The Great Chicago Fire in 1871 - Research Paper Example

The great Chicago fire History The Great Chicago fire is believed to have started on the 8th day of October of 1871 on a Sunday evening. There is agreement among many historians that the fire started after 9 o’clock in a barn owned by Mr. and Mrs. Patrick and Catherine O'Leary at the 13 DeKoven Street (Abott, 2012). The fire is mainly attributed to a cow that kicked the lamb when Mrs. O’ Leary was milking but there are other different accounts for the cause of the fire, as will be discussed in a later section of the paper. The fire lasted for two days between eighth and 10 October 1871 leaving a lot of destruction in its wake with the last embers being extinguished by rain after fire fighters spent two days fighting the blazes to no avail. The Chicago City council in 1997, through a resolution exonerated Catherine O’Leary and her cow. The aim of this paper is to analyze the different facets that have been made over time relating to the Great Chicago fire including the causes, impacts, and rebuilding. Causes In October of 1871, the Great Chicago fire began at 9 o’clock and there are various accounts for the cause of the fire including: Mrs. O’Leary and her cow: this account is the most famous for the cause of the Chicago fire. It believes that the fire started due to a cow that Mrs. O’Leary was milking kicking an oil lamp leading to huge amounts of straw burning. Mrs. O’Leary’s recollection of the night is however different as she reported under oath to have slept between 8:00 and 8: 30 and was woken up by her husband. The irony of the Chicago fire is that the house owned by The O’Leary’s was not burned. She died in 1895 after moving several times and it is believed she died from the anguish of being labeled the cause of a fire of such magnitude and labeled an irresponsible illegal Irish immigrant by both the press and the locals (Abott, 2012). A reveler: this account was given by Arhen Michael who worked for the Republican mentioned on the fact the O’Leary family rented the front part of the house to McLaughlin who had a party that night. In his opinion, one of the revelers set Chicago on fire accidentally, when he went for milk in the barn. He also made the revelation that he and two others made the O’Leary story up in The Tribune during the fire. The other probable cause given is of a meteor splitting into pieces and causing fires in Chicago, Peshtigo where 1000 people died, Wisconsin, and Michigan. The other cause given is of Daniel Sullivan, a neighbor to the O’Leary’s’, sparking the fire by accident. Boys’ smoking in the barn is also another cause brought up during and after the fire The other cause given for the fire is of the fire being set up by an unnamed terrorist member of a terrorist organization directly related to the 1871 Paris commune and this is corroborated by a poem in the New York evening Post relating the two events. Due to the numerous accounts given by the media and the people of Chicago on the cause of the fire, we may never get to know the real cause of the fire. However, the O’Leary’s story and meteorite accounts are more compelling, but the situation and characteristics of Mrs. O’Leary, being an immigrant, gave the Chicagoans someone to blame for the fire. Media reporting The media played a major role in the remembrance of the fire in Chicago, as it was the means for accessing information on the fire by all people including those in Chicago. Reporters, writers, photographers, publishers, and editors had the power to decide the part of the fire to give emphasis on the fire and presentation of the issues on the fire to the public. There are factors that greatly influenced the reporting of the fire in Chicago including low levels of technology employed, the need to sell the media products, some assumptions made on the audience aimed at by the media, and conventions of reporting in the media (History.com Staff, 2012). Reporters wrote down the details of the fire, actions on the fire, lessons from the fire are the main measures through which the media documented of the Chicago fire. The reporting speed was also noted with editions having numbering them on a single issue for the audience to learn of the progress of the fire. This led to relieve food, supplies, and other help donated by people in other cities to help the Chicagoans. In general, the media reported the fire incident positively and aimed at representing the view of the public with doubts and fear of the catastrophe leading to the call for more regulation and regulation. There was also a touch of the perception of each other by the different classes with the immigrants viewed in bad light as represented by the O’Leary’s owing to the belief of intentional setting of fire (The Great Chicago Fire & The Web of Memory). Impacts The great Chicago fire had devastating effects in Chicago including destruction of thousands of buildings, almost 300 people died from the fire, and damages of $ 200 million were recorded. The fire gutted down an area as wide as a mile and four miles long of the Whindy City including the business district. More than 100,000 people were left homeless after the Chicago fire with an estimated 17,000 structures having been destroyed by the fire in Chicago (History.com Staff, 2012). Owing to the high rate of destruction, losses, and homelessness after the fire, there arose lawlessness and looting in the area. This prompted the declaration of a martial order in October 11 that would be lifted weeks later and soldiers being summoned to Chicago to maintain law and order. The other impact of the fire is a destruction of the voting records in the region that is one of the reasons for Joseph Medill winning the mayoral election a month after the fire due to double or triple-voting. He promised to institute strict fire building codes, and true to his word, there were reconstructions. The positive impact of the fire is that the reconstruction and development after the fire were successful in harnessing the growth and prosperity potential of the city (History.com Staff, 2012). Rebuilding After the fire, there were reconstruction in Chicago that lay ground for greater economic development and a high rate of population growth. The main reason for the success of the reconstruction process was that the infrastructure in form of transportation systems was not affected by the fire. The population of Chicago increased from 324,000 in 1871, to 500,000 within nine years after the fire (Richard). Development increased in the region after the fire with Chicago being the transportation hub by 1890 and a main economic center with the population having doubled from 500,000 in 1,000,000 people. The O’Leary barn, where the fire is attributed to have started, currently hosts the training academy for the Chicago Fire Department. Since a lot of development spurred after the fire that formed the basis for the achievement of the current success, development and economic potential of the city; boasting of highest sky scrapers, high economic activity high population among other positives, it is considered one of the main milestones of Chicago. Works Cited History.com Staff, Chicago Fire of 1871. Chicago: A+E Networks. . (2010). Print. Accessed on May 04, 2014 from http://www.history.com/topics/great-chicago-fire. The Great Chicago Fire & The Web of Memory. Retrieved on May 04, 2014 from http://www.greatchicagofire.org/ Abbott, Karen. What (or Who) Caused the Great Chicago Fire? October 4, 2012. Print. Retrieved from on May 04, 2014 from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-or- who-caused-the-great-chicago-fire-61481977/?no-ist Richard F. Bales, The Great Chicago Fire and the Myth of Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow. Jefferson, NC: Read More