Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West

Part 1 of Cronon’s book situates Chicago as the mecca of western American commerce. The first two chapters build upon the preface and prologue in two ways. First, the rise to being the “central city” in 19th-century America is likened to the rise of the ancient Roman Empire. Second, Cronon spends significant time describing the intricate relationship that American authors and philosophers had with nature and the emerging cities, advancing his earlier idea that rhetoric was integral to the West’s development. Finally, Cronon introduces readers to central place theory and establishes Johann Heinrich von Thünen, an educated German farmer, as a principal figure on whom he will contrast his own theories of urban growth.

Chicago’s rise to prominence reflects both a literal and metaphorical allusion to Chicago as a great Empire, like that of Rome in ancient times. Cronon quotes an 1880s Chicago newspaperman who said, “In ancient times [...] all roads led to Rome; in modern times all roads lead to Chicago” (78). The comparison of the growth of cities like Chicago and other developing cities of the American West to the Roman Empire suggests a Darwinian evolution at play. The notion underscores the early 19th-century belief that one “empire” will automatically morph into the next larger empire and so on. Emerging 19th-century cities would mirror the progress and activities of empires that came before them.

While Cronon argues that places like New York City became an empire in the West because of its status in commerce rather than war and political upheaval—as is generally the case with ancient empires—the events leading to Chicago’s status as a central city was not without violence and warfare. Like Rome, Chicago’s future would blossom from surrounding wealth. When Black Hawk crossed the Mississippi River to protect his ancestral lands, he was met with violence, and consequently tribes that inhabited the rich, fertile areas along the river were relocated to less valuable land on the far end of the Mississippi. Although the Potawatomi did not participate in Black Hawk’s mission, they felt the effects of his actions and had readily traded in the urban fur market. However, groups like the Potawatomi did not pursue the vision of a metropolitan market—the same vision that attracted travelers to the area throughout the 1830s. They lived off the rich land in the moment, satisfying their most immediate needs. As Cronon asserts, “The Potawatomi’s own conception of the market did not extend to the lands on which they lived, at least not nearly so much as the people who supplanted them” (94). The Potawatomi, then, became victims of the market empire and the natural wealth that lined the riverbanks.

The role of rhetoric and communication in the development of the great Western cities reemerges as a theme. Cronon asserts that the center of the metropolitan empire was the marketplace of modern capitalism. As Manifest Destiny was removing Indigenous people from their land to develop more urbanized areas, so too was what author Robert Herrick termed “metropolitan destiny” contributing to the influx of consumers and merchants to the area. “The boosters” began touting Chicago’s geographic advantages. In their writings, boosters such as John Wright and William Gilpin offered new optimism for material wealth in both the city and country. The boosters romanticized the railroads as powerful forces of nature and argued that as the city grew, so would the rural region around the city. The boosters’ personal and philosophical narratives and observations were not the only form of rhetoric to contribute substantially to the growth of the city. As Cronon discusses in future chapters, the newspaper, advertising, and telegraph industries all played a significant role in establishing Chicago.

The introduction of von Thünen in these early chapters sets up a natural backdrop against which Cronon develops his own theories of the development of the American West. The Isolated State, von Thünen’s 1826 book, examines the physical and economic relationships between the city and country. He posits that, if a single city were to sit alone in the middle of a fertile plain, agricultural activities would ultimately appear in the surrounding areas (87). These areas would produce crops based on what people would be willing to pay and how much they would cost to transport. He asserts that “with increasing distance from the Town, [...] the land will progressively be given up to products cheap to transport in relation to their value” (88) Each of the agricultural areas established around town would be labeled as “zones,” and the products produced there depend heavily on demand and cost of shipment. Cronon writes, “Like von Thünen’s isolated city, Chicago was remote from all of these events. And yet no place is more central to understanding why they occurred” (150). According to Cronon, Chicago’s ascendancy is best understood when von Thünen’s theories are combined with the booster theories that persuaded elite businessmen from the East to invest substantial sums to help make Chicago’s urban dream come true.