7. "American Experience | Chicago: City of the Century." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. PBS. Web. 2011. .…
The foreigners’ fulfill their first role in the destruction of Lincoln Lane through their passivity. The residents contact Springfield Illinois seeking support to make the lane a global issue, but Springfield fails to respond to the residents. (23) Foreigners once more influence the fate of Lincoln Lane through the article “Shanghai Has a Lincoln Lane”. (23) This time the foreigner’s passivity is replaced with carelessness. The author presents a grossly simplified account of the Lane’s significance, which diminishes the article’s influence. The lack of foreign investment occurred due to their absence of pride in Lincoln Lane. To them, it was just a small street in a foreign country, which, while important enough to warrant protection, was not important enough to warrant their…
The article, “America’s ‘Oh Sh*t!’ Moment” is about the rapid collapse of civilizations, and how America is at risk to meet a similar end. The author gives reasons as to why America is at risk for an imminent collapse, and how they can stop it. He proves this sudden collapsing of a civilization by giving many examples of civilizations that have collapsed in the past, such as, Machu Picchu; the lost city of the Incas, the Roman Empire, Ming Dynasty’s rule in China, the Soviet Union, North Africa and the Middle East. All civilizations share similar characteristics that eventually led to their sudden downfall. For example, they all once had strong social systems supporting their economy and government, and then suddenly collapsed as a result of internal division and external invasion. The thesis of the article was not openly stated, but it was implied pretty clearly. The author states, “In my view, civilizations don’t rise, fall, and then gently decline, as inevitable and predictably as the four seasons or the seven ages of man. History isn’t one smooth, parabolic curve after another. Its shape is more like an exponentially steepening slope that quite…
"New York City has a global reputation as a dynamic, wealthy, and prosperous magnet for immigrants for several centuries. Horatio Alger’s Ragged Dick exhibits a 19th century metropolis where street children—uncared for by the general public and without a safety net—struggled mightily to earn enough money for food and temporary lodging with the help of the right attributes of the possibility to achieve a modicum of success (Gerling)." It is evident that New York is an ideal center of freedom, rapid urban expansion, natural harbor and multi-cultural society. Ragged Dick further solidifies the above argument by showing that New York is a suitable playground to the visionary and ambitious irrespective of socioeconomic and racial backgrounds. In Ragged Dick, New York is as an origin of virtuous and dedicated role models who in turn provide the motivation to inculcate others in their pathways. Ragged Dick also illustrates the freedom to work, the freedom to acquire property, the freedom to study, and freedoms of all sorts were explicitly respected in New York back in the 1800’s. Ragged Dick also proves the prevalence of the principle of egalitarianism in New York, where one’s background has no effect on his or her fortune. The history of Ragged dick serves as a mirror image to the famous writer’s Caleb Carr’s belief that, “What happens in New York happens to the rest of the country....If the American society is going to succeed, it is going to find the way to do what New York has always done which is to take incredibly diverse human elements, put them together and find a way for them to tolerate each other.... (Burns)"…
The main concerns during the 1890’s was poverty, violence, and starvation. Larson expresses these concerns by ushering in the Black City. The Black City welcomed people with filth, starvation, and violence (323). The Black City was simply the side of Chicago under the surface or the White City was covering up. How easy it was to disappear, thousands of women came in who have never been in the city, trying to make it their home (336). Crime, such as murder, was a big threat during this time period, it was difficult to tell who was missing because there were so many people to begin with. In addition, crime lead to the end of the fair. The fair had begun and ended with death (332). With the fair closing, that meant that numerous jobs were being…
People no longer move to the country to make a living, instead they move to a large city, however a lot of things have not, immigrants still get swindled by untrustworthy people, they still live in inferior conditions, and they still get discriminated against daily because of where they are from. To me this shows that we don’t learn from our mistakes and instead we repeat cycles because we aren’t taught any differently. If this book was written today it could easily have been read as a story about the problems immigrants…
I think Hoagland’s main point was how America has changed for the worse over the last half of a century becoming more apathetic, large, and isolated. He tells this through what he is observed over his career of writing for the last fifty or so years. He believes that America used to be a superpower in the world and now is full of millennials to obsessed with media to care about the country or work hard.…
