Beaming Forth Rays of Hope for All Womankind: A Comparison of Women and Men's Reflections on the 'Greatest Fair in American History' - The 1893 World's Columbian Exposition

Abstract

The World's Columbian Exposition, held in 1893 in Chicago, attracted numerous visitors from around the world to view the exhibits on technology and the advancement of civilization since the evolution of man. In the six short months of the World's Columbian Exposition's existence, approximately one in four Americans visited the fair. Visitors walked away from the grand buildings and various exhibits with impressions of grandness and perceptions of their society and civilization. This was one of the first international exhibits in which women played a major role in the organization of and fundraising the fair. Numerous women visited the fair in an American society becoming more progressive and wrote personal accounts of their observations. Thus, women observed the different buildings, exhibits, and fairgoers differently than their male counterparts, which has connotations for society and civilization in general.