The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and Its Aftermath

The Great Chicago Fire destroyed a major American city, making it one of the most destructive disasters of the 19th century. A Sunday night blaze in a barn quickly spread, and for approximately 30 hours the flames roared through Chicago, consuming hastily constructed neighborhoods of immigrant housing as well as the citys business district. From the evening of October 8, 1871, until the early hours of Tuesday, October 10, 1871, Chicago was essentially defenseless against the enormous fire.  Thousands of homes were reduced to cinders, along with hotels, department stores, newspapers, and government offices. At least 300 people were killed. The cause of the fire has always been disputed. A local rumor, that Mrs. OLeary’s cow started the blaze by kicking over a lantern is probably not true. But that legend stuck in the public mind and holds fast to this day. What is true is that the fire did start in a barn owned by the OLeary family, and the flames, whipped by strong winds, quickly moved onward from that point. A Long Summer Drought The summer of 1871 was very hot, and the city of Chicago suffered under a brutal drought. From early July to the outbreak of the fire in October less than three inches of rain fell on the city, and most of that was in brief showers. The heat and lack of sustained rainfall put the city in a precarious position as Chicago consisted almost entirely of wooden structures. Lumber was plentiful and cheap in the American Midwest in the mid-1800s, and Chicago was essentially built of timber. Construction regulations and fire codes were widely ignored. Large sections of the city housed poor immigrants in shabbily constructed shanties, and even the houses of more prosperous citizens tended to be made of wood. A sprawling city virtually made of wood drying out in a prolonged drought inspired fears at the time. In early September, a month before the fire, the city’s most prominent newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, criticized the city for being made of â€Å"firetraps,† adding that many structures were â€Å"all sham and shingles.† Part of the problem was that Chicago had grown quickly and had not endured a history of fires. New York City, for instance, which had undergone its own great fire in 1835, had learned to enforce building and fire codes. The Fire Began in OLearys Barn On the night before the great fire, another major fire broke out that was battled by all the city’s fire companies. When that blaze was brought under control it seemed that Chicago had been saved from a major disaster. And then on Sunday night, October 8, 1871, a fire was spotted in a barn owned by an Irish immigrant family named OLeary. Alarms were sounded, and a fire company which had just returned from battling the previous nights fire responded. There was considerable confusion in dispatching other fire companies, and valuable time was lost. Perhaps the fire at the OLeary barn could have been contained if the first company responding had not been exhausted, or if other companies had been dispatched to the correct location. Within a half-hour of the first reports of the fire at OLearys barn, the fire had spread to nearby barns and sheds, and then to a church, which was quickly consumed in flame. At that point, there was no hope of controlling the inferno, and the fire began its destructive march northward toward the heart of Chicago. The legend took hold that the fire had started when a cow being milked by Mrs. OLeary had kicked over a kerosene lantern, igniting hay in the OLeary barn. Years later a newspaper reporter admitted to having made up that story, but to this day the legend of Mrs. OLearys cow endures. The Fire Spread The conditions were perfect for the fire to spread, and once it went beyond the immediate neighborhood of OLearys barn it accelerated quickly. Burning embers landed on furniture factories and grain storage elevators, and soon the blaze began to consume everything in its path. Fire companies tried their best to contain the fire, but when the city’s waterworks were destroyed the battle was over. The only response to the fire was to try to flee, and tens of thousands of Chicagos citizens did. It has been estimated that a quarter of the city’s approximately 330,000 residents took to the streets, carrying what they could in a mad panic. A massive wall of flame 100 feet high advanced through city blocks. Survivors told harrowing stories of strong winds pushed by the fire-spewing burning embers so that it looked as if it was raining fire. By the time the sun rose on Monday morning, large parts of Chicago were already burned to the ground. Wooden buildings had simply disappeared into piles of ash. Sturdier buildings of brick or stone were charred ruins. The fire burned throughout Monday. The inferno was finally dying out when the rain began on Monday evening, finally extinguishing the last of the flames in the early hours of Tuesday. The Aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire The wall of flame that destroyed the center of Chicago leveled a corridor about four miles long and more than a mile wide. The damage to the city was nearly impossible to comprehend. Virtually all government buildings were burned to the ground, as were the newspapers, hotels, and any just about any major business. There were stories that many priceless documents, including letters of  Abraham Lincoln, were lost in the fire. And its believed that original negatives of classic portraits of Lincoln taken by Chicago photographer Alexander Hesler were lost. Approximately 120 bodies were recovered, but it was estimated that more than 300 people died. Its believed that many bodies were entirely consumed by the intense heat. The cost of destroyed property was estimated at $190 million. More than 17,000 buildings were destroyed, and more than 100,000 people were left homeless. News of the fire traveled quickly by telegraph, and within days newspaper artists and photographers descended upon the city, recording the massive scenes of destruction. Chicago Was Rebuilt After the Great Fire Relief efforts were mounted, and the US Army took control of the city, placing it under martial law. Cities in the east sent contributions, and even President Ulysses S. Grant sent $1,000 from his personal funds to the relief effort. While the Great Chicago Fire was one of the major disasters of the 19th century and a profound blow to the city, the city was rebuilt fairly quickly. And with the rebuilding came better construction and much stricter fire codes. Indeed, the bitter lessons of Chicagos destruction affected how other cities were managed. And while the story of Mrs. OLeary and her cow persists, the real culprits were simply a long summer drought and a sprawling city built of wood. Sources Carson, Thomas and Mary R. Bonk.  Chicago Fire of 1871. Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History: Vol.1. Detroit: Gale, 1999. 158-160.  Gale Virtual Reference Library.

