Research Paper on How Did the Great Baltimore Fire in Baltimore City Impact Jobs for Immigrants in 1904?

Introduction

Cities can have an eternal change even from quick fires. Examples of cities that burnt to their foundations include Chicago, London, and San Francisco, and out of the ashes, more modern versions have risen. Over a century ago, Baltimore underwent a less-famous fire, an inferno that went for over 30 hours and brought down over 70 downtown blocks. However, even though such devastation mars cannot be seen today, the robust infrastructure and the tall buildings in the city are a testimony of how a town can sprout from even the worst tragedy.

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There is an abrupt widening of two roads into five when one is headed into the city, and this causes occasional confusion. Most people assume this to be a fluke of civil engineering, not knowing that on that very spot people had fought for their lives. The one reason as to why the Baltimore could have been forgotten is because it only resulted in one direct death unlike the Chicago blaze which stays prominent in the collective memory. Nevertheless, there was enormous damage caused by the fire: over 1,526 buildings got consumed in 30 hours. One of the inner Harbor piers got consumed, and high-rise offices burned down to their steel frames. Temperatures raised to 2500 degrees at the epicenter of the fire, yet the city survived, through the Baltimore people efforts and partly through chance.

However, it did not take long before Baltimore began rebuilding. A year later, there were dozens of buildings under construction. The downtown of Baltimore was completely restored ten years after the fire. Generally, we can state that there were several significant Improvements whose ways were made by the fire in the downtown and they included the twelve streets that got widened, the movement of utilities underground, the establishment of a plaza, and the building of wharves which later became publicly owned. As a result of the fire, there was also the emergent of stricter fire codes for Baltimore and the national standardization of fire-hose connectors and fire hydrants.

High economic costs were resulting from the fire. Out of the 539,000 residents of the city, around fifteen percent of them remained unemployed after the disaster, while at the same time over 2,500 businesses got destroyed. "It is a cruel blow to the material interests of Baltimore, but not a crushing one," stated an article within The Sun. The article continued to report that for the businessmen of the city having undaunted spirit, they would prove themselves to be equal to the occasion, and equally breathtaking as the disaster was, and long as the effects of the fire would be felt. Indeed, the city sprang back, and money that previously got directed for green spaces and wide boulevards went to the repairing of public places.

As a result of the Baltimore great fire, there was the creation of more job opportunities for the natives of this city. The nature of these jobs was as a result of the required long hours of work to recover from the losses experienced. Construction of new structures was also another major thing that led to the creation of more job opportunities. Structures such as buildings and roads were under construction, and since this was done in large numbers, it called for a large number of workers to get everything done within the available time.

As the fire set the city ablaze, the natives fought together to put the fire under control. However, after the fire had ended, the same people fought against each other during the recovery of the of the business district in a crisis that followed the fire. That is, there was an abrupt change in the initial passion from the unity and selflessness that existed among the people during the 30-hour fire, to the actions of self-servicing during the city rebuilding. Actually, there was much stress brought about by the political conflict after the fire Baltimore's mayor committed suicide.

There was also the creation of employment for those hired to bring down the fire. About 1,231 firefighters were hired to extinguish the fire, and among them were both professional firefighters who helped to bring under control the blaze, and engine companies from the city of Baltimore fire department. There were also volunteers from the outlying towns and surrounding counties as well. The fire led to the creation of new opportunities both fot the natives of the Baltimore city and immigrants both from within America and outside America. It came as an opportunity to begin from scratch all the businesses as there was now no underlying competition. There was market for almost everything as the city was like a newly upcoming place where nothing previously existed. All kinds of jobs became enormous from construction, food processing, textile, and many others.

Immigrants were among the major beneficiaries from the newly created job opportunities resulting from the great Baltimore fire. For example, the Chinese in the construction industry dominated the construction of the major structures that were being put up after the tragic fire. The reason for the immigrants' domination of the industry was due to the high cost of labor which attracted large number of Chinese professionals in the construction industry into the 'city' of Baltimore. However, in as much as there was creation of job as a result of the tragic fire, several jobs were also lost from the burnt down businesses and offices. There were 70 blocks burnt down in the down town and most of these buildings housed businesses and offices what created employment for over 2,500 employers, and a much larger number of employees lost their jobs as a result of the same.

On other grounds, it is also argued out that the immigrants were severely negatively affected by the great Baltimore fire through several means. For example, after the restoration of the city to its normal status, the government gave first considerations in terms of job placement and other duties to the Americans or rather the natives hence rending most of the previously employed immigrants jobless. Both the formal and the informal sectors which was previously dominated by the immigrants later became dominated by the Native Americans due to the considerations given to them by the council. However, for the informal sector, the level of bias was not as significant as it was in the formal sector as most of the businessmen resumed to their original duties without any considerations.

However, the immigrants are said to have benefited from the effects of the great Baltimore fire than the natives of Baltimore. To begin with, the people of Baltimore city were destructed both psychologically and mentally and were therefore not ready to at immediately on the activities aimed at restoring the city back into its normal status. This created a working advantage for the immigrants who immediately fled in to take advantage of such an opportunity and dominating most of the contracts and jobs that were available. Both the skilled and non-skilled labor came from the immigrants as most of the natives of Baltimore were still destructed by the fire and unable to work.

Conclusion

Looking at both sides of the effects caused by the Baltimore fire in terms of employment opportunities, it is evident that the tragedy created more employment opportunities that the ones lost, and as a result, we can make a general conclusion that the great fire of Baltimore led to the creation of more employment opportunities. The previously existing jobs got reinstated and this means that those who previously worked resumed their jobs. Additionally, the processes involved in the reinstatement of such facilities was also job in its own and this implied additional job opportunities. Surprisingly, after the fire, the structrures that got established exceeded the previously existing structures and this means that there were more job opportunities created since this means there were more businesses created.

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