The Windy City on the shores of lake Michigan, Chicago is one of the few major cities in the United States that isn't situated on a sea coast. Nevertheless, it is the second most populous city in the country and one of the most productive, owing to the canals that connect the city to the Mississippi river. The area around Chicago was an important portage used by Native Americans for thousands of years for travel and trade, which in turn attracted settlers from the East coast and Louisiana. The city of Chicago went from having a population of 200 at the time of its founding to 110,000 in the span of a few decades. But in 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed much of the city, and from the ruins of the previous wooden structures arose a new metropolis, with modern constructions of steel and concrete, like the world's first steel-framed skyscraper.

Currently, Chicago is the foremost industrial and economic center in the Great Lakes, from its mills come out the steel used for tanks and planes for the US Armed Forces, but also for the cars and buildings used by the American people. This in turn requires large numbers of people to be employed as workforce, which is why Chicago is also one of the most prominent destinations for immigrants in the country. Since the 19th century, Chicago has been home to several ethnicities like the Irish, Germans, Eastern Europeans, and even black Americans, although issues like redlining and blockbusting remain prominent among black neighborhoods.