HIST 100: Engineering The Past

Features of the fair

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I think the biggest issue during this time frame in America was the economy. “On Tuesday a large bank failed in Kansas City.” (pg108) When banks can not sustain themselves anymore, it is usually tied to how the economy is doing. With less people saving money, the banks have to give out more money than they take in, also people stop paying on the loans they might of taken out.  Also because of the economy going into a depression, “There was labor unrest.”(108) Labor unions gained alot of ground during this era in history. Fighting for fair wages and 8 hour work shifts. During the battle for better wages lots of people would go on strike i.e. not working/not making money.  Also seemed like Chicago was just overall dirty. “No one had forgotten how in 1885, fouled water had ignited an outbreak of cholera and typhoid that killed 10% of the city’s population.”(109)

 

I think that Larson decided to intertwine the 2 stories because he wanted to sell more books. While some people might find the building of the Chicago World Fair very interesting. The story of how “the first serial killer” used the World Fair to lure and attract beautiful women to there death is a much better selling point.

Engineering

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I believed that this class was going to be related to the engineering process of how very old structures were built. It started out that way with the module about the Brooklyn bridge and San Francisco bridge. Learning the obstacles that they ran into and had to figure out ways around them. Also how the era that they were built in played a big influence on the materials that were used. What i didn’t think about was how social engineering was such a large influence on these structures. Engineering is all about inventing and improving ideas, whether it be on structures, machines or literally everything in the world.  I had never thought about how water is an engineering nightmare. Just figuring out how to get it to everybody that needs it, but also figuring out how to share it as fairly as possible while trying to follow the laws that have been put in place.

Native Water Use

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Based on the question “Have the Tohono O’odham been adequately compensated?”

While i think it is terrible what has happened and the trials and tribulations that the Tohono O’odham people have been forced to go through. The world is not a fair place, everybody needs to work and fight for their own needs.  I think the federal government has done everything it can to try and repay the water rights to the Tohono O’odham people. The government has even given them access to more water than they currently need. Plus the water will be provided without cost to the Tohono O’odham people, and they were given a $15 million trust fund to develop their own water resources(infrastructure). They also have been given 4,400 square miles of land. Which is 3,100 more acres than the entire state of Rhode Island. The fact that the Tohono O’odham people have decided to not develop their land into more is up to them, and this is exactly the principles that America was founded on. But they have been given the resources to help themselves. Its as the old saying goes “you can lead a horse to water, but you cant make him drink”.  They are effectively there own country within the US.

Like i said i think it is terrible the things they have gone through, but i feel the government has done what it can for the Native americans.