The United Church Of Christ, By Howard W. Stone James O...

Introduction A-30 of The Leaders Box, a resource for church leaders in the United Church of Christ, contains information for one who is seeking to become an ordained minister. One of the requirements of a candidate for ordination is to provide their association committee on ministry with a paper â€Å"dealing with the person s theological perspective and grasp of the historic Christian faith; understanding of the history, theological roots, polity and practice of the United Church of Christ; and the person s faith pilgrimage and understanding of ministry.† The Leaders Box: www.ucc.org/ministers_leaders-box Howard W. Stone James O Duke, in their book How to Think Theologically state, â€Å"To be a Christian at all is to be a theologian. There are no exceptions.† Google’s definition of a theologian is â€Å"a person who engages or is an expert in theology. Theology, according to Google is 1) the study of the nature of God and religious belief and 2) religious beliefs and theory when systematically developed. It is with these definitions in mind that I prepare my paper for ordination. My journey to ordination has taken sixty years. The journey has been easy, yet difficult. Joy filled, and yet often full of sadness and frustration. My journey has been sixty years of walking with God, running to, and sometimes from God, exploring, stumbling, falling, and climbing. It has been a journey of discovering the theology of me and how that theology is to be used to glorify our creator not onlyShow MoreRelatedContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 PagesRepublic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York ß Oxford University Press 2006 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford Universi ty Press (maker) First published 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publicationRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 PagesMonticello; Phyllis Berger, Diablo Valley College; Kevin Galvin, East Los Angeles College; Jacquelyn Ann Kegley, California State University-Bakersfield; Darryl Mehring, University of Colorado at Denver; Dean J. Nelson, Dutchess Community College; James E. Parejko, Chicago State University; Robert Sessions, Kirkwood Community College; and Stephanie Tucker, California State University Sacramento. Thinking and writing about logical reasoning has been enjoyable for me, but special thanks go to my children

Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five Free Essays

Kurt Vonnegut has written something that has captured the imagination of generations. His novel is entitled â€Å"Slaughterhouse Five.† This novel has put into use what the literary world call as dark comedy, also known as black comedy. We will write a custom essay sample on Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five or any similar topic only for you Order Now Dark comedy is basically a sub-genre of comedy that has satirical elements. This sub-genre typically tackles serious topics like death, war, rape, and the likes with wit and humor. I have selected three scenes of which Kurt Vonnegut displayed his talent in using dark comedy to hook his readers. The first scene that I’ve picked is that where the arguable protagonists Billy Pilgrim and the unlovable fat soldier Roland Weary were captured by enemy troops. Those enemy troops who had captured them were not regulars. They were merely using equipment collected from dead soldiers. When the novel was first read by the public, they could have just thought that this was fiction. Maybe they weren’t aware that this is a reality in war. Equipment from the dead is considered free rations since there will always be shortages in wars. What the author had done here is that with all the dark comedy packed into this novel, he had squeezed in bits of reality. The dark comedy there is that as readers we were caught off guard that we were already laughing at something that is brutally happening in reality. It could also be that the author is in favor of stripping the dead off their possessions since those things would only be beneficial to those who are still alive. The next dark scene that I’ve picked is where the Valencia, the overweight wife of the arguable protagonist Billy Pilgrim, died because of carbon monoxide poisoning. She was already on her way to see his husband. Then the unfortunate happened, or Kurt Vonnegut’s dark comedy made it happen, she died of carbon monoxide poisoning inside her car. The author had constructed the scene as if the death of Valencia didn’t invoke sad emotion at all. Again, I believe that the function of this is to show what is happening in reality. We don’t need statistics to prove that there are countless wives out there who are left by their unfaithful husbands. But then, this dark humor could also be targeted to those who have eating and weight issues. The author may have wanted to show that most overweight bring the problem upon themselves because just like Valencia, they can’t stop eating. This could be the author’s answer to why are there such a number of miserable people in this planet. It is because we cause our own problems. The last dark scene that I have chosen is when the prisoners of war were assigned to the dreadful task of digging up the graves for a lot of dead bodies after the town of Dresden was bombed. It was such an awful sight that one of those who were digging the graves threw up from the bad smell. He threw up so bad that he died. Again, there is no word that can perfectly describe the scene than dark comedy. The author had beautifully used the elements of dark humor, wit and irony. It is such an irony that the ‘dead’ is in a sense free from the toils of being alive and stuck in a war. That scene also shows that people can be pushed to do even the things that they won’t imagine themselves doing. Anyone will succumb when there is a gun pointed to you and your loved one’s. All in all, the author had used dark comedy as a hook that has kept his readers turning the pages. Dark comedy also evokes a certain weird combination of the effects of entertainment and disgust. Work Cited Vonnegut, K. Jr. Vonnegut, J. Slaughterhouse Five. NY: Tandem Classic Books. 1999. How to cite Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, Essay examples

