Theodore Dreiser was born in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1871. After a difficult childhood spent in poverty, Dreiser began writing for Chicago newspapers in 1892. After nearly a decade of success in journalism, Dreiser composed his first novel, Sister Carrie, in 1900. In the work, Dreiser realistically portrays the social and economic factors of his society. It is for this quality of realism that he has become best known.
The growth of Chicago. Though the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 had destroyed most of the city's newer buildings, subsequent decades saw a rebuilt Chicago rise dramatically from the ashes. By 1890 the territorial confines of Chicago stretched to 165 square miles. The growth of American industry had made it a city of wealthy tycoons such as Philip Armour, the pork-packing magnate, and George Pullman, the builder of railroad cars. As industries continued to grow, young men and women poured into Chicago and other major cities from rural communities across the Midwest, hoping to earn their fortunes. The railroads provided the major impetus for growth. In 1860 there were only 60,000 miles of track in the United States, but by 1900 that figure had multiplied to 250,000, leaving hardly a single major community outside the railroad system.
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