Chicago: Crossroads of America

An ancient crossroads of travel and trade, Chicago played a key role in the making of modern America. Chicago: Crossroads of America, focuses on that crossroads nature of Chicago and its national influence using the archives and artifacts from the collection of the Chicago History Museum. Chicago: Crossroads of America, the companion to the exhibition of the same name, easily stands alone as an informative, provocative, and engaging view of the history of Chicago. Author and exhibition curator, Olivia Mahoney, walks us through Chicago history with chapters named City on the Make - an examination of Chicago as a crossroads of economic and cultural exchange from prehistoric time to the present; City in Crisis which shows how conflicting social, economic and political forces converging at the crossroads can explode in violent disorder, disrupting and changing the city; Sweet Home Chicago an overview of how Chicago s communities unite and divide along the lines of race, ethnicity and class; , Second to None a presentation of Chicago s many innovations and their far-reaching impact; and My Kind of Town a discussion of Chicago as a cultural crossroads where generations of people have gathered to play and celebrate. Mahoney brings the city s history to life with a robust selection of vibrant and provocative stories that illustrate Chicago s crossroads nature and its national and international influence.