Erik Larson’s "The Devil in the White City"
...f time allotted. Daniel H. Burnham had Chicago as well as this entire nation on his shoulders after being named the director of works for the World’s Columbian Exposition. Chicago took great pride in winning the vote to be the site of the exposition. In doing this the idea was to present a much bigger and grander exposition than the one France had held. The fact that France was the last site is one of the reasons why the nation also had something to prove. America in this period of time was going through many great changes. With the ongoing Industrial Revolution the country was experiencing political, economic, social, and cultural changes. One of the main changes, however, was this country’s position in the world. With the great leaps and bounds being made in this country in technology we saw ourselves as world leaders. The exposition that was to be held in Chicago gave America the perfect chance to put to effort not only our advances in technology, but also our skills and determinations. The seemingly impossible task of the World’s Fair actually taking place in the time frame that Chicago planners had to do so, was done because Chicago, the nation, and the people of this nation set out to prove that they were capable of doing the impossible. On an entirely different note, Dr H. H. Holmes also set out to prove what he was capable of. However, what he was capable of was not something the city of Chicago or the nation needed to help the images they were attempting to promote. Chicago was already thought of as a city full of savages; it didn’t need any supporting evidence in the form of a psychopathic serial killer. The nation, with ideas of showing its greatness in the world, didn’t need this kind of image either, so as to be associated with it parent country, England, which coincidentally was dealing with a serial killer also, Jack the Ripper. Only a few things could possible explain how such a series of murders as Holmes had committed could take place right in the middle Chicago. One partial explanation may simply have been the city’s extreme preoccupation with the completion and success of the World’s Fair. As the construction of the fair had to be accomplished in so little time, there was undoubtedly an extreme sense of urgency in the air that more than likely made any normal processes within the city slow down if not halt. Holmes’s building of what appeared to be a large hotel would not be so out of the ordinary at the time, as many in the city were hoping to profit from the World’s Fair coming to Chicago. Of course someone would have to be tipped of to the killings, and Holmes proved to be very cunning in his lies and stories that he told to anyone questioning his business. He had a habit of purchasing goods with credit while never intending to pay it off. One way he was successful in avoiding confrontations with creditors was the fact that he leased the property that he built the hotel on under a false name, so when having goods delivered he would simply put any blame on the fictional character he had created and convince the said creditor he did not know what was going on. He would further convince them by taking them out for drinks or cigars. This ability of Holmes as a conman was probably his most valuable asset in keeping his actions from being noticed. It was also these skills that proved to be a valuable asset in courting women he later murdered. He was very n...