Day 197: Like Father, Like Son: the Harrisons

     A man becomes Mayor of Chicago, has ties to politicians of his day, gets elected to 5 terms, becomes the longest serving Mayor in the city's history, only to die in office.  Later on his son, having come up through the political ranks of the city he grew up in, follows in his footsteps, acts as more moderate than his father, and also goes on to serve longer than his father did.  Collectively, the two men define an era of Chicago politics.  And both of them had completed their terms by the time The Statue of The Republic was erected(1918).  While the Daleys may be Chicago's most infamous and well-known political dynasty, they weren't the first.  That honor goes to Carter Harrison Sr. and his son, Carter Jr.

     Carter Harrison Sr. served on the Cook County Board, until he won election to the U.S. House in 1875.  After winning re-election in 1877, Harrison stepped down in 1879 to run for Mayor, an office which he won.  His time as Mayor may be best remembered for the one time during the Haymarket Riot that he walked through the crowd without getting a scratch, so that he could implore the police to take it easy on the protesters.  He left office in 1887, upon which he ran the Chicago Times from 1891-1893.  At that time, Harrison once again ran for Mayor, and was elected to a record fifth term.  Harrison was elected in April of 1893, just in time to kick off the World's Colombian Exposition on May 1 of that year. He desired to show the world the best that Chicago had to offer.  For the most part, Harrison proved to be correct, and the 1893 Fair was the talk of the town for 6 months, even attracting more than 710,000 people in a single day.  However, the Fair ended badly(and very badly for Harrison) when Harrison was assassinated by a disgruntled former office seeker 2 days before the end of the fair.  The city was plunged into a deep depression, and all closing festivities of the Fair were abruptly cancelled.

     Four years later, Chicago voters walked into the voting booth and were welcomed with the sight of a familiar name running for Mayor.  Carter Harrison Jr. had claimed his birthright.  Jr. was more moderate than his father, and was seen as a reformer, since he kept in tune with the needs of the middle class.  In fact, in one of his more well-known moves, he made motions to close down the Levee District, and infamous red-light district that had been occupying space in the city ever since the 1893 World's Fair.  Harrison Jr's legacy may have been one of reform, but what is most notable about his time as Mayor is the fact that by the time he stepped down in 1915, the city was essentially at its modern size and was on its way to becoming the metropolis that it is today.  Over the course of the 36 years between 1879 and 1915, There was a Harrison at the helm of city government for 21 of those years.  Carter Harrison Jr. was succeeded in office by William Hale Thompson, who would leave his own distinctive legacy on the city.