USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Chicago’s meatpacking district opened in 1865. With the innovation of refrigerated railroad cars, Chicago became a hub of meat processing as packing companies popped up around the stockyards.

Detailed explanation-2: -Due to its central location, position as a railroad hub, and proximity to Midwestern farms, Chicago was ideally situated to become America’s meatpacking capital, especially during the Civil War, when the Union Army needed food, and blockades disrupted old trade routes.

Detailed explanation-3: -Gustavus Swift, who came to Chicago to ship cattle, developed a way to send fresh-chilled beef in ice-cooled railroad cars all the way to the East Coast.

Detailed explanation-4: -From the Civil War through the 1930s, Chicago was the center of the meatpacking industry in the United States. At its peak, Chicago supplied over 80% of America’s meat. The industry impacted the city’s economy, America’s railroads, food science and food processing technology, labor rights, and government regulation.