I think that for the urban areas in the United States during the 1880’s to 1890’s the biggest issue was the growing population. Not because the cities were overpopulated, but because of the issues that the huge populations caused. Larson wrote “So far the year had been a fine one. Chicago’s population had topple one million for the first time, making the city the second most populous in the nation after New York”. Obviously a big problem is the change a large number of people can have on the moral standards of society. It was impossible for the law and technology to catch up to the growth of the city. Another issue that the overpopulation caused was the city lost a sense of culture. It was as if everyone and their cultures just blended into one “Though Chicago was rapidly achieving recognition as an industrial and mercantile dynamo, its leading men felt keenly the slander from New York that their city had few cultural assets”. This quote led to the reasoning behind the city wanting the fair to be built there, on top of the recognition and profit it would bring the city.

I think that Burnham and the others involved in the building of the fair are not far off from that of Holmes. By connecting Holmes and his murders to the fair and Burnham I think Larson is trying to show the likeness between the characteristics of both of the characters, even though there are extreme differences between their actions.