The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 (Oxford History of the United States)

by Richard White

Environmental improvements and corporate advantages combined in 1865 when the railroads and the big packinghouses in Chicago combined to create the 320-acre Union Stockyards, a “bovine city” just outside the city limits on the Southwest Side. Unloading livestock from the railroads at the new yards eliminated the need to move cattle and pigs through the streets of the city, a real gain for public health and safety. The big meat packers having opposed attempts to make them take responsibility for slaughterhouse wastes switched positions and supported stricter environmental and health regulations within Chicago’s limits. They hoped these laws would both drive independent butchers out of business and force other packers to move into the yards, where they would share the expenses.