During the late 19th and early 20th century, Chicago was one of the cities that made the United States the land of opportunity. Thanks to the railroads and canal, the city was a viable option for anyone looking for a job, and to make a decent amount of money. It brought immigrants from different countries over from Europe who could fill positions of unskilled laborers. When the United States joined World War I in 1918, it resulted in less immigrants coming to America, and for Chicago that left openings for jobs. The Great Migration was also occurring around the same time, with thousands of African Americans traveling from the south who were looking for work and a better life. Chicago had job opportunities, as well as better living conditions, and thus many African Americans came to Chicago during the Great Migration. Many expected to get the equality they were denied in the south, but that was not the case. The white people of Chicago did not take to African Americans coming to their city and taking jobs, and living in neighborhoods that they had populated for years. With tension between both sides high, it would result in one of the largest race riots not just in Chicago, but also in the history of America. There have been different analyses written about the riots, with each stating what the causes were for it. Although I have found different reasons for what caused it, one thing that played a huge part in creating tension between the two races before the actual riot was the newspapers of the City of Chicago. The city was not considered one with segregation, but the papers showed they were moving towards it. The one thing all the articles I read could agree on was what started the riot. "That spark was contributed by a white youth when he knocked a colored lad off the raft at the 29th Street bathing beach and the colored boy was drowned.  ("Chicago and Its Eight Reasons  pg 154). Where the articles differ is to what lead up to th