Chicago Becomes Trade Nexus
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Transcript of Chicago Becomes Trade Nexus
Chicago Becomes Trade
Nexus
Illinois and Michigan Canal• 100 miles separated Illinois River
from Lake Michigan• Thousands of Irish Immigrants
worked on canal• 1836 – 1848 • Ended in Bridgeport and
connected with Chicago River• Quickly filled with filth – City streets had to be raised for
new sewage drain system
Railroads in Chicago• 1848 – Galena and
Chicago Railway • By 1852 – Chicago had
5 lines• By 1856 – 10 lines• Chicago becomes
railroad hub of COUNTRY.
• Connects prairie to cities
1858 Map of US RR
McCormick’s Revolution• Agricultural production –
largely unchanged for 5,000 years
• McCormick’s reaper allowed farmers the ability to harvest 15 acres a day.
• Won gold medal at 1851 London Exposition.
• Producing thousands annually by 1850s.
• Largest employer in Chicago during mid 19th Century.
Chicago Stockyards• 1865 – 1971• Millions of pigs and cattle passed through annually. • Swift and Armour• Developed key efficiencies in business production• “The Jungle” – 1906 – Upton Sinclair• “Bubbly Creek”
Union Stockyards
Mail Order Catalogs• Montgomery Ward• Sears Roebuck • Developed advertising as
essential business tool. • Begins 1872 by Aaron
Montgomery Ward (single page catalog.
• By 1900, over 20,000 goods being sold in each catalog
• Sears was largest company in the world