Author: Edgar Johnson GoodspeedPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Chicago (Ill.)
Languages : en
Pages : 720
Book Description
History of the Great Fires in Chicago and the West ...
Author: Edgar Johnson GoodspeedPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Chicago (Ill.)
Languages : en
Pages : 720
Book Description
The Great Fire
Author: Jim MurphyPublisher: Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 1338113534
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 179
Book Description
The Great Fire of 1871 was one of most colossal disasters in American history. Overnight, the flourshing city of Chicago was transformed into a smoldering wasteland. The damage was so profound that few people believed the city could ever rise again.By weaving personal accounts of actual survivors together with the carefully researched history of Chicago and the disaster, Jim Murphy constructs a riveting narrative that recreates the event with drama and immediacy. And finally, he reveals how, even in a time of deepest dispair, the human spirit triumphed, as the people of Chicago found the courage and strength to build their city once again.
Chicago's Great Fire
Author: Carl SmithPublisher: Grove Atlantic
ISBN: 0802148115
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 279
Book Description
A definitive chronicle of the 1871 Chicago Fire as remembered by those who experienced it—from the author of Chicago and the American Literary Imagination. Over three days in October, 1871, much of Chicago, Illinois, was destroyed by one of the most legendary urban fires in history. Incorporated as a city in 1837, Chicago had grown at a breathtaking pace in the intervening decades—and much of the hastily-built city was made of wood. Starting in Catherine and Patrick O’Leary’s barn, the Fire quickly grew out of control, twice jumping branches of the Chicago River on its relentless path through the city’s three divisions. While the death toll was miraculously low, nearly a third of Chicago residents were left homeless and more were instantly unemployed. This popular history of the Great Chicago Fire approaches the subject through the memories of those who experienced it. Chicago historian Carl Smith builds the story around memorable characters, both known to history and unknown, including the likes of General Philip Sheridan and Robert Todd Lincoln. Smith chronicles the city’s rapid growth and its place in America’s post-Civil War expansion. The dramatic story of the fire—revealing human nature in all its guises—became one of equally remarkable renewal, as Chicago quickly rose back up from the ashes thanks to local determination and the world’s generosity. As we approach the fire’s 150th anniversary, Carl Smith’s compelling narrative at last gives this epic event its full and proper place in our national chronicle. “The best book ever written about the fire, a work of deep scholarship by Carl Smith that reads with the forceful narrative of a fine novel. It puts the fire and its aftermath in historical, political and social context. It’s a revelatory pleasure to read.” —Chicago Tribune
Smoldering City
Author: Karen SawislakPublisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226735486
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 409
Book Description
Examines the various debates the city faced after the Chicago fire in dealing with homelessness, the care and feeding of much of the population and the problem of rebuilding amidst political chaos and people working at cross purposes. Explains the events that led up to the Chicago fire: intensely dry conditions, a 20-m.p.h. southwest wind, and an unfortunate spark at 10 o"clock on the night of Oct. 8 all combined to turn Chicago into a "vast ocean of flame". The rift between the immigrant working class and the wealthy 'native-born' Chicagoans made Catherine O'Leary (and her famous cow) a perfect scapegoat for anti-Irish, anti-working class invective. Provides historical maps, plates and engravings, with an epilogue and notes.
History of the Great Fires in Chicago and the West
Author: Rev. E. J. GoodspeedPublisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 3382123290
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 726
Book Description
Reprint of the original, first published in 1871. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.
The Great Chicago Fire and the Myth of Mrs. O'Leary's Cow
Author: Richard F. BalesPublisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476604762
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 351
Book Description
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 swallowed up more than three square miles in two days, leaving thousands homeless and 300 dead. Throughout history, the fire has been attributed to Mrs. O'Leary, an immigrant Irish milkmaid, and her cow. On one level, the tale of Mrs. O'Leary's cow is merely the quintessential urban legend. But the story also represents a means by which the upper classes of Chicago could blame the fire's chaos on a member of the working poor. Although that fire destroyed the official county documents, some land tract records were saved. Using this and other primary source information, Richard F. Bales created a scale drawing that reconstructed the O'Leary neighborhood. Next he turned to the transcripts--more than 1,100 handwritten pages--from an investigation conducted by the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners, which interviewed 50 people over the course of 12 days. The board's final report, published in the Chicago newspapers on December 12, 1871, indicates that commissioners were unable to determine the cause of the fire. And yet, by analyzing the 50 witnesses' testimonies, the author concludes that the commissioners could have determined the cause of the fire had they desired to do so. Being more concerned with saving their own reputation from post-fire reports of incompetence, drunkenness and bribery, the commissioners failed to press forward for an answer. The author has uncovered solid evidence as to what really caused the Great Chicago Fire.
The University of Chicago Magazine
Author: Chicago and the Great Conflagration
Author: Elias ColbertPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 562
Book Description
History of the Great Fires in Chicago and the West
Author: E. J. GoodspeedPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Chicago (Ill.)
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
History of the Great Fires in Chicago and the West With a History of the Rise and Progress of Chicago, the Young Giant, to Which Is Appended a Record of the Great Fires in the Past (Classic Reprint)
Author: E. J. GoodspeedPublisher:
ISBN: 9781330866061
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 728
Book Description
Excerpt from History of the Great Fires in Chicago and the West With a History of the Rise and Progress of Chicago, the Young Giant, to Which Is Appended a Record of the Great Fires in the Past About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.