The 1893 World's Fair

The 1893 World’s Fair was an event unlike anyone had ever seen in 19th century America. Its official title was the Colombian Exposition that was held in Chicago in 1893 in order to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus arriving in America in 1492. The fair had a particularly significant impact on architecture, the use of electricity, and amusement attractions. It was an event that not only impacted the United States, but also made a lasting impression on forty six other nations around the world. The “white city” as it was labeled was an excellent portrayal of America’s continual growth in many areas of life.

The first primary region that the Chicago World’s Fair greatly demonstrated was in its architecture. Most of the buildings were built in the classical style of architecture derived from the Greeks and Romans, which entailed that the famous architects such as Richard Morris Hunt, Charles McKim, and Burham and Root who were the overseers of the construction of the main buildings who all utilized Corinthian, Doric, and Ionic columns in addition to other traditional ancient building techniques, such as curved arches and domes. The agricultural and administration buildings were the primary example of this, as they magnificently portrayed beautiful Corinthian columns and magnificent statues. However, these buildings were never meant to be permanent structures, as they were covered in a white stucco-like material known as staff which was flexible, yet durable and dried quickly. They chose white because it was the cheapest color, as they had many buildings to cover over a six hundred acre site, and did not want to spend massive amounts of money. In the end, people grew accustomed to the color as they claimed it “illuminated the city” and gave it the famous name “The White City.”

A second aspect that made the World’s fair so impressive was the utilization of electricity in ways the world had never seen before. The International Exhibition was located in a building that was devoted to electrical exhibits, featuring the General Electric Company that was primarily supported by Thomas Edison and J.P. Morgan. The main source of power behind the electricity was known as the “direct current” which had cost the United States 1.8 million dollars; however the General Electric Company managed to buy it for $554,000. Although Edison and Morgan were the two key men that made electricity available to be utilized at the fair, it was George Westinghouse who showcased it to the public by illuminating the exposition by way of spectacular lights. Westinghouse’s company displayed many polyphase systems, which were a means of distributing alternating current electrical power. They had two or three electrical conductors that provided highly-energized electrical currents that had a time offset between the voltages contained in each conductor. Their major function was to offer power to induction and synchronous motors. There was even one of these intricate motors on display for the public to appreciate the working force behind the high frequency lights that could be seen throughout the fair.

The third aspect of the fair that had the most practical use for electricity was in the wide variety of amusement attractions that were readily available for the entertainment pleasure of people. The 1893 World’s Fair was the first to have an area for amusements that was separate from the exhibition halls, an idea that was first introduced by Sol Bloom who called it “Midway Plaisance” causing the term midway to be placed in the American dictionary as a word used to describe an area where sideshows are located. It featured carnival rides such as the first Ferris wheel that was built by George Ferris that was 264 feet tall and had thirty six cars that could fit sixty people each. Edweard Muybridge also introduced a machine called a zoopraxiscope that displayed moving pictures, creating the world’s first movie theatre located in the Zoopraxographical Hall. Another groundbreaking invention was the moving walkway created by Kate McPhelim Cleary that was the first of its kind built along the banks of the lake that allowed people to move about the fair faster.

As demonstrated, there were many inventions that contributed to the successfulness of the 1893 World’s Fair and had left America a changed nation. The United States was in the midst of a major industrialization period, making steady progress through advances in architecture, electricity, and the practical outworking of electrical power through amusement attractions. Above all, the fair’s main goal was to show the world the progress it had made throughout the past century. It truly went above and beyond people’s expectations, portraying that America was genuinely a land of opportunity and industrial positivism.

Funding Your Future Education

With the constant rise in the price of education, the idea of going to a four year university is an one that is seemingly unreachable for many aspiring students that want to continue in their learning experience. However, there are several scholarships available to students who are willing to do the research necessary to find them. I have found this particularly useful when exploring the money that will be available to me through Biola University, Master’s College, and Pepperdine University. It is when students engage in this examination that they will find many ways in which to save money which will benefit them greatly in the future.

