How H. Holmes Changed America's Culture Of The Gilded Age

The 1893 world's fair was an amazing experience. New inventions and extraordinary exhibits were scattered throughout a gleaming white city of newly constructed buildings, including the largest ever built at the time. Millions came from around America and the world to see this confluence of civilization in Chicago, but some never made it home. Before, during, and after the Fair, a serial killer named H. H. Holmes preyed on single women, killing possibly as many as 200 people total, although that estimate may be unrealistically high. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson tells the story of the Fair and of the trajectory of Holmes’s killings.

The World's Columbian Exposition was a magnificent fair home to ingeniously creative inventions, astounding new attractions, and fascinating celebrities. Designed by renowned architect Daniel Burnham, this dreamland served as a grand display of Chicagoan pride. Little Americans know about the fair today however, and even fewer know about the horrifying secret that lies underneath it. During the fair, American was introduced to the monstrosity of serial killers by one H. H. Holmes. H. H. Holmes exploited the grandeur of the fair to lure innocent people to their demise.

In the Chicago smog, H.H. Holmes lured hundreds of victims into his murder mansion, and killed them seemingly without motive or conscience. In The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson goes into a detailed description of the murders of H.H. Holmes and delves into what his motives might be. The motives of Holmes serial killings were pleasure and profit. Holmes would profit off murder by selling skeletons, life insurances fraud, and as a business strategy. After murdering Julia, Holmes got her skeleton articulated then, “[Holmes] promptly sold the skeleton to Hahneman Medical College… for many times the amount he had paid Chappell.”

Emily Decius Sociology 361 Term Paper November 16, 2017 Of the many serial killers that have terrorized the nation throughout history, there are a few that stand out from the rest, one being Theodore Bundy. He became much more famous than others, and his story is rather interesting but has been constantly changed and promoted by the media. In total, it is estimated that Bundy murdered anywhere between 36 to 100+ victims, and there are still many bodies that have not been found (Sullivan, 2009). Bundy had always seemed to be a somewhat normal person through his younger years, and it seemed to most people like he would be successful in life (Sullivan, 2009). He excelled in school, attended college, and at one point even enrolled in law school (Sullivan, 2009).

William Jennings Brown was a beloved orator and political figure from the 1890’s till his death in the 1925. He was known for his abilities to capture a crowd and keep them enthralled for hours as he talked about anything. From an early age though he knew that he wanted to be like his father, following in his footsteps to the political realm. He made good use of his oratory skills and created a whole new way of running a presidential campaign. He also helped to create the bases for many new ideas that would lead to Franklin Roosevelts, New Deal Plan.

Throughout their lifetime, a person’s actions not only illustrate their character, but more importantly dictate what sort of legacy they will leave behind. John Milton Chivington’s true legacy is still a debatable controversy because of his contradictory actions during his lifetime. Known to be a powerful minister and war hero, yet simultaneously considered to be the cold-blooded and murderous leader of the Sand Creek Massacre, it is difficult to pinpoint the true disposition of his legacy. Originally one of strength, bravery and persistence, Chivington’s legacy was sadly tainted by the gruesome murder of innocent men, women and children in the Sand Creek Massacre. Although he was a powerful minister and military leader, the weight of his

Social Darwinism is when only the strongest survive, during the Gilded Age this was true. Many businessmen during the time period were people who had a vision and invested time and effort to grow the economy they did what they had to do to make their company survive the economy. Some people's business did not survive because the bigger corporations took them out of business, the business that did not survive are were weak and were not strong enough to survive. It is not the bigger business fault it did not survive, the business did not survive because it could not compete with the competition. Social Darwinism is huge reason why the great industrialist are Captains of Industry.

Across America cities buzzed all day and through all hours of the night. People flocked to these cities from farms and halfway around the world for one main reason: work. Manufacturing was booming in cities all over America, and Chicago especially, was a model for western industrialization. As Taft described before this, our progress is met not only with success, but with major roadblocks. America's progress during the Gilded Age in industrialization led to downfalls such as economic, social and political instability, which forced action to be taken to lift these burdens.

H.H. Holmes’ “Murder Castle” was one of his amazing plan to gain wealth and knowledge. This “Castle” was built at the Worlds Fair of 1893 and put there for the killing purposes of Holmes. Holmes’ “Castle” had secret passageways, fake walls, and trap doors. Some rooms were built sound proof and connected to gas pipes. His bedroom was the control room for this hellish house.

The Devil in the White City portrays the Chicago World’s Fair as a significant event that set itself in America’s history books as one of its greatest achievements. Though the Fair itself was a sensation alone, with all its dazzling features and worldwide attention, the Fair was not the only significant even happening in Chicago at the time. This event however involved murders hidden by the shining brilliance of the Fair. The murderer in question, arguably America’s first notable serial killer, was H. H. Holmes. Through the use of descriptive imagery, the juxtaposition between him and the World’s Fair, and the one self-defining allusion of Holmes, Erik Larson provides the reasons why Holmes truly is the Devil of the White City.

The Gilded Age lasted from 1870 to World War 1, “1900s.” The Gilded Age was a period of fast economic development, but also much social struggle. Mark Twain in the late nineteenth century founded the “Gilded” Age, which means covered with gold on the outside, but not really golden on the inside, for example, tin. This period of time was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath. In other words, the outside looked beautiful, but the inside looked old and trashy.

The Gilded Age was to describe America in the late nineteenth century. The outside of the US seemed glamorous and splendid alongside industrial development and massive economic growth. However, the dark sides were hidden beneath it. In my perspective, I believe we are living in the 2nd Gilded age.

In a time after the Civil War, when a transcontinental railroad was created connecting the East and West, people began to move and settle across the country, creating new urban cities and manufacturing hubs. It was because of the railroad that the Second Industrial Revolution and the Gilded Age took place which rapidly increased the manufacturing of products through the new machines in factories and the spread of ideas by the telegraph and railroad. It was in this context that many farmers, as well, began to move West and experience a loss in the prices of their crops. It is also in this context that many workers were forced to work long, laborious hours with little pay. Farmers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age by forming organizations such as the Granger movement and the Farmers Alliance as well as creating the Populist Party.

The time period from when the Second Industrial Revolution was beginning, up until President McKinley’s assassination in 1901, is known as the Gilded Age. After the Civil War, many people headed out West to pursue agriculture, and many immigrants moved to urban areas to acquire jobs in industrial factories. It is in this context that farmers and industrial workers had to respond to industrialization. Two significant ways farmers and industrial workers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age, were creating the Populist Party and the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

What was the Gilded Age and why did Mark Twain refer to it as such? To help understand this question, one must know the meaning of the word gild. Per Merriam Webster, the term gild means to “to give an attractive but often deceptive appearance to” (Gild, n.d.). After the Civil War the American people had become tired of all the corruption and simply wanted to see an end to it and to have a stable economy. The Gilded Age was fashioned to be prosperous times for all Americans, promising wealth, and an end to past political corruption.