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Episode Description
Peter Alter joins host Adam Camac to discuss key figures, issues, and events from the history of Chicago. Peter is Chief Historian at the Chicago History Museum. You can find the Chicago History Museum at Chicagohistory.org. You can also find the museum on X @ChicagoMuseum, as well as on Facebook and Instagram.
1:15 – The origins of the city of Chicago, where the name Chicago comes from, the founding of the city of Chicago
5:03 – The initial growth of Chicago, what Chicago looked like as of 1871 when the Great Chicago Fire occurred
9:12 – Truths and myths about the Great Chicago Fire
15:32 – Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 (World’s Columbian Exposition)
18:57 – 1886 Haymarket Affair, 1894 Pullman Strike, Union Stockyards and the Chicago meatpacking industry, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, labor history of Chicago and working class struggles
25:01 – European immigrant groups to Chicago, including Poles, Serbs, Greeks, etc., the Great Migration within the US beginning in the 1910s
30:34 – Jane Addams and the establishment of Hull House in 1889, Chicago’s initial development as a transportation and railroad hub in the 1800s
37:42 – How the Great Migration affected Chicago, race riots, the development of the South Side of Chicago, the Chicago Black Renaissance
43:20 – Chicago during Prohibition and the 1920s, Chicago as a center for illegal activities and gangster violence during the Prohibition era, Al Capone and Bugs Moran and their association with Chicago, St. Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929
49:04 – Chicago’s connection to the Manhattan Project and role during World War II
52:13 – The Daley family and the Democratic Party machine in Chicago, the 1968 Democratic National Convention
1:00:34 – The role of professional sports in Chicago and how professional sports have affected the way Chicago has been viewed (including the Cubs breaking their World Series curse in 2016, the 1985 Bears, the Michael Jordan/Scottie Pippen championship teams of the 1990s, and more)
1:04:25 – Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), Lake Michigan, iconic downtown Marshall Fields location, State Street, Michigan Avenue, Millennium Park, The Bean (Cloud Gate), Lake Shore Drive, Wrigley Field, and other Chicago landmarks
1:08:36 – Windy City, Second City, and other nicknames for Chicago
1:12:40 – Related and recommended resources
Related Links and Social Media Accounts
Chicago History Museum on Facebook
Chicago History Museum on Instagram
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