At the turn of the twentieth century, many American cities were struggling to find their place in the world. One such city was Chicago, Illinois, the focal point of Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City, a nonfiction ode to history about the events that took place during the World’s Columbian Exposition. In 1893, Chicago was home to more than the World’s Fair; it was also the home of America’s very own Jack the Ripper, Dr. Henry H. Holmes. While a team of the most brilliant architects of the age led by Daniel Burnham raced against time to produce a World’s Fair that could outshine Paris’ Exposition Universelle, H. H. Holmes took his time in methodically building…
The book explores the wide ranges of American attitude after the war. Uschan claims that the Post-War period was a difficult period of recovery for American society. The book delves into issues such as labor problems, anti-immigrant feelings, racial violence, prohibition, and women's suffrage. It does a great job of introducing the main issues by giving them in almost list form, making it very clear to understand the direct effects. Uschan began his career as a journalist that wrote news and stories for publication so this explains the slight limitation of why the issues are so direct and easy to comprehend, with little deeper understanding. He had to write to get the point across to the public without taking too long to explain so more information could be shared. He even quotes journalism as "history in a hurry" himself. He chose to produce this book as more of a wealth of information rather than…
The United States of America has for a while been referred to as “the melting pot”. In the city of New York, there are many nationalities which may be cannot be compared with any other part of the world. Many of these people left their motherlands in search for better life in the American soil considered the land of the free. Well, writers have in the past shown interest and have in fact written about the issues people fought with in America both in the past and in modern days. Good writers have ensured a constant supply of good reading material. This is particularly such like pushes that make better the craft of the writer. Bruce Watson’s Bread and Roses certainly is among this category of books. The exposition of the American Dream by Watson is meant to be a learning lesson. There is an old saying that states that there is a likely to repeat history only because they did not learn the lessons of history. There are many people who have ruined their lives in pursuit of happiness and the American Dream. In this critique of Bruce Watson’s Bread and Roses book, I will discuss the plight of individuals chasing the American dream.…
The speaker is talking to the outsiders of the city who are judging it and criticizing it. These critics seem to look down at the city and only see the dark and dirty parts, but really do not know what they are…
This paper reflects the theological implications of life in the public square from the perspectives…
As my friends and I drive of Lake Shore Drive to enter Chicago, I immediately notice the crowdedness and chaos of the city. First, I notice the Chicago Skyline, a collection of buildings that are known for their height and grandeur. These buildings are so tall that you can see them wherever you are in the city. While on the Lake Shore Drive expressway, traffic completely surrounds our car. Cars are moving in every direction, some are entering the city, and others are leaving for the weekend. As we drive further down Lake Shore Drive, on the left is Northwestern University School of Medicine. Right in front of the medical school is a group of students attempting to cross the street in the middle of traffic.…
What is America? However simple this question may seem, it strikes many different answers because it means different things for different people. In the novel, Reb Smolinsky and his family differ on their ideas of the process of Americanization. “America will come to my feet to learn.” Mr. Smolinsky believes that going to America is a process that will help him to spread his beliefs to more people. He taught his family that America would be a place of economic possibilities when he says “the new golden county, where milk and honey flow free in the streets…” He believed that taking his family to America would allow the women in the household to find jobs that would support the whole family, while he would be able to read the Torah and preach his messages.…
“Chicago” by Carl Sandburg goes further into detail with what could be seen through a person’s eyes. The poem describes Chicago and everything that’s happening in the surroundings. A person’s eyes see more than some people think. “They tell me you are wicked and I believed them, for I have seen your fainted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys,” states imagery in the poem. Meaning the people of the town are bad, and how people are afraid. “Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness”, states a simile in the poem. The simile is comparing the city to the dog. “Chicago” by Carl Sandburg has a theme that there can be more seen in a person’s eye than what meets the eye. The bad side of some people sees, but even evil people can have some good in them. The significance of the poem included social realism. Carl Sandburg lead to the knowing of the city’s trading’s and railroads.…