Chapter 8 - Appalachia and the Ozarks

Here is some economic history of the Chicago region.

• Before it was incorporated as a town in 1833, the primary industry was fur trading
• The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 enabled Easterners to migrate in increasingly large numbers to the lands west of Lake Michigan.
• During the 1850s and 1860s, Chicago's pork and beef industry expanded. Entrepreneurs such as Gustavus Swift and Philip Armourhelped the area to become the largest producer of meat products in the world. By 1862 Chicago had displaced Cincinnati, Ohio, as "Porkopolis".

• Chicago has produced many of the foremost industrialists, corporate lawyers, merchants, and financiers in United States history
• Late in the 19th Century, Chicago was part of the bicycle craze, as home to Western Wheel Company, which introduced stamping to the production process and significantly reduced costs,^[4] while early in the 20th Century, the city was part of the automobile revolution, hosting the brass era car builder Bugmobile, which was founded there in 1907
• Modern-day futures and commodity trading markets were pioneered in Chicago
• The city houses one of the Federal Reserve Banks

• Chicago Economy
  2000 Census Data	Chicago	Illinois	US
  Manufacturers shipments, 1997 ($1000)	26,745,880	200,019,991	3,842,061,405
  Wholesale trade sales, 1997 ($1000)	31,971,060	275,968,383	N/A
  Retail sales, 1997 ($1000)	13,882,143	108,002,177	2,460,886,012
  Retail sales per capita, 1997	$4,944	$8,992	$9,190
  Accommodation and foodservices sales, 1997 ($1000)	4,481,917	14,826,805	N/A
  Total number of firms, 1997	176,605	882,053	N/A
  Minority-owned firms, percent of total, 1997	26.7%	12.5%	14.6%
  Women-owned firms, percent of total, 1997	27.0%	27.2%	26.0%