Chicago Fire Research Paper

Chicago, Illinois was a popular city in the early United States. Chicago was a center for trade due to the water sources running through it. The two rivers located in Chicago, the Chicago River and the Des Plaines River, connected the city to the Mississippi river and Lake Michigan. Railroads through Chicago also helped it become a transportation center in the United States. Thousands of immigrants came to Chicago every year. Settlers and visitors arrived constantly by wagon, ship, or even train. There were around ten railroads that congregated in the city. Many people saw Chicago as a great opportunity. Merchants, tradesmen, and business from the East Coast scrambled to the new businesses opportunities in the city. In 1870, only one year before the Great Fire, around 300,000 people lived in Chicago.

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was a large part of Chicago's history. Destroying most of the city, the fire went on for two days and was uncontrolled. Though fire fighting and alarms were great for the time, multiple mistakes cause the fire to go wild. It is unknown how it started but it was spread by dry winds and a mostly wooden city.

Before the fire chicago was a small town. But after the fire chicago started to grow. They were able to regrow and build because they still had train tracks so trains could

The 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, more formally known as the Columbian Exposition, was a fair constructed to celebrate Columbus’ arrival in the New World. Chicago was known as the White City, but did not appear as pure and spotless as its name suggested. For instance, there were many ways one could get killed. “Fire took a dozen lives a day...There was diphtheria, typhus, cholera, influenza. And there was murder.” (Larson 12). These unstoppable causes of death was one of the reasons Chicago’s reputation was tarnished. Furthermore, the Panic of 1893 struck and greatly affected the city of Chicago. The Panic’s effects included “financial crises”, “bankruptcy”, and “high rates of unemployment and homelessness”. (Panic of 1893). Because of the city’s economic depression, the fair would decide whether Chicago’s circumstances would improve or deteriorate. Eventually, the 1893 Chicago’s World Fair displayed what America would soon become in an industrial, military, and economic perspective.

The Great Chicago Fire was a major milestone in the city’s history. The fire started on October 8th, 1871 and did not end until October 10th, 1871. People never saw this fire coming which might have made it even worse. The only reason it spread so far was because everything was made out of wood, the ground was parched and the wind was blowing that night; the reason it stopped was because it had started raining. Although the fire destroyed most of the city, it was a positive turning point in history. The Chicago Fire improved firefighting and their equipment, new buildings that were made out of fireproof materials, and it brought big investors to the city.

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was one of the largest disasters in American history. Practically overnight the great city of Chicago was destroyed. Before the fire there was a large drought causing everything to be dry and flammable, then a fire broke out in the O’Leary’s barn and spread throughout the city. Many attempts were made to put out the fire but there were too many errors and problems in the beginning. After the fire many people were left homeless and had to help build their city again (Murphy, 39)

The Great Chicago Fire was one of the significant devastation that happened in the eighteenth century. Through this tragic event, hundreds of people died and thousands of buildings were completely destroyed in the fire. Before, the city was flourishing as more people traveled and decided to call Chicago their home. After the fire destroyed most of the surrounding area, people began blaming one another for the deaths of all the people. As time passed, Chicago slowly began to rebuild like never before. Although the city of Chicago continued to grow before the fire, after, the city boomed with the abundance of money and people. Moreover, because there was destruction, the people of Chicago, Illinois did not allow a fire to stop them from creating more opportunities for the future. The city has changed from the fire, but because of the help that was received, it was able to get rebuilt, and invite new individuals to explore the wondrous city of Chicago.

1. “The White City had drawn men and protected them; the Black City now welcomed them back, on the eye of winter, with filth, starvation, and violence” (pg 323). During the World’s Fair, Chicago was a truly wonderful place. At first, all the people were distracted by the actual fair, but after everyone had dispersed, the White City returned to the Black City it normally was. All of the success that the head architects and Chicago’s people believed the fair had achieved didn’t leave a lasting imprint on the city. The fair ended, the magic faded, and The Black City swallowed the White City whole.

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 would forever alter the city of Chicago, as well as the community which called the city home. The fire left a path of destruction no Chicagoan had ever experienced. Despite the terrible destruction and loss of life, the fire led to the construction of the Chicago everyone knows and loves today.

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

On Sunday, October 18, 1871 the largest fire Chicago has ever seen broke out. Hundreds died and thousands of homes were annihilated. Devistation towered over the city, ashes floated gracefully through the air as bodies, houses and cherished items burned. People ran in fear, holding their young, crying for the gone, searching for saftey. Searching for life. Searching for hope.

The Chicago Fire of 1871, otherwise know as the Great Chicago Fire, began on October 8th and lasted through the 10th. The fire left the windy city in ruins and left nearly 100,000 people homeless. The fire burned four miles long of the city and nearly a mile wide, which cause almost 300 people to die and 200 million dollars of property damage. The Great Chicago Fire was a historical event that won't soon be forgotten, and caused this sturdy city to grow to greatness.

On October 8, 1871 - October 10, 1871, the Chicago Fire, occurred on the westside 300 people died due to the wildfire. Many people that attended the Chicago Fire lost their house along with friends and family and the population decreased. Due to the Chicago Fire, many people lost, a cultivate items, family, and friends, most importantly they lost their home’s.

The Great Chicago Fire & the Web of Memory consists of two main parts. The first part, titled The Great Chicago Fire, includes five chronologically organized sections that together present a history of the fire. The sections of the second part, The Web of Memory, examine six ways in which the fire has been remembered: eyewitness accounts, contemporary journalism and illustrations, imaginative forms such as literature and art, the legend of Mrs. O'Leary and her cow, fire souvenirs of many different kinds, and formal commemorations and exhibitions. Each of the sections has three integrated components: thematic galleries of images, a library of texts, and an interpretive essay.

(301). History seems to repeat once again as if nature really didn’t like Chicago at all. In this fire twelve firemen and three workers were killed. This caused more than 100,000 people to attend the next day, just like everyone would be they are curious of what happened to the fair. Just as if you were to see a car in fire on the side of the road, you will curious and slow down to see what happened and how bad it looks.