Upper-Class Chicago Vs. The Great Fire

1871 marked a troubling year for American society as warfare and upheaval worldwide changed millions of people’s lives forever. Across the United States, cities emerged as epicenters for societal discourses about the nation’s corresponding lower-class and immigrant populations. Upper-class Chicagoans were no strangers to these debates as both populations rapidly grew in Chicago annually. However, two events soon heavily transformed how upper-class Chicagoans viewed these two populations in Chicago. The Paris Commune sparked mixed conversations about what the lower class meant for Chicago. The Great Fire, on the other hand, only produced further class divisions between residents based on post-fire decisions by upper-class business leaders. Thus,

Additionally, despite being the fire’s primary victims, Chicago’s lower-class residents overall likewise faced hostility post-fire due to the upper class’s association with this class of criminality. Criminality became a central pillar of post-fire narratives as newspapers routinely discussed who they saw in the streets during the blaze. For example, according to several upper-class newspapers, eyewitnesses routinely observed lower-class criminals out like “evil demons let loose in the chaos.” These fabricated stories directly exemplified how upper-class Chicagoans sought to separate themselves from the city’s lower classes. Stories like these also demonstrated the rise of prominent Chicagoans who emphasized citywide fireproofing reform in their political campaigns. Thus, through these factors addressed, historians can observe the increase in tensions between economic classes in Chicago. Ultimately, while the Paris Commune and the Great Chicago Fire similarly focused on the elements of Chicago’s corresponding lower-class and immigrant population, each event likewise uniquely presented both populations