[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"425\"]![\"A](\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/884\/2015\/08\/23202816\/CNX_History_18_00_Chicago.jpg\")
The Electrical Building, constructed in 1892 for the World\u2019s Columbian Exposition, included displays from General Electric and Westinghouse, and introduced the American public to alternating current and neon lights. The Chicago World\u2019s Fair, as the universal exposition was more commonly known, featured architecture, inventions, and design, serving as both a showcase for and an influence on the country\u2019s optimism about the Industrial Age.[\/caption]\n\n\u00a0\n<\/p>
\u201cThe electric age was ushered into being in this last decade of the nineteenth century today when President Cleveland, by pressing a button, started the mighty machinery, rushing waters and revolving wheels in the World\u2019s Columbian exhibition.\u201d With this announcement about the official start of the Chicago World\u2019s Fair in 1893, the Salt Lake City Herald<\/em> captured the excitement and optimism of the machine age. \u201cIn the previous expositions,\u201d the editorial continued, \u201cthe possibilities of electricity had been limited to the mere starting of the engines in the machinery hall, but in this it made thousands of servants do its bidding . . . the magic of electricity did the duty of the hour.\u201d<\/p>\n The fair, which commemorated the four hundredth anniversary of Columbus\u2019s journey to America, was a potent symbol of the myriad inventions that changed American life and contributed to the significant economic growth of the era, as well as the new wave of industrialization that swept the country. While businessmen capitalized upon such technological innovations, the new industrial working class faced enormous challenges. Ironically, as the World\u2019s Fair welcomed its first visitors, the nation was spiraling downward into the worst depression of the century. Subsequent frustrations among working-class Americans laid the groundwork for the country\u2019s first significant labor movement.<\/p>\n\u00a0","rendered":" The Electrical Building, constructed in 1892 for the World\u2019s Columbian Exposition, included displays from General Electric and Westinghouse, and introduced the American public to alternating current and neon lights. The Chicago World\u2019s Fair, as the universal exposition was more commonly known, featured architecture, inventions, and design, serving as both a showcase for and an influence on the country\u2019s optimism about the Industrial Age.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe electric age was ushered into being in this last decade of the nineteenth century today when President Cleveland, by pressing a button, started the mighty machinery, rushing waters and revolving wheels in the World\u2019s Columbian exhibition.\u201d With this announcement about the official start of the Chicago World\u2019s Fair in 1893, the Salt Lake City Herald<\/em> captured the excitement and optimism of the machine age. \u201cIn the previous expositions,\u201d the editorial continued, \u201cthe possibilities of electricity had been limited to the mere starting of the engines in the machinery hall, but in this it made thousands of servants do its bidding . . . the magic of electricity did the duty of the hour.\u201d<\/p>\n The fair, which commemorated the four hundredth anniversary of Columbus\u2019s journey to America, was a potent symbol of the myriad inventions that changed American life and contributed to the significant economic growth of the era, as well as the new wave of industrialization that swept the country. While businessmen capitalized upon such technological innovations, the new industrial working class faced enormous challenges. Ironically, as the World\u2019s Fair welcomed its first visitors, the nation was spiraling downward into the worst depression of the century. Subsequent frustrations among working-class Americans laid the groundwork for the country\u2019s first significant labor movement.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t <\/p>\nCandela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div>