Near the end of this section of the reading, Erik Larson writes of the “turmoil and grief engulf[ing] Chicago.” “The old world,” he notes, “was passing” (121-22). Based on what you’ve read so far, what do you think was the most significant issue or tension in the United States in the 1880s and 1890s, and why? Cite evidence from the book to support your choice.

I think the most significant issue in the United States in the 1880 and 1890s was becoming organized enough to prosper and control such rapid urbanization of cities throughout the United States. Everything and everywhere seemed to be moving so fast that it was an extremely chaotic time for workers, business, city government and politics. This can be seen in the way the H.H Holmes takes advantage of construction workers, “Holmes cast himself as a demanding contractor. As workers came to him for their wages, he berated them for doing shoddy work and refused to pay them, even if the work was perfect. They quit, or he fired them. He recruited others to replace them and treated these workers the same way” (67). Since nothing was organized it was easy for him to continue his scams with others who had no knowledge of his past or work standards.

Why do you think Larson has chosen to intertwine the story of the fair with that of Holmes?

I think it shows just how unorganized everything really was. With so much going on all around and little to no resource or structure to control such fast growth it allowed people to take advantage of the system for their own means, be they good or bad.

 I think from my reading so far of the Devil in the White City, it showed that overcrowding was a really big issue in the 1880 or 1890’s. More and more people began to shift from living in the rural farm town and open areas to more of the populated and city like areas with more local shops and people. When the Chicago Fair came around even more people came flooding into the urban Chicago area which made it harder for police or local authorities to locate people who have gone missing. Like every other place, when a place has too many people to support, homelessness will begin to occur and more problems will arise as well such as not enough jobs.

I think Larson chose the Chicago fair to be intertwined with Holmes, the murderer, because that is when most of the innocent killings began to happen more frequently. The fair did a great job of attracting and bringing in many people so that also played apart for the overcrowding and made it harder to find missing people. The more variety of people also probably gave Holmes more of an open killing option and better ways to hide his tracks.