The Economic Impact Of The 1893 Chicago World's Fair

The attachment “Murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed america” to the title hardly does the novel justice. Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City, a nonfiction novel that surrounds the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, also known as The World’s Columbian Exposition. The novel follows the lives of two real men, Daniel Burnham, the architect who builds the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and H.H. Holmes, the serial killer who exploits the fair to find his victims. Many new inventions were introduced at the fair, such as Juicy Fruit gum, the Ferris Wheel, and many other novel ideas that impacted the lives of many people for generations. The beautiful fair Burnham creates provides the perfect distraction and lure for Holmes’ activities. In his novel The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson suggests that good and evil coexist in the world by using charged language, imagery and juxtaposition to show although people view the fair as a perfect dreamland immune to evil, it still lurks outside in the dark, influencing the rest of the world.

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.

In the novel The Devil in the White City, Author Erik Larson uses imagery, irony, and juxtaposition to parallel the good and evil sides of the city of Chicago during the 1893 World’s Fair. Larson takes a more upbeat, joyous tone while following the story of Burnham and the architects designing the World Fair, but the tone turns much darker when perspectives change and we follow the plot of H.H. Holmes, America’s first known serial killer. Using rhetorical devices like imagery, diction, and syntax, Larson is able to paint a picture of Chicago from both the good and evil side, setting a more serious and ominous tone for the novel.

     Although the Chicago World’s fair of 1893 only lasted 6 months, it had an enormous impact on the city of Chicago, its people, and indeed the entire country. Up until that point in its history, the US had done nothing on the scale of the world’s fair, and was regarded as a country of barbarians and cowboys by

The thought of Chicago hosting the world’s fair would be daunting at first, but it could turn around the reputation of Chicago from one of a city of gloom and darkness, to one of a city of light and progress from the Great Chicago fire of 1871, and that city would be fascinating for years to come. Chicago would get an economic shot in the arm from the revenue that it would get from hosting the 1893 World Fair and it would make Chicago into a great city of America. The event and also the transformation that would happen to the city of Chicago would not have happened if it would not be for one great man who had taken up the challenge to make sure to host this 1893 World fair.

It takes years to build things up, but only seconds to tear it down. At the world’s fair, a place for exhibiting America’s innovation in technology and education, called the Pan American Exposition, in Buffalo, New York, on September 6, 1901 this is exactly what happened. Leon Czolgosz decided to take his hatred for politics and love for anarchy into his own hands and shot President William McKinley two times at close range, killing him a week later. America changed in that very instant; the country went from being optimistic of the new 20th century to reliving the horror and pain of the dreadful 19th all because of one man’s radical actions. Leon Czolgosz was a regular middle class worker, and he, like many others, was angered by the widening

Eric Larson, in The Devil in the White City, elucidates all the different aspects of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. From the small decisions made to ensure that the fair is a huge success to the shadows creeping in the background, Larson tells the extraordinary story of two men. One man being the architect behind the magnificence of the fair, and the other a serial killer using the fair to entice his victims into his clutches. The authors purpose is to emphasize the importance, and excitement, of both of these historical events and reveal how they made America what she is today. Larson tells this historic narrative in a frank and excited tone. By carrying on this tone throughout the book, larson allows you to draw your own conclusion on the importance of

Illinois has some intriguing history to it. For example, the name “Illinois” comes from an Algonquin word, Illini, meaning men, or warriors (Student Learning Center). When the French settlers crossed paths with the Algonquin tribe, they decided to use the French version of the word. This eventually became the name of the state, although it was originally the name of one of the rivers. The very first bridge to be built on the Mississippi River was crossed by the very first railroad train in Illinois in the city Rock Island (Burgan 9). Illinois also has a history of entertainment. In 1893, there was a convention called the “World’s Columbian Exposition”. It celebrated the 400-year anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s journey to the

Classical architecture, ferris wheels, 1500 pound chocolate bars. These new, unheard of attractions at the Columbian Exposition attracted millions of unsuspecting, innocent guests to the preying ground of the narcissistic Dr. H. H. Holmes. Chicago, Illinois, the host of the 1983 World’s Fair, was home to this sadistic serial killer who attracted his prey using his education and occupation as a means to gain trust from new, unsuspecting travelers from the 46 nations who participated in the exposition. For three years, Chicago prepared for the exposition, building new architecture and creating new inventions to celebrate the 400 year anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of America; the doctor had the same idea, and so he built his own “Castle” with strange, personal gadgets attached. The presence of the Columbian Exposition in Chicago gave Dr. Holmes a means to cunningly lure victims into his death chamber of a home.

