Chicago Stories Midterm Exam Short Answer Questions

All of these flashcards are based off the study guide for ENG-240 / HON-217. Please note that I split up the questions in the study guide so they are easier to answer in this set.

Which Native tribes originally lived in the Chicago area?

The Illiniwek

What did the Native tribes call Chicago?

Chigagou

What does the name, “Chigagou”, mean?

The wild-garlic place

Who was James Marquette?

A 30-year-old jesuit missionary for the Roman Catholic Church

Who was Louis Joliet?

A French explorer

What role did Marquette and Joliet play in exploring the region?

They concluded that the great river emptied into the Gulf of Mexico

Who was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable?

An individual that was either black or mulatto. Not much is known about him.

Why is Jean Baptiste Point du Sable considered the first settler in Chicago?

He settled in Chigagou in 1779 and built a lavish house

What do we know about Jean Baptiste Point du Sable’s life and business?

He had a wife, which was the daughter of a Potawatomi Chief, and two children. His home was part farm and trading house.

What happened at the Battle/Massacre of Fort Dearborn?

The U.S. army ordered Captain Nathan Held to evacuate occupants from Fort Dearborn. Native Americans attacked the evacuated group.

Why is the Battle/Massacre of Fort Dearborn described both as a “battle” and a “massacre”?

Considered a massacre because women and children made up the evacuation group. Considered a battle because pro-American Miami fought against the Native Americans.

What happened during the Land Boom 1830s?

Frontier land was in demand, and land speculators traveled to Chcago invest in land

What was the impact of the Land Boom 1830s?

It increased Chicago land sales from 2.4 million in 1832 to 24.9 million in 1836

What caused the Panic of 1837?

President Andrew Jackson required land to be purchased with silver or gold and banks to redeem its cash money with silver or gold

How did Panic of 1837 affect Chicago?

Buying and investing decreased, causing property values to plummet

Who was William B. Ogden?

Chicago’s first mayor

How did William B. Ogden shape early Chicago’s infrastructure?

He participated in every improvement of the town. Helped plan and build parks, laid out hundreds of streets, gained clean drinking water, sewers, etc

How did William B. Ogden shape early Chicago’s politics?

Promoted Illinois and Michigan canal as well as the area railroad. Bought the Sands district and cracked down on brothels and shanties

How did early immigration change the social landscape of Chicago?

Immigrants responded to the need of labor despite if they were skilled or not, established businesses, became consumers, served in Chicago’s government.

How did early immigration change the cultural landscape of Chicago?

Opened the first brewery in Chicago, # of Roman Catholics in Chicago rose, early immigrates expressed anti-immigrant views, and had the ability to vote after living in Illinois after a year.

What role did the temperance movement play in early Chicago reform?

Temperance societies in Chicago successfully discouraged drinking to the point that a mention of it is looked down upon.

What role did the abolition movement play in early Chicago reform?

Chicago became a key stop in the Underground Railroad, antislavery men helped runaways escape and also thwarted slave catchers, mobs pressured judges to keep the railways open.

Who was Elijah Lovejoy?

A prominent abolitionist that was murdered in Alton, Illinois

Why is Elijah Lovejoy an important figure in abolitionist history?

His murder led to abolitionist meetings that then developed into the Chicago Anti-Slavery Society

How did the grain and wheat trade helped Chicago become a commercial hub?

Wheat was in constant demand and was a valuable cash crop.

How did McCormick’s reaper help Chicago become a commercial hub?

McCormick’s reapers cut wheat very quickly on the flat prairie land of the Northwest, preventing crop spoilage when paired with the railroad

How did the lumber industry connect to Chicago’s economy?

The railroads demanded wood for its railroad ties. Chicago’s stores and warehouses needed wood.

How did the lumber industry connect to Chicago’s seasonal labor?

During the winter, farmers would go up North to lumbering camps

Describe the rise of meatpacking in Chicago.

The Union Army demanded a large amount of processed meat. After a meeting of the Chicago Pork Packers’ and the nine largest railroads, the Union Stock Yards opened.

What does the phrase “everything but the squeal” mean?

Every part of a hog was used except its squeal

What were the benefits of industrialization to Chicago?

Increased wealth, resources, and power

What were the downsides of industrialization to Chicago?

Exploitation of workers, unsafe working conditions, and growing inequality between the rich and poor

Why did engineers reverse the flow of the Chicago River?

To improve water quality of the river and Michigan lake’s shoreline

What were the consequences of reversing the flow of the Chicago River?

The Chicago river flowed westwards away from Lake Michigan and Chicago and towards Joliet

What made the Chicago World’s Fair (1893) significant?

It was three times larger than the largest previous exposition

What ideas about progress did the Chicago World’s Fair (1893) promote?

Improvements in technology and construction and diversification of culture

What caused the Great Chicago Fire (1871)?

It was allegedly Mrs. O’Leary’s cow

How did the Great Chicago Fire (1871) transform the city’s architecture?

Building frames were no longer made of wood and out of metal. Terra cotta was applied to metal building frames.

How did the Great Chicago Fire (1871) transform the city’s identity?

Chicagoans used the image of the phoenix to identify the city’s recovery from the fire.

What happened at the Haymarket Riot (1886)?

During a labor movement at Haymarket Square, a bomb exploded, killing several policemen.

Why was the Haymarket Riot (1886) a turning point for labor rights?

It dealt a crippling blow to the labor movement, as many Chicagoans began to generalize unionists with anarchists, immigrants, socialists, and communists.

Who was Jane Addams?

A 29-year-old social activist moving from Cedarville, Illinois to help out the working class by living amongst them

What motivated Jane Addams to found Hull House?

Visited Toynbee Hall while on a trip to London and she wanted to replicate it in the U.S.

What were Jane Addams’ main strategies for achieving political change?

Gave speeches, educated the legislators, and publishing literature

Why did Jane Addams utilize storytelling as a political tool?

Allows for an understanding about need and injustice and inequality and how these problems can be solved

Who was Upton Sinclair?

A committed socialist that believed that literature could promote social change

What was Upton Sinclair’s motivation for writing The Jungle?

He wanted to the public to sympathize with immigrants

Muckraking

Journalists that wrote about events or controversies in a imaginative way (“click-batey”)

How did muckrakers influence social and political reform?

Muckrakers shifted public opinion on public figures leading to legislation and constitutional amendments

Naturalism

A literary movement that emphasizes the scientific observation of life without idealization and often including elements of determinism

Socialism

A society where major industries are owned and controlled by the government rather than by individual people and companies

How did Sinclair’s socialism influence The Jungle?

From chapter 28 to the end, Jurgis is awoken by Socialism and the novel’s takes a shift onto seemingly Socialist propaganda

How does socialism connect to Chicago’s labor movements and reform history?

Some Socialist labor leaders eventually turned to anarchism because they couldn’t secure power peacefully. The general public applied this logic to labor unionists as a hotbed of violence and labeled them as anarchists.