In my own life, I have examined what scholarships can pertain through me through Biola University, when considering both my GPA and SAT scores. The first one that I came across was the general approximation that was given to me based on the two aspects of GPA and SAT scores, and figured that I would receive between 7,000 and 9,000 dollars a year. This would help me out substantially throughout four years as it would bring the grand total of tuition for one year from an original cost of $36,332 to $28,332 considering I would be getting an average of $8,000 dollars in scholarship money a year. In addition to this, I am also eligible for their Community Service Scholarship, or CSS, because I have been involved in leadership and community service efforts while maintaining a high GPA. This would grant me an additional $3,000 by freshmen year, decreasing the price to $25,332. The display of community service also makes it possible for me to save additional money through what is known as the SURGE scholarship, which is awarded to those who maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, and whose leadership displays ethnic diversity and multicultural awareness. This particular scholarship has the potential of saving me $4,000 to $6,500 dollars a year. In total, this would save approximately $16,000 my freshman year and $13,000 during my next three years.

In addition to Biola, Master’s College also has many scholarship opportunities. Within the undergraduate program, the starting tuition would be $15,810 per year, including the prices for the dorm and meal plans. However, I would be qualified for two scholarships, these being the Distinguished Scholar Scholarship and the Honors Scholarship. The Distinguished Scholar Scholarship is for those who have an unweighted GPA of 3.85 or higher, which would reward me with an average of $7,050 per year. In addition to this, the Honors Scholarship would grant me approximately $5,500 my freshmen year by having above a 3.65 GPA and a cumulative SAT score (of the math and critical reading sections) between 1050 and 1600. This amount of scholarship money would significantly decrease my tuition from $15,810 a year to about $6,810, essentially cutting the price in half.

The third college that I am very interested in going to where scholarships would help a substantial amount is Pepperdine University. Scholarships are particularly important when it concerns this school because they just had a hike in their tuition that has just broken $50,000 a year. An estimate of what I would be paying a year including board and meal plans would be about $53,000 a year. There are limited scholarships that Pepperdine offers, however I am qualified for a couple of scholarships which include the Faculty Scholarship and the Talbots Women’s Scholarship. The Faculty Scholarship is aimed at students who are able to maintain a 3.5 GPA or higher, and can vary from $3,000 to $12,000 or more, but it cannot exceed the tuition rate. The second is the Talbots Women’s Scholarship that directly applies to women living in the United States who are planning to enroll in a full four year undergraduate study. Ten $15,000 and one $30,000 scholarship is provided for those who show outstanding academic dedication. If I were to get a $10,000 faculty scholarship it would reduce tuition to about $43,000 a year, and the Talbots scholarship would decrease it to $38,000 a year. Although the tuition rate would still be high, the money granted to me per year would help significantly, as I would be saving over $52,000 during four years through an average grant of $13,000 each year.

In conclusion, scholarships can be an extremely beneficial way in cutting down the costs of going to a four year university. The primary focus of my scholarships is academics, but I also can get a combined amount of $3,000 from my dance studio and from volunteering at St, Mary’s Hospital that would apply to any college I choose attend. In addition to the scholarships that are available to me, the colleges mentioned above also have other ways of helping students through financial aid opportunities depending on your economic status. Another outlet that can save students an extra 1,000 to 3,000 dollars is by applying for FASFA(free application for student aid) early, and most colleges with honor that commitment with a particular grant of money. Applying the above to scholarships, the final totals per year are as follows: Biola: $20,332, Master’s: $11,810 and Pepperdine: $33,000. Between all three of these colleges and the additional dance and St. Mary’s scholarship money, I am looking an offer of over $40,000 per year, or $160,000 over four years. When seeing the breakdown of how beneficial scholarships can really be to my college education is extremely encouraging and motivates me to continue to perform my best in the last two years of high school as I know how much it will help me have a successful future.