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Post-Civil War Illinois - Modernizing Continued,
at the expense of the worker
At the conclusion
of the Civil War, modernization continued in Illinois,
economically and socially. Mass production, electricity,
and transportation advances all made life easier
for Illinoisans. The Home Insurance Building, designed
by William L. Jenney, was completed in 1886, marking
Chicago home to the first modern skyscraper. This
architectural feat stood as a physical symbol of
the forward progress made by the people of Illinois.
In 1893, Chicago hosted the World Columbian Exposition
(the World's Fair). During the exposition, Chicago
further flaunted its advances to the state and the
nation, attracting over 27,500,000 visitors from
home and abroad.
Social progress was
well underway in Chicago during this period as welll.
In 1889, Jane Adams founded Hull House, one of the
first social settlement houses in the United States.
There, she provided services and education to immigrants
helping them to adjust in America and lead better
lives. Social services were much in demand at this
time due to the hard times faced by the working
class. The progress being made technologically and
economically hampered the working class. Factories
were dangerous and unsanitary, and the pay was so
low that workers put in sixteen hour days just to
rent sub-standard housing with inflated rents. Despite
companies making record revenues, women and children
often times had to work to make ends meet in the
family.
Poor treatment of
the working class did not go unopposed, and Illinois
became the center of some of the most famous labor
strikes in America. The Haymarket Riot and the Pullman
Strike are two events crucial to understanding the
country's labor history. The Haymarket Riot took
place on May 4, 1886 at Haymarket Square in Chicago.
A bomb exploded at a labor demonstration that was
being held in the square, killing seven policemen
and injuring over 100 police and demonstrators.
The demonstration was being held in response to
the strike at the McCormick Harvester Plant the
day before. At the strike, a clash between the strikers
and strike-breakers left six strikers killed. After
the explosion, seven anarchists were arrested for
causing the riot and exploding the bomb, and six
were sentenced to death (the seventh was sentenced
to 15 years in jail). Evidence to back the charges
was shifty, with the men being arrested mainly because
they had circulated anarchist literature prior to
the strike, and attended the demonstration at Haymarket
Square. Despite the faulty evidence, the men were
given the death penalty. Two of the men saved their
lives through appeals, and one man committed suicide.
The other four were hanged, drawing much attention
and debate as to whether the men received a fair
trial, or were charged merely because they were
foreign anarchists.
The Pullman Strike
(May-June, 1894) was yet another major event in
labor history. The head of the Pullman Palace Car
Company, George M. Pullman, built a company town
for his workers to live. When a general depression
brought wage cuts to the company, Pullman did not
lower rent prices to offset the wage cuts. When
the company failed to reconcile the situation, the
workers walked out. The American Railway Union,
led by Eugene V. Debs, supported the strike and
refused to handle Pullman cars unless the company
agreed to negotiate. The company continued to refuse
negotiation, and as a result a nationwide railroad
strike was called. President Cleveland ordered federal
troops to Chicago, and strikers as well as labor
leaders were arrested. The strike was put down without
negotiations.
Chicago on Fire
On October 8, 1871,
a fire ravaged through Chicago, causing death, homelessness,
and immense destruction. The fire started when a
dry landscape caught on fire and spread to the city.
A strong, steady wind kept the fire ablaze, and
spread it so fast that the firemen could not extinguish
it. The fire began on the West Side, breached the
Chicago River, and fed on the Southwest Side. The
blaze proceeded north to the Irish shantytown, Conley's
Patch, and continued until finally reaching the
downtown area. By the time it got to the Central
Business District, the firewall was a mile wide.
The inferno had become a firestorm, creating its
own forward movement from the generation of its
own thermal updraft. The fire burned from 10:00
pm until 12:00 midnight the next night. The "Great
Chicago Fire" burned 2,100 acres, destroyed
17,420 buildings, left 100,000 residents homeless,
and killed 300 people. |
