Throughout what I’ve read thus far, I think the turmoil and grief engulfing Chicago and the rest of the United States can be traced back to the declining global economy. Whenever there is economic decrease, crime breaks out as people lose what they once had and can’t afford to feed themselves or their families. The collapse in economy shows movement towards a different way of running things and the World Fair in Chicago is an opportunity to bring revenue to the city and help improve the economy of the city through tourism and attracting thousands of people from around the world as Burnham and Root try to best the prior world’s fair in Paris. As the project begins its construction, problems arise as builders contract out labor jobs to foreigners for cheaper labor which causes riots with union workers along with mysterious disappearances that start popping up as crime levels increase in the city. The final lines of chapter 10 seemed to show how the intertwined stories of both Burnham and Holmes are important because Larson compares Chicago and Holmes by saying that neither wastes anything. This seems to be foreshadowing the next two chapters by expressing Holmes obsession with his soundproof basement and “glass” kiln in which will indefinitely be used to dispose of the bodies of everyone he kills. As crime increases, Chicago and Holmes “waste” many lives during this period.
Engineering Thus Far
As soon as humans advanced past the nomadic phase of evolution, they have built permanent structures that still withstand the test of time. Ancient engineering marvels, created by cultures around the world, have withstood the test of time because of their careful planning, hard work and craftsmanship. From the irrigation systems designed by American Indians to bring water to their dry desert home, to the massive palace known as Machu Picchu built high up in the Andes Mountains, Ancient civilizations have built some engineering masterpieces even by today’s standards. Although we might not know exactly how the Incas got those huge, perfectly cut rocks up to the top of a mountain or how much planning went into the Taj Mahal or even how much tradition goes into the upkeep of the Ise Grand Shrine in Japan or the Djenne Mosque in Mali, we can closely analyze clues left at these sights and research techniques used to accomplish these tasks. There is a lot to be learned about each and every one of these engineering feats and the ancient technology used then are still being used now and will continue to be for the rest of our foreseeable future. Engineering from a cultural perspective can be defined as a way of building structures, and using technology to develop new and innovative ways to further the advancement of all cultures all around the world.
The Taking, Giving Back, Taking Again and Finally Returning What Doesn’t Belong to Us.
The Taking, Giving Back, Taking Again and Finally Returning What Doesn’t Belong to Us.
Learning about American Indians in high school and primary school taught me many things about their cultures, beliefs, history and interactions with the colonists and settlers. Ever since we landed near Plymouth rock, in my opinion, we have been taking away the Native Americans’ rights and land. They lived in this country for hundreds of years before we arrived and took away everything they had. We took their hunting and fishing grounds by the BILLIONS of acres and placed all the different tribes on a total of 56,200,000 acres which is only about 2.5% of the total land mass in the United States. What was done to the Tohono O’odham Nation was wrong. We initially gave them 22,000 acres by the executive order of President Chester A. Arthur in the 1880s. Within a few decades, problems arose as a conflict of interests between Indians and American Farmers to gain access over water and land around and President Taft removed almost half of the land and returned it to the state for Euro-Americans to use. Toward the end of the century, a dam was completed and flooded 9, 000 acres of land which was later returned as private land to the Reservation. Although we gave The Tohono O’odham Indians land to freely live their lives, we repeatedly took away from them and broke promises to them just because we wanted their land for water rights. Again, in my opinion, these Indians and the other 120+ Indian populations around the United States should be given more than enough land, water, and other natural resources for two reasons; they were here first, and we took away their livelihoods and made them endure many hardships by kicking them out of their territories (think about the Trail of Tears).