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The article discusses the role of lumber in Chicago’s growth and the relationship between nature and capital. Chicago was known as the greatest lumber market in the world during the late nineteenth century. The city had the ability to trade commodities with the Great West due to its access to vast quantities of rural products. These products, such as grain, cattle, hogs, and lumber, were seen as symbolic abstractions or commodities defined by their passage through the market.

Chicago’s growth was fueled by its ability to assemble shipments from fields, pastures, and forests into great accumulations of wealth, thus converting them into capital. The labor theory of value, which states that economic goods acquire their worth from abstract human labor, only partially explains the accumulation of capital in Chicago. While human labor was critical in transforming raw materials into goods, much of the value in commodities like lumber came from the wealth of nature or first nature.

First nature refers to the abundance of natural resources in the Western landscape, such as the fertility of prairie soils and the abundance of Northern forests. These resources were not created by human labor but were exploited by humans for consumption and trade. The exploitation of nature came first, and capital was the result of social relationships and the buying and selling of wage labor.

The article also discusses the importance of white pine lumber in Chicago’s growth. White pine was highly valued for its even-grained wood, straight trunks, and floating properties. It was a vital resource for the construction of buildings, tools, and transportation infrastructure. The white pine logs were transported using waterways, such as Lake Michigan, and brought to sawmills in mill towns along the lake’s shores.

Logging was a winter activity, and the logs were moved during the spring floods when the rivers were filled with melted snow. The log drives were dangerous and required men to navigate the flowing logs and prevent logjams. Once the logs reached the mill towns, they were sorted by boom companies and then turned into lumber using saws. The lumber was loaded onto ships and transported to markets like Chicago.

In conclusion, lumber played a significant role in Chicago’s growth and development during the late nineteenth century. The city’s ability to trade commodities, such as lumber, with the Great West contributed to its accumulation of capital. The exploitation of nature and the abundance of natural resources, like white pine, fueled Chicago’s growth. The article highlights the complex relationship between human labor, nature, and capital in the development of Chicago as a major lumber market.

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