The Columbian Exposition's Effect On Chicago And The United States

The Columbian Exposition was an event that contrasted two aspects of society within close quarters. The way this exposition was set up, a mile-long stretch of road was used to showcase exhibits from around the world – called the Midway. At the end of this road was a collection of pristine white buildings, known as the White City. These two opposing sections carried with them, opposing ideals. The Midway focused on different cultures, being diverse, and showcasing the differences between peoples. While the White City was meant to show the strength, unity, and elegance of the United States. The effects the fair had on Chicago and the United States can categorize the event as both a success and failure. The success comes in the Midway with the

similarities between current societal aspects and ideals and the changes they enacted. This can be seen in the mass immigration following World War I and the wide variety of cultures that were present and persisted through the end of the exhibition. While the failures can be illustrated by the White City and how the reality of the city didn’t match the ideals that it was built on.
The Midway was a mile-long stretch that showcased all the differing cultures and beliefs of the people during post World War I time.

The designers of the Midway “envisioned the Midway as a living outdoor museum of human beings” (Rydell). The time following WWI gave way to mass immigration and with the growing class conflicts in the US. From these conflicts, the designers got inspiration from past expositions. Namely, the designers were inspired by the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition, “where the French government has turned representations of French colonies into living ethnological villages featuring people from Africa to Asia” (Rydell). Much like their French counterparts, the Midway was filled with cultures from around the world and was like a melting pot of nations in one place. This mixture of cultures and ideologies is why the Midway was such a success. It seemed to embody the diversity of peoples that the United States was moving towards post-World-War-I. While the Midway seemed to embrace the various nations, culture, and ideals being presented the White City seemed to become a problematic source for

some.
The White City was built to be the main attraction of the fair, more precisely, the “architecture and sculpture would be to the Chicago Fair what engineering has been to the Paris Exposition” (Rydell).

The buildings were constructed with a neoclassicism feel that some celebrated for the “uplifting effect that the Burnham’s Beaux-Arts plan would have on the public architecture of squalid American cities” (Rydell). Through this type of architecture (and a lot of white paint), the designers wanted to illustrate the ideals of strength, unity, and sophistication. Although prior to the exhibition, the White City was a cause for controversy. In the lead up to the exhibition, the African American community were gradually becoming insulted by the exhibit process. This is because “exposition directors insisted that African American proposals for exhibits be approved by all-white committees. Most of which were rejected out of hand” (Rydell). Women were another group that felt they were being misrepresented. There were women who didn’t feel their exhibitions would be displayed properly and “should have a separate building for their exhibits” (Rydell). This illustrates that even though the designers of the White City were trying to show unity and strength but seemingly demonstrated the

opposite.
The Chicago Exhibition was both a success and a failure. I think that the successes of the exhibition came in the Midway. The melting pot of cultures and diversity of the people seemed to mirror the mixture of people and immigrants that were coming to the United States after WWI. Furthermore, this blend of cultures validated the future direction and ideals of the United States. Whereas the failures came with the White City. It was supposed to symbolize strength and unity, but it was cause for controversy among some groups such as women and African Americans. This controversy seemed to embody the type of old-fashioned society the United States was moving away from.