To what extent did the World’s Fair of 1893 impact the United States of

Background As of today, the city of Chicago is the third largest city in the United States, right behind New York and Los Angles. It is home to more 3 million people, but this was not always the case. When the city was created in 1833, it only "coveted less than half a square mile on either side of the main channel of the Chicago River and contained only 350 adventurous inhabitants, mostly male." (Abu-Lughod 49). As the years went on the city continued to grow and by 1870 its "economic base had evolved considerably" (51). However, the following year Chicago suffered a disaster that ultimately destroyed the city. This event is known as the Great Chicago Fire. The fire is said to have begun in a small farm owned by Catherine and Patrick O'Leary and lasted for 36 hours. The fire destroyed more than 18,000 buildings, leaving around 99,000 of the city’s residents homeless, and killed more than 300 people. Despite the destruction of almost the entire city, Chicago was able to rebuild and rees tablish itself as a place that offered opportunities, and a future. Although Chicago continued to grow rapidly, the US entered an economic depression in 1893. Luckily for the country, this was the very year that Chicago had been selected to host the 1893 World’s Fair, also known as the World’s Columbian Exposition. This fair gave not only the city of Chicago, but also the US, an opportunity to show the world what this nation was capable of creating and building. Introduction The World’s Fair of 1893 was set to commemorate the 400th year anniversary of Columbus’ voyage to America. When the top leaders in the US heard about the opportunity of hosting the fair, they quickly showed their interest. The main cities that showed interest were New York,... ...he building would not be designed the way they are now in the city. The fair allowed Chicago to be the great city it is today and have the magnificent downtown envied by many other cities. Work Cited Abu-Lughod, Janet L. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles: America's Global Cities. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1999. Print. Crandall, Abbey, and Daniel Green. "Chicago Inventions." Chicago World's Fair. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2013. Maranzani, Barbara. "7 Things You May Not Know About the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 01 May 2013. Web. 27 May 2013. Rose, Julie K. "World's Columbian Exposition: Reactions to the Fair." World's Columbian Exposition: Reactions to the Fair. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2013. Rydell, Robert W. "World's Columbian Exposition." World's Columbian Exposition. Encyclopedia of Chicago, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.

Critical Response to Martin and Milway’s Editorial Essay

In â€Å"A Productive Labour: The Only Limit to Productivity Growth is Human Ingenuity,† authors Martin and Milway present an argument for increasing productivity as a means of raising Canada’s economic health and living standards. Although Martin and Milway’s editorial on productivity present a piece that is rational and easily understood, its effort to convince that readers of its main argument is encumbered by weaknesses in the authors’ approach and reasoning that lead to more questions being raised than answered in the course of one’s reading. The editorial underlines the importance of improving Canada’s productivity in light of rising prices of manufactured goods and services that accompanied the strengthening of the Canadian dollar in 2001. The main argument put forth is that enhancing productivity is critical in ensuring improvements on the country’s living standards. The authors proceed to support their arguments by presenting two ways by which living standards can be raised, the first by increasing the number of working hours or using up more natural and physical resources for sustained wealth creation, and the second by improving productivity or raising the value created per working hour. After illustrating that the first way is not a viable alternative, the authors then concentrate on convincing the reader why the second way is better by defining the concept of productivity based on efficiency and innovation. The strength of Martin and Milway’s editorial lies in its ability to appeal to the rational side of its readers and their ability to tackle an otherwise complicated subject in simple terms. The authors attempt to defend their arguments by stating facts and carefully defining their subject, that is, productivity. As a result, the readers are compelled to view their argument in consideration of the definition that they present. Unfortunately, several weaknesses in Martin and Milway’s editorial in terms of their approach and in their reasoning reduce the effectivity of their argument. The biggest errors that exist in the editorial are faulty reasoning and the inability of the authors to substantiate their claim. As a consequence, the authors fail to persuade readers that â€Å"productivity is the surest way to raise our living standards. † (par. 4) The editorial was clearly written to convince readers that Canada needs to raise its productivity if it is to continue its economic growth and if it is to raise living standards. On the other hand, the authors fail to present evidence to substantiate this claim aside from the argument that it is the most cost-effective alternative in terms of labour, time, and natural resources. The authors automatically assumed that the readers of the editorial would readily accept that an increase in economic growth follows from an increase in productivity. Likewise, this argument raises several implications: first, that economic growth is not possible without an increased productivity; second, that productivity growth always leads to a raise in the living standards. It is here that the informed audience becomes wary as the authors’ bias shows through in their failure to consider countries with high productivity growth but low living standards. This shows a lack of forethought of the authors in answering the questions that would be inevitably raised by their argument. The main weakness of the editorial is that the authors commit fallacies in reasoning. For one, they are â€Å"begging the question† wherein the reader must already accept the conclusion in order to accept the evidence forwarded (Boyne, et. al. , 69). For instance, the authors enumerate the ways by which productivity can be improved to support their main contention. They state that â€Å"productivity increases in one of two ways: greater efficiency in how we employ labour and capital, or greater value creation per unit of these inputs. †(par. 8) This flow of the discussion reflects an assumption on the part of the authors that their main argument has already been accepted by the readers since discussing the ways by which productivity can be improved does not necessarily support the argument that productivity will improve the country’s economy. This circular reasoning makes the reader feel like the authors are trying to sound logical but cannot support their argument beyond the definition of the subject. Another obvious error in reasoning in the Martin and Milway’s editorial is superstition (Boyne, et. al. , 70) or hasty generalization. The authors attempt to prove the argument that â€Å"Productivity growth also benefits workers and consumers† (par. 14) by stating that â€Å"countries and regions with higher productivity pay higher wages† (par. 14) which assumes that higher wages automatically result from higher productivity. If one is to follow this argument, then it would imply that countries and regions that pay lower wages are not productive or low in productivity. In sum, a critical analysis of the piece reveals that the weaknesses outweigh the positive aspects in Martin and Milway’s editorial. Shortcomings in substantiating the editorial’s central argument with credible evidence as well as the inability to defend their argument in a logical manner renders the entire editorial ineffective in convincing the reader of the importance of improving productivity to improve their lives.

Restoring And Improving Urban Infrastructure - 1771 Words

The Engineering Grand Challenge of restoring and improving urban infrastructure involves a foundation of challenges faced by architectural engineers today. Specifically, it is about repairing the infrastructure of a society, including its power grids, water infrastructure, roads, bridges, sustainable structures, and anything that provides support to our thriving lifestyle. Admittedly, improving infrastructure is an important challenge that can be fixed if there are new systems put in place that allow for improvement at any time in the future. The challenge of restoring and improving an urban infrastructure can be accomplished, but there need to be technological advances, and support from the government. Equally important is the need for programs with sufficient financial resources that can provide for a more up to date installation of the various components of an urban infrastructure. Perhaps, the best way to solve the Grand Challenge of restoring and improving infrastructure would b e to apply the new technologies that have been investigated and tested the most, and put them into action. There is no doubt that the infrastructure from the 20th century has been a great accomplishment, however, we have pushed the problem of improving and restoring the infrastructure off for years, when it is in current need of repair. Moving forward, it is a necessity that our old infrastructure be replaced and re-engineered the best it can be. Additionally, infrastructure needs to be builtShow MoreRelatedEssay on Watershed Management Plan for Portland, Oregon1435 Words   |  6 PagesPortland, Oregon Portland, Oregon is one of the most sustainable cities in the U.S and is well-known for its urban appeal. 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