Aim: How can we learn about The Chicago fire of
1871?
DO NOW-Jan. 2013 Reg.
46 Which statement most
accurately expresses the main idea
of the cartoon?
(1) Successive presidents have failed to
deal effectively with illegal drug use.
(2) These presidents were successful in
fighting the war on drugs.
(3) The war on drugs was the major
domestic concern of these presidents.
(4) Many presidents have proposed
legislation to decriminalize illegal drugs.
In stating the principle of a
"clear and present danger"
in Schenck v. United States, the
Supreme Court established
that
1. constitutional rights are not
absolute
2. the Constitution guarantees
the right to privacy
3. Congress can pass a law to
eliminate any part of the Bill of
Rights
4. all individual rights are
eliminated during wartime
The authors of the Articles of
Confederation established a
decentralized political system
mainly to
1. cancel state debts incurred
during the Revolutionary War
2. assist the southern states in
their efforts to gain a
manufacturing base
3. promote the common goal of
national sovereignty
4. prevent the abuses of power
that had existed under British rule
THE GREAT
CHICAGO FIRE
Rachell Rosario
In October 1871, dry
weather and an abundance
of wooden buildings, streets
and sidewalks
made Chicago vulnerable to
fire.
The night of October 8, in or
around a barn located on the
property of Patrick and
Catherine O'Leary at 137
DeKoven Street on the
city’s southwest side, the
fire started.
Legend holds that the blaze started when the family's cow knocked over a
lighted lantern; however, Catherine O’Leary denied this charge, and the true
cause of the fire has never been determined. What is known is that the fire
quickly grew out of control and moved rapidly north and east toward the city
center.
Here are some facts:
• Many of the houses in Chicago at that time were made
of wood and poorly constructed.
• The surrounding sidewalks and roads were made of
wood as well.
• The rainfall that summer in the city was scant. For
three weeks leading up to October 8, absolutely no rain
fell in Chicago.
• Winds on the night of October 8 were gusting up to 30
mph.
So, by the time the exhausted fire department arrived on
the scene, the fire was well and truly out of control.
Among the Ruins
of Chicago, 1871.
(photo by G.N.
Barnard)-Image
of actual picture.
The Rush of Refugees through the Potter's Field
toward Lincoln Park, 1871 (Harper's Weekly, from a
sketch by Theodore R. Davis)
Video.
http://vimeo.com/2289117
Quick fact
The month after the fire, Joseph
Medill(1823-99) was elected mayor
after promising to institute stricter
building and fire codes, a pledge that
may have helped him win the office.
His victory might also be attributable to
the fact that most of the city's voting
records were destroyed in the fire, so it
was next to impossible to keep people
from voting more than once.
Creative Destruction
What the advancing inferno did not destroy, it still irreversibly changed.
These artifacts demonstrate the fire's ability to take the simplest things and fuse them
into strikingly appealing aesthetic objects.
Clockwise, from the left, glass marbles (1919.9), screws, washers, and files.
Artifacts pictures to
show*
Aftermath
• Residents fled their homes, carrying cherished or sometimes strange
possessions, huddling on the shores of Lake Michigan and watching some
of the city's most famous buildings go up in smoke. Overnight, 17,000
buildings were destroyed. A total of 300 people died, and a full one-third
of the city's nearly 300,000 residents lost their homes. Damage estimates
topped $200 million.
• Ironically, the one thing that helped stopped the fire more than anything
else was a rainstorm the following day.
• The resulting chaos convinced city leaders to ask for federal help, and
President Ulysses S. Grant responded by sending in six companies of
federal troops, under the command of Civil War General Phillip Sheridan.
• Federal aid and other help poured in, and the city began to rebuild itself,
in the process building some of the country's most iconic buildings.
Today
Fire Prevention Week (This year it is
between October 8th and October 14th.
Third Star?
The fire inspired the name of a Major
League Soccer (MLS) team based in
Chicago:
--The Chicago Fire.
In 1956, the Chicago Fire Academy was built
on the site where Mr. and Mrs. O'Leary's
barn once stood. The school trains new
firefighters to this day.
“In the midst of a calamity without
parallel in the world’s history, looking
upon the ashes of thirty years’
accomplishments, the people of this
once beautiful city have resolved that
CHICAGO SHALL RISE AGAIN!”
-Tribune
Bibliography
1. "Introduction to The Great Chicago Fire." Wall of
Flame RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2013.
2. "History Files - Chicago Fire." History Files - Chicago
Fire. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2013
3. "Chicago Fire of 1871." History.com. A&E Television
Networks, n.d. Web. 29 May 2013.
4. "The Great Chicago Fire of 1871." The Great Chicago
Fire of 1871. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2013.