intertwined. Nature’s Metropolis, written by William Cronon, takes a deep look at the role of Chicago and its progression during the 19th century. Cronon is a geography and history professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He thoroughly enjoys studying the workings of humans and the natural world and is involved in organizations related to that. As is evident today, Chicago has benefited both positively and negatively, from the railroad and water transportation which in turn helped various industries survive. With these aspects of the city came improvements in technology, soaring economies in the various industries, and Chicago becoming more connected to the global world. That being said, Cronon not only focuses of Chicago’s growth but also on the growth of America and the creation of markets and developments that occurred because Chicago encompasses only a small part of our ever-expanding world. Overall, Cronon focused on Chicago’s changing role in regard to transportation systems and the possessions closely related to it.

After graduating from college, Obama “moved to Chicago, where he worked with a group of churches to help rebuild communities devastated by the closure of local steel plants” (“Barack Obama”). Democrats often cite a part of their mission statement is to lend a ready and helping hand to whomever may need it at the time, a trait that Obama clearly displays. Even after attending and graduating from law school, he still kept up with his helpful nature. He even “returned to Chicago to help lead a voter registration drive” (“Barack Obama”). Due to these acts of selflessness, Obama once again displays what it means to be a true

“In most years between 1865 and 1930, Patronage Machines ruled many large states of America such as, Minneapolis, Pittsburg, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and New York” (Reid). For example, according to Steffens, “one of the most significant early muckraking stories happened here in Minneapolis, and although it is sometimes overlooked in the general journalism histories of the time, it remains important to our understanding of how the field evolved”. “Fifteen of the seventeen united state’s senators were Republicans, and both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were controlled by powerful and long-lived Republican city “machines” (Pennsylvania). Chicago had one of the longest lasting histories of the use of Political Machines. “ In some areas, Political Machines, such as Chicago’s Democratic Party organization continued to be important until the 1970’s.” Although these states were all controlled by Political Machines, New York’s city hall, Tammany Hall, was the most affected. During this time period, “reformers opposed the machine, calling for such improvements as civil service test for jobs, closer control over how the city spent its money and watching the polls on election day. Over time such reforms weakened the power of Political Machines” (Rosenfeld). Political Machines power waned during the tenure of New York City.” Mayor Fiorello La Guardia (1934-1945), and the

Cowie ponders on a sequence of strikes and upsurges by younger workers, like the Lords town autoworkers strike of 1972 that was called an Industrial Woodstock. The movements that took place in regards of racial and sexual equality gave a chief opportunity to link identity politics with social class and Cowie identifies numerous moments when these possible opportunities could be seen in the revolts of farm workers, textile workers, and office workers. As narrated in the second chapter, their failure was summarized in the McGovern campaign of 1972. As this was going on, Richard Nixon had been courting white working-class voters by underlining cultural values in place of economic interests, employing the new southern strategy to attract George Wallace supporters along with those besieged by antiwar protests and social deviance. Nixon further dominated working-class populism by signifying himself in disagreement to the stereotypical ideal of Northeastern liberal elites, as the titleholders of hard-working taxpayers who are oppressed by a union of underclasses.

The tough city. The large scale crime city. The corrupt city. During the early 1900s, Chicago was not known for having a superior reputation. Aware of his city’s reputation, Sandburg was very candid in speaking about it. In spite of this reputation, he had great pride in the city. He discerned the great aspects of it that others chose to overlook. Sandburg’s proud tone throughout his poem “Chicago” is established through the utilization of strong diction, clever sentence structure, and vivid imagery.

One of the most important components to a political campaign is the voter, for no political candidate can be elected without someone voting for them. The dedication of both candidates, Stanton and Picker, to their voters is another aspect that accentuates their nobleness. Stanton is remarkable in his devotion to the public; the ability to reach out and interact with the public and the power to help them is the reason why he loves politics. While campaigning it is the people that need him, like Danny Scanlon the crippled boy, the adult illiterates, or the unemployed in Portsmouth, that keep Stanton going, for they “deserved a better country—and that was what this election had to be about” (144). There is a truth to Stanton’s promises, similar to the way he doesn’t forget people’s names and the aspects of their personal lives, he also doesn’t forget the promises he gives them in return for their support. For example, he remembers the promise that he made to “Fat Willie” about having him open a branch of his restaurant up in the capitol (214). But on the overall it is Stanton’s genius that allows the people to relate to him, he