The film we watched in class about the World’s Fair, which took place in 1893, was very interesting to me. The fair was held in Chicago. At the time, Chicago was known as the “white city” because of the white stucco which covered most of the buildings within the city. The exposition was built to celebrate Columbus’s finding of America. It costed an approximate 22 million to build and operated for a total of 6 months. Twenty million people visited the fair throughout the 6 months. The fair actually was the biggest melting pot of ethnicities until the 20th century immigration to America. Countries across the globe displayed their culture through food, entertainment and technological advancements. One of the biggest displays at the fair was military technological advancements. The most powerful countries at the fair such as Germany, Britain and France demonstrated their most powerful weapons. It seems to me that this was the beginning of the arms race. Society at the time believed technological advancements only had benefits. Because of this, everyone present at the event thought military advancements would bring peace. However, twenty years after the fair, World War I took place and the technological advancements shown at the fair were put into action. Those weapons killed millions and created a huge force of destruction across the globe. In the novel, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, by Mark Twain, Hank Morgan, who is a manager at a munitions factory, took 19th century technology to areas that didn’t have access to that technology yet. Although it provided advancements, the technology used only caused carnage. Two more aspects that were present at the World’s Fair were work and leisure. At the time, laborers worked long hours with little pay and no rest. Leisure was considered a sin. However, over time, laborers became tired of the low wages and tedious work they were forced into so they formed labor unions. These labor unions were developed to bring workers together and strike against the boss if things became unfair. Right around the World’s Fair, labor strikes took place in Chicago. The Haymarket riot was the most famous strike that occurred. Chicago’s Haymarket Square turned into a riot after someone threw a bomb at police. At least eight people died as a result of the violence that day. Although demonstrations like this took place, society as a whole focused mainly on achievement. The concept of achievement was put into action while building the Fair. The Fair was built in record time by hundreds of laborers who held different skills. The labor power was also at an all time high for this event. Chicago’s World’s Fair started the century of progress in America.
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