Question

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Answer 1

Answer: here is da essay xoxo hope u get a good grade

Explanation: The Great Chicago Fire was definitely a devastating fire in the history of the United States. There was lots of death, destruction, devastation, and sadness followed in the inferno's wake in 1871. Those who bore witness gawked in horror as something so commonplace in Chicago, a fire, multiplied in size to a hungry beast set on devouring everything in sight.  All of the water that the fire department spurted at the blaze vaporized, and even the Chicago River burst into flames. This catastrophe was something that could have been prevented, but wrecked much of Chicago.

It was such a destructive menace when the Great Fire had to have a cause, and reasons for the disaster date back to months before the fire even started on October 8.  The entire summer in the Chicago area was hot and dry.  When summers are hot and dry, they signify droughts and high temperatures for the autumn.  These are perfect conditions that amplify the combustibility of materials, like wood.  Actually, because Chicago was built on a swamp, and other substances were much too expensive, the entire city was made of chopped trees, including the buildings, sidewalks, and roads.  Miles and miles of dry wood make quite a pile of kindling.  On October 8, a small patch of flames lit up in the barn of the O'Leary's. Urban legend states that a cow knocked over a lit lantern, and some think it was a meteor, but the source of the fire is still unknown to us today.  Citizens from a far distance noticed some signs of flames, one being a man named Mathias Schaffer.  "Schaffer was showing some visitors around the tower when one of them pointed to smoke in the distance. Schaffer glanced at the smoke, but dismissed the sighting. It was just the smoldering embers from the previous night’s fire, he assured them. Nothing to worry about" (Murphy 32).  Not only were commoners confused, but the fire department was exhausted from fighting the previous fire for 16 hours straight. Alarm boxes around the city instructed the firefighters where the blaze was, but many people were too far away to strike the right key, and the firefighters, drowsy, followed orders.  Not only was this a problem, but some Chicagoans refused to strike their alarm boxes, and some boxes just malfunctioned.  The waterworks, made of wood, burned easily, and that cut the supply of water to the fire engines, making them much more ineffective.  Gusty winds spread the fire at too rapid a pace to keep up with.  The inferno could have been stopped by the Chicago River, had it not been polluted and filled with greasy oil, turning it flammable, and allowing the fire to cross.  While the Chicago fire department had a quality system for fighting fires, it only failed because many did not do their part, and the consequences were terrible.

Being the worst fire in the history of fires, the Great Chicago Fire had quite a death toll.  300 people died in pain.  While 300 does not seem like much today, one should remember that this was in 1871, and cities were far less populated.  Only 300,000 people lived in the city of Chicago, so, statistically speaking, 1 in every 1,000 people died in the fiasco.  Because of all of the homes that were turned to ash, 100,000 Chicagoans found themselves homeless.  100,000 out of 300,000 is an entire third of the population stranded without a roof or any of their hard-earned belongings.  Houses were among the 70,000 structures destroyed in the blaze, and it cost the government 200 million dollars to repair.  200 million dollars in 1871 is more than a billion dollars presently.  During the chaos that spread panic across the city, criminal activity, especially theft, thrived.  With the police helping the fire department, and nobody looking after their belongings, robbers could take what they wish without being caught.  After such a devastation, the Chicago City Council realized that it was time for an upgrade.

   

The most obvious thing to fix after the Great Chicago Fire was the management of the fire fighting system.  Politician Joseph Medill promised to make these changes once he was elected as Mayor, and dutifully carried out his promise to the Chicagoans, who had grown significantly in numbers.  After 9 years, urbanization caused 300,000 to grow to half a million citizens.  There was more room, because construction had begun, and metal skyscrapers were beginning to appear in downtown.  While the transportation and infrastructure had not been harmed, they were improved as well, and Chicago became known as a booming city of economics and transportation.  With all of the repairs, Chicago was able to host the World's Colombian Exposition, and attracted more than 27 million people to the brand new, gleaming Chicago.  Maybe the fire had damaged too much, but it triggered a revolution for the better, and Chicago was a changed city.

Answer 2

Explanation: The Chicago Fire of 1871, also called the Great Chicago Fire, burned from October 8 to October 10, 1871, and destroyed thousands of buildings, killed an estimated 300 people, and caused an estimated $200 million in damages. Legend has it that a cow kicked over a lantern in a barn and started the fire, but other theories hold that humans or even a meteor might have been responsible for the event that left an area of about four miles long and almost a mile wide of the Windy City, including its business district, in ruins. Following the blaze, reconstruction efforts began quickly and spurred great economic development and population growth.

Chicago Fire: October 1871

In October 1871, dry weather and an abundance of wooden buildings, streets, and sidewalks made Chicago vulnerable to fire. The Great Chicago Fire began on 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. 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.

The fire burned wildly throughout the following day, finally coming under control on October 10, when rain gave a needed boost to firefighting efforts. The Great Chicago Fire left an estimated 300 people dead and 100,000 others homeless. More than 17,000 structures were destroyed and damages were estimated at $200 million.

The disaster prompted an outbreak of looting and lawlessness. Companies of soldiers were summoned to Chicago and martial law was declared on October 11, ending three days of chaos. Martial law was lifted several weeks later.

Chicago fire aftermath:

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.

Despite the fire’s devastation, much of Chicago’s physical infrastructure, including its transportation systems, remained intact. Reconstruction efforts began quickly and spurred great economic development and population growth, as architects laid the foundation for a modern city featuring the world’s first skyscrapers. At the time of the fire, Chicago’s population was approximately 324,000; within nine years, there were some 500,000 Chicagoans. By 1890, the city was a major economic and transportation hub with an estimated population of more than 1 million people. (In America, only New York City had a larger population at the time.) In 1893, Chicago hosted the World’s Columbian Exposition, a tourist attraction visited by some 27.5 million people.

Today, the Chicago Fire Department training academy is located on the site of the O’Leary property where the Great Chicago Fire started. In 1997, the Chicago City Council passed a resolution exonerating Catherine O’Leary, an Irish immigrant who died in 1895, and her cow.

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