The 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois marked a pivotal moment in America’s history; the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival and discovery of the New World in 1492. Designed by Daniel Burnham and a principal team of architects, the 1893 exposition was intended to be an ideological display and a model of what a world’s fair could accomplish through urbanized city planning and the establishment of a nationalist identity. The fair was also known as the “White City”, for its white neoclassical facades that when illuminated by the electric streetlights emitted a white glow. The use of a white color palette was symbolic as it subliminally produced and sustained prejudices against non-western races and cultures under the pretense of moral, social, and evolutionary progress. Freak shows acted out the relationship in which exoticized and disabled peoples functioned as physicals opposites of the ideal “white” American (7). Forty-six countries participated in the fair, contributing a wide variety of arts, technologies, sciences and pavilions that influenced the rising culture of urban consumption and industrial optimism. While these attractions wooed and set the tone of Chicago being the “Metropolis of the West” one stood out above them all; the amusement zone. The creation of an “amusement zone”, introduced by politician and entertainment director Sol Bloom (1870-1949) acted as an area separate from the main fairgrounds as a space dedicated solely to

Many immigrants and rural inhabitants fled to urban areas in search of any job that would provide them with a salary. Finding a job was onerous, as there were too few jobs available to fulfil the demands of the growing population. Cities became flooded with the unemployed. Likewise, as more and more companies failed, thousands of families lost their only source of income. Due to economic constraints, layoffs and wage cuts became routine. It seemed as if employment was always temporary; it provided a brief glimpse of relief before it was snatched away by the claws of society. Eventually, even Burnham, a man with a reputation for being an honorable employer, had to join the trend and let many of his employees go. When the Chicago World’s Fair officially closed, over ten-thousand jobs disappeared. Burnham knew that, “The dismissed men... faced homelessness and poverty; their families confronted the real prospect of starvation” (Larson 155). Within the last several centuries, American society had evolved in such a way that a job was necessary for survival. Money provided all the basic needs. Because farming was difficult in crowded and polluted cities, nearly all people relied on their wages to provide food for their families. In addition to food, money provided housing, clothing, and education. Without salary, families were faced with a survival burden. They struggled to pay the bills they owed, and place food upon the table. The prospect of starvation was extremely present, yet there was little meaningful effort to improve these conditions. Workers continued to be paid minimal wages, and get laid off. The employers knew what lay ahead for their newly unemployed workers, but they made little effort to change their fates. The government did not provide much support to its poverty-struck citizens. Consequently, all of society suffered. In the midst of

The Middleton’s were a middle-class family who lived in America during the early to mid 1900’s. The father, was a business owner of a hardware store and was determined to prove to his son not all ideas have been thought of and there could be more jobs created. At the 1939 New York World Fair, the family explores the exhibits and all the new inventions of the year, such as the dishwasher, a television display, a robot, the Playground of Science, the Junior Science hall and many more. The overall concept of the film is to show capitalism versus socialism and how continuing to make inventions and start competitive businesses is the best way to have the economy thrive.

In the 1930s, there was a location in the borough of Queens that was about to undergo a huge transformation. This area was known at the time as the Corona Ash Dumps. The site was used to gather the ashes from coal-burning furnaces, as well as waste, into a single location. During 1935, which was when the Great Depression was at its peak, a group of New York City businesspersons concluded to host an international exposition to help rid the city and possibly the country of the effects of the depression. Over the course of four years, the group planned, built, and organized the fair and its exhibits with other countries around the world. Robert Moses, New York City Parks Commissioner at the time, saw it would be a great value to the city if the removal of the Corona Ash Dumps could provide the land needed to host the World’s Fair. In preparation for the 1939-1940

Classical architecture, ferris wheels, 1500 pound chocolate bars. These new, unheard of attractions at the Columbian Exposition attracted millions of unsuspecting, innocent guests to the preying ground of the narcissistic Dr. H. H. Holmes. Chicago, Illinois, the host of the 1983 World’s Fair, was home to this sadistic serial killer who attracted his prey using his education and occupation as a means to gain trust from new, unsuspecting travelers from the 46 nations who participated in the exposition. For three years, Chicago prepared for the exposition, building new architecture and creating new inventions to celebrate the 400 year anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of America; the doctor had the same idea, and so he built his own

By the closing years of the 19th century The United States of America Stood before the world as a divided nation in the ruins of a deadly civil war. After years of tragedy and hardship it was time for the US to turn a new leaf and start a new chapter of prosperity. To accomplish such, America’s greatest minds were tasked to construct a fair so magnificent, it would not only usher in a new age of American civilization but establish the foundation of the urban world. Although the 1893 Columbian Exposition barely turned for a profit, finance is one of the myriad of factors in determining whether the Fair truly was the transitional event sparking the rise of a global superpower. Aspects such as economic, political and social impacts are key factors in determining overall influence. In summary, the 1893 Columbian Exposition was a watershed event in US history to a great extent due to its impacts on the social and political scale despite its economic shortcomings.