Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2017 i Cobblestone American History and Current Events for Kids and Children

Chicago’s location on Lake Michigan and its famous Y-shaped Chicago River give the city a unique feel. Most of its streets are laid in a grid, so it’s not too difficult to find your way around. Just in case, we’ve got you covered with a map of the city (OPPOSITE), as well as maps to help picture Chicago’s location in the United States and on Lake Michigan (BELOW). DID YOU KNOW? In 1900, engineers came up with an unusual solution to the dangerous levels of waste and pollution in Lake Michigan, which was the source of Chicago’s drinking water. They dug a channel, built a series of locks, and raised the Chicago River’s flow to permanently reverse its direction. The Sanitary and Ship Canal changed the river’s flow to go…

The World’s Columbian Exposition introduced fairgoers to the first elevated electric railway (RIGHT). The “Intramural Railway” amazed out-of-town visitors. On tracks supported by sturdy steel “stilts,” it sped above the heads of fairgoers strolling on the paths below. Because the fair covered 633 acres, the electric railway offered the quickest and easiest way to travel. Looping around buildings, the several-mile route traveled the perimeter of the fairgrounds. A movable sidewalk (much like what is seen in airports today) also impressed travelers. It offered visitors arriving by steamship on Lake Michigan an easy ride up the long pier . . . and an easy ride back after an exhausting day at the fair.…

A dark side of Chicago’s history has been glamorized in movies and television. Here’s the scene: Gangsters in old cars shoot Tommy guns at one another on Chicago’s streets. Behind Hollywood’s attempt to capture the drama of the 1920s, Chicago had a real history connected to crime. In the early 1900s, Chicago offered an ideal setting in which organized crime could develop and thrive. Chicago was a town that attracted hustlers, and the city and its population had grown so quickly that law enforcement personnel had their hands full. Widespread corruption among government officials also added to the problem: People who were supposed to enforce the laws were willing to overlook criminal behavior in exchange for large bribes of money. At the time, most jobs required working long hours to…

If you get a chance to visit Chicago, there are many things to see. Here are a few places that you won’t want to miss! Grant Park is an example of the great vision Chicago’s leaders showed. In 1835, they protected a section of land along Lake Michigan as a public space “vacant of buildings.” Since then, it has grown to 319 acres of public space. Included in Grant Park today are several other Chicago landmarks. Millennium Park, which was carved from the northwestern corner in the late 1990s, is where Cloud Gate is located. Known as “the Bean,” it is a massive stainless steel structure with a mirrored surface and is a major tourist attraction. The parks also host concerts, art events, and a variety of other outdoor activities.…

Chicago A bustling city, hidden deep in the Midwest. Cars zooming, footsteps inaudible in the downtown rush. Watches ticking, voices scattered throughout the city. Talking through phones, horns honking. Heads pressed against train windows, rain trickling down. Feet thumping on the street, taxis swerving every which way. Doors clicking, lights shutting off. Today becomes yesterday, tomorrow becomes today. Good night, Chicago. Brigid Iannelli, age 10 Chicago, Illinois Helen KellerThe Progressive EraWorld War I Draw a picture or write a poem or short essay that connects to one of the above COBBLESTONE themes on which we currently are working. All contributions must be your original work. Include a note from a parent or legal guardian clearly stating: “This is my child’s original work, and COBBLESTONE has permission to publish it with…

For years, legends blamed Mrs. O’Leary’s cow, Daisy, for starting Chicago’s Great Fire of 1871. The story was that Daisy kicked over a lantern in her stall, setting the straw on fire and starting the tremendous blaze. No proof exists of Daisy’s involvement, but the fire did break out near the O’Learys’ barn on Sunday night, October 8, 1871. The O’Leary’s lived in the southwestern quarter of Chicago, divided by the North and South branches of the Chicago River. Cow or no cow, the city was all too vulnerable to fire. Beginning in the 1830s, Chicago had grown quickly into a rough and bustling metropolis. The buildings in the city were built hastily and carelessly. While the more prosperous residents had built a few brick homes, most of the structures…

Chicago is a big sports town. With seven professional teams for fans to support, there’s something for everyone! The White Stockings began playing National League baseball in 1870, but by 1906, the team changed its name to the Cubs. Since 1914, the Cubs have played at Wrigley Field, which is the second-oldest Major League Baseball (MLB) ballpark. In 1901, a second local professional baseball team joined the newly formed American League. From 1910 to 1990, the White Sox played at Comiskey Park. Today, the team plays at the recently renamed Guaranteed Rate Field. The Bears are one of the original teams in the National Football League (NFL). Beginning in 1920, they played nearly all of their games at Wrigley Field. In 1971, the team moved to Soldier Field, which is…