De Tocquevilles Democracy In America Essay Example For Students

De Tocquevilles Democracy In America Essay De Tocquevilles Democracy In AmericaAlexis De Tocquevilles Democracy in Americadelves deep into how the American States and the federal government would growpolitically and socially under the umbrella of democracy. He sees the UnitedStates as a unique entity because of how and why it started as well as itsgeographical location. De Tocqueville explains that the foundations of thedemocratic process in America are completely different from anywhere else onthe globe. The land was virginal and the colonies had almost complete sovereigntyfrom England from the very beginning because they were separated by an oceanand financial troubles. The people who came to America were the oppressedand unhappy in England and all were trying to find a place where they couldstart anew and create a political structure that would facilitate an individualfreedom unlike anything that they had previously experienced in Europe. DeTocqueville believed that the nature of democracy in the New World rested withinthe fact that all of the emigrants were basically from the same social strata,resulting in the first new country where there was no preliminary basis foran aristocracy. Land is the basis of an aristocracyand in America whenthe ground was prepared, its produce was found to be insufficient to enricha proprietor and a farmer at the same time(41). He saw that even the soilof America was opposed to the structure of an aristocracy. Therewere also outside influences lending unvoiced support for the creation of thisnew democracy. Being an ocean apart from its mother country, who at this timedid not have the financial reserves to oversee its colonies, let the Americansgovern themselves. If they had not had this sovereignty at the beginning Americamight have become something completely different than it is today, but thatwas not the case, so these emigrants now had a fertile place to plant theirideas of a country founded upon the many ideas of the Enlightenment. Anotherlarge influence was the la ck of neighbors. America had no worries of guardingand protecting its borders because there was not anyone there who could posea threat. They could put all of their energies toward the creation of theirdemocracy. This democratic nation was to have no aristocracy and only onemajor division between its people: the North and the South. De Tocquevillesaw two very different attitudes in these regions. The North and the Southhad conflicting views as to how they were going to advance themselves in theeconomic and political arenas. But the introduction of slavery into laborwas the major conflict between the two. Slaverydishonors labor; it introducesidleness into a society, and with idleness, ignorance and pride, luxury anddistressThe influence of slavery, united to the English character, explainsthe manners and the social condition of the Southern States(42). With theadvent of slavery, the South was creating a class system amongst themselvesthat would not exist in the other regions of the S tates. The few Southernfounders were granted huge amounts of land with which to work, and insteadof diving into the land themselves like the northerners did with their smallerpieces of land. They instead bought slaves and would eventually divide thecountry in a nasty dispute over their handling of affairs. He realized thatthe majority of the influences over public policy were the men in the North. They created the first public school system that was to be readily accessibleto the majority of the people. The enlightened idea that every man shouldhave access to knowledge was given exercise in this new nation, creating ahighly learned society, but one that is not very intellectual. Schools teachspecialized skills so that American can enter the work force as soon as possible,but gloss over any areas that have no value in work. Whereas in England, thefew who do go on towards a higher education are actually being challenged andforced to expand their minds, higher education in America is available to many,but it is more specialized and very basic. This unlimited quantity, limitedquality relationship is seem by de Tocqueville as an inherent part of a democraticsociety. This is because, there is no classin which the taste for intellectualpleasures is transmitted with hereditary fortune and leisure and whereinintellect is held in honor(53). Democracy is a facilitator of a blendedsociety . The masses will be very similar in their thinking as well as theiractions. America is a social democracy because the citizens are united bytheir beliefs and movements aswell as their political organizationand its laws. In no country, in world does the law hold so absolute a languageas it does in America; and in no country is the right of applying it vestedin so many hands(63). Americans give up the idea of complete personal freedomso that they can obtain and preserve a civil society in which they can live. The Non-executive Directors and Corporate Governance EssayIn response to Hofstadters theory on anti-intellectualism, De Tocquevillesvision of American education, or lack there of, again comes into play. Itis not in the nature of America to strive for excellence. For to do so wouldbe to draw oneself out of the masses, creating a feeling of distrust and suspicionthat would envelop them wherever they went. In order to feel a common bondwith ones peers, intellectualism is not the route to take. So as to notalienate oneself, one must be content to merely be average. Mass media knowsthis; television was not created to promote education, it was and is used asan opiate for the masses, as Karl Marx once said about anything that wouldkeep peoples minds off what could potentially be revolutionary ideas. Liveskept mundane and boring are not a threat to the development and movement ofa nation. The contradictions in American values are amazing. Liberty is canonized, yet Americans will give it up so easily if enticed,which is not difficult. Yet, there is still some element that has kept thecountry together and away from the tendency to convert from democratic meansto other, more easily managed ways of govern. This element is adaptable fromperson to person. Many are content with the government as it is, as longas they can go about their lives without interference. Others will whole-heartedlytake it as a personal mission to enter into politics and change the world forthe better. Whatever the case may be, people are easily led away from whatis really important to the lasting of a society, and take their lives on atangent route that may leave them satisfied with their mediocre accomplishments,but might eventually kill off any real progress towards excellence in anygenre of society, even if for the time being, it feels that as a nation, Americais content with itself. De Tocquevilles ideas of the effects of democracyon feelings and gender roles are very enlightening. He sees the lack of classdistinctions as to why Americans are immediately friendly with one another. Since no one person is better than the next, there is no premise for suspicionof one another. Americans are unaccustomed to a rigid etiquette, so they areless easily upset by a slight from another person. Amiable to the end, theywill most likely let minor things blow over, and they will be hard to provokewith breaches in decorum. Americans are very good-natured for the most part,and this trait will always make them a little apart from therest of the Western societies. De Tocqueville sees women in America as extremelydifferent from the women in Europe. and she is remarkable rather for purityof manners than for chastity of mind(234). He sees American women as worldlyand unaffected by the European naivete and ignorance. He sees the influenceof democracy in every action of a female. She has none of the rigid socialrestraints of the Europeans, and in so, needs to know how to combat her passionsherself and not rely on society to do it for her. American women are self-assuredand strong of o pinion. They have an innate ability to be strong and independentwhile still respectful of their husbands and fathers. Religion helps in maintainingconstraints on the female population, but democratic societies hold the womanresponsible for herself. De Tocqueville has left no aspect of American societyout of his publication. He rips the American body open and examines all thethings that are inside right down to the bare bones. It is a little scaryto read of ones own nation and its culture. To realize that ones own lifeis not how he made it, but of how his ancestors have created society. Whetherit be as to how Americans view their politics, or their social afflictions,de Tocqueville voices his opinions as to what is commendable, are conversely,what is wrong with every aspect of America. He sees America through the eyesof intelligent outsider who has no reason to make America sound anything otherthan it is. He has done a very thorough job, and his vision of nineteenthcentury America will surely help lead America into the twenty-first centurywith a better definition of itself. Category: History