Transportation and Communication Revolutions

Idea of Progress

World wide phenomenon; strengthened by enlightenment and growth of science; Charles Darwin; population boom (decline in diseases, better food supply); Manifest Destiny

Before 1830 how was transportation limited?

horse or sailing ship

War of 1812

treaty of Ghent to end war; took 6 weeks for news to cross Atlantic; the battle of New Orleans was fought

How long did it take for news of President William Henry Harrison death to spread?

110

Why was cost for food so high?

goods could only be moved downstream or shipped across the ocean

Early solutions

Better roads, better rivers (canals), better ships (clipper ships)

Revolutionizing Transport/communication

railroads, steamboats/steamships, telegraphs

Railroads

dramatic overhaul in moving people around; reorients nation with east-west connections

How did reorient nation with east and west connections?

Changes farms to monoculture, purchasing new agriculture tech, more land purchases, decrease in labor, smaller families, connects raw production centers, processing center, customers, lead to rapid growth of cities

Steamboats/Steamships

replaced flatboats on Mississippi river and tributaries; made reliable global trade possible; travel time decreased

Telegraphs

Quantum leap in tech, morse code, telegraph lines followed railroads, first transcontinental telegraph cable; quicker communication (minutes)

Alexander Graham Bell

bell’s mom and wife deaf, father and grandfather studied speech, born in Scotland, knew little about electricity (a lot about speech) firm believer in progress, generous with young inventors

Bell and telephone

patented telephone; lots of lawsuits; millions made

Bicycle Craze

very high and unsafe; safety bicycles invented; 1890’s mass adoption; large number of sales to women

What did bicycles do for women?

emancipated women more than anything else-Susan B Anthony

Automobiles

assembly line mass production; process radically improved by Henry Ford and Motor company; replaced craft manufacturing; 4 mill by 1935

Barney Oldfield

became a huge celebrity; bicycle and auto racer; constantly broke records