Can you solve this puzzle about the people, places, and events connected to Chicago? All the information to help you can be found in this issue. Answers on page 48. ACROSS 1. Eugene V. ______, a union leader, came to the aid of Pullman employees in 1894 when their wages were cut. 3. In the late 1800s, differences between owners and workers resulted in labor ______. 5. This law making it illegal to manufacture, sell, and transport intoxicating liquor led to criminal activity in Chicago. 7. Philip D. ______ made a fortune by starting a meatpacking plant in Chicago. 10. Marshall ______ founded the largest department store in the world in Chicago. 12. Jane ______ founded Hull-House to provide help to immigrants and poor families in Chicago. 13. Chicago’s location…

Chicago’s many bridges were designed to allow pedestrian and vehicle traffic to get across the Chicago River and to allow ships to navigate the river below. To do both of those things, the bridges have to be movable. One type of bridge, the fixed trunnion bascule, has become famous as the Chicago-type bridge for its popular use in the city. The two words are French: trunnion means “stump” (referring to the pin or axle used as a hinge to allow the bridge to pivot and move), and bascule means “seesaw” (referring to how a counterweight is used to push down one side to open the bridge leaf and keep it balanced).…

Almost as soon as Chicago was established in 1833, it went through a remarkable transformation. Much of Chicago’s rapid change occurred because of its location. In the early 1800s, before trains, automobiles, or airplanes were invented, boats traveling on natural waterways provided the fastest way to move people and things. Chicago quickly became a pivotal place of portage between two inland water routes—the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. The success of the Erie Canal also helped Chicago. Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal cut across New York from Lake Erie to the Hudson River, which flows to New York City and the Atlantic Ocean. For the first time, people and goods from the East Coast could travel by boat all the way to the Great Lakes. Illinois’s leaders decided…

Chicago went from small frontier town to major cosmopolitan city in less than 50 years. Along the way, the growing city provided opportunities that made people’s fortunes and earned them fame. Here are some of Chicago’s most influential 19th-century citizens. After coming to Chicago from the East Coast to handle a land purchase deal in 1835, William Butler Ogden realized the city’s potential and returned to settle there. He became Chicago’s first mayor in 1837. He supported early development in the city, including the building of the Illinois and Michigan Canal and the first railroad, the Galena and Chicago Union. Before Cyrus H. McCormick invented his horse-drawn mechanical reaper in 1831, grain was harvested by hand with a farm tool known as a scythe. In 1847, McCormick moved from Virginia…

New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C., all wanted to host the next world’s fair. When Congress decided in favor of Chicago, city leaders were determined to make it as memorable as possible. Calling it the World’s Columbian Exposition, they decided to design the fair to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s 1492 voyage to the Americas. Chicago’s leaders set an ambitious goal: to give a picture of world civilization. They succeeded so well that the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition had a lasting influence on everything from architecture and science to urban planning, snack foods, and theme parks. The chief planner was architect Daniel H. Burnham. (His business partner, John W. Root, was involved until his death in 1891.) Burnham recruited outstanding architects of the day, including Adler &…

Chicago’s got a reputation as a city with great architecture. How did that come about? After the Great Fire of 1871, Chicagoans immediately began to rebuild their city. Its rapid growth attracted more people, and the value of land in the city increased. But the city’s compact downtown, built next to Lake Michigan and framed by branches of the Chicago River, was built on swampy land. How could the city continue to grow? Architects tackled the problem of the swampy land first. They designed better foundations that could support and distribute the weight of heavy buildings. The most successful building foundation was a floating raft system, which used an interlocking grid of wooden timbers and steel and iron beams. Next, architects figured out how to build up. William Le Baron…

Like Chicago, these international, noncapital cities have rich histories that make them worthy of notice. Luxor Luxor, Egypt, surrounds the ruins of the ancient city of Thebes. Established sometime around 3200 B.C., Thebes was once an important trading post along the Nile River. At the height of its power, it was the wealthiest city in Egypt. It included temples, palaces, a man-made lake, and a two-mile avenue lined with sandstone sphinxes. The largest structure was the Temple of Luxor, dedicated to Amon, king of the Egyptian gods. Over the centuries, Thebes’s power declined and much of it was destroyed. The city’s remaining population lived in the area around the Temple of Luxor. That settlement eventually grew into the modern city of Luxor. Ulm One thousand years ago, Ulm offered accommodations…