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Electric Cars at the Turn of The Century
Ransom Olds produced a small number of electric cars around the turn of the century. Little is known about them and none survive. The picture at left is the only known picture of one of these rare cars. It was taken at was taken at Belle Island Park, Michigan. In 1899 and 1900, electrics outsold all other type of cars and the most popular electric was the Columbia built by Colonel Albert Augustus Pope, owner of American Bicycle Company. -
Gasoline engines fuel industry and economic growth
First gasoline car makes it debut. The gasoline automobile changed the face of small town America. The wealthy 'well-to-do" of the towns bought cars. The bricks on the road were replaced with asphalt for the tires. Horse and buggy were literally driven on the road. Businesses popped up all over to service the new cars. Stables became a thing of the past as did horse-drawn carriages. Cars made people mobile, and allowed them to travel greater distances in less time than before. -
John Scopes (Monkey) Trial {State of TN vs John Thomas Scopes}
The Scopes Trial started because of something John Scopes first said in a drug store in Dayton, Ohio. John Scopes was a 24-yr-old science teacher/football coach who said he could not teach biology without teaching evolution. The court day started with a prayer each morning. The trial was a joke, with mostly religious men on the jury. The judge even attended the church where one of the jurors was the pastor. Scopes was found 'gulity' of teaching evolution and fined $100 on 7/20/25. -
Television - first public transmission in the United States
Herbert E. Ives and Frank Gray of Bell Telephone Laboratories used a two-inch-wide by 2.5-inch-high screen to produce the first television transmission. It would be over 30 years before TV sets would be an everyday occurance. (Picture is of a black n white tv in the late 1950s). -
Charles Lindbergh flies the first non-stop Trans-Atlantic
The telegram read "Arrives Le Bourget Aerodrome, Paris after 33 hours, 29 minutes, and 30 seconds. Lindbergh lands at Paris' Le Bourget airfield". That telegram meant that Charles "Lucky" Lindburgh was the first male pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. He flew the Spirit of St Louis and his plane is in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC.
Lucky Lindy -
American Gothic 1 Grant Wood
Grant Wood, a famous painter, painted his sister and his dentist as the tradtional farm family. Because Grant won an award in Chicago, this painting because famous over night. In fact, winning that award gave him national recognition. The painting is said to "glorify and satirize" farming. It is one of the most paradied paintings of the 20th century including Hee-Haw, Saturday Night Live. Laugh-In and other comedy shows of the 60s and 70s. It is an icon. -
Grapes of Wrath (J. Steinbeck) is published
Steinbeck was a master at pointing out social and economic conditions and how those conditions effect individuals' lives. The Grapes of Wrath depicts a family hit hard by The Great Depression and shows how badly the US government handled agriculture and other programs for the disadvantaged. Because so many people were upset about this book, the US began programs to help including Social Security, and mandatory Crop Rotation. These were only 2 programs started because of Steinbeck's book. -
American Gothic 2
Gordon Parks parody of Grant Wood's American Gothic - depicting a cleaning woman with a broom and mop. -
Rosie the Riveter (Norman Rockwell's picture of a working woman used to support WWII efforts)
Rosie the Riverter was a picture by Norman Rockwell that inspired women left at home during WWII to get out and work.(published on 5/29/43) The signficance of this was that women entering the work force in such large numbers would forever change the idea of the "stay at home" mom. This also changed the dynamics of the american family as day cares were started while mothers were at work for the war effort. After the war, women continued to work and that changed the family structure to this day. -
"Babe" George Herman Ruth, Jr. Dies
"Babe" Ruth came to baseball at a time when the country needed a hero and baseball had a big 'black eye' because of a scandal (Blakc Sox Scandal ) of 1919. "Babe" Ruth decided to play baseball full time that year and for over 40 years, was the undisputed king of the homerun. He also proved to be needed during the Great Depression when the economy was bad and folks needed to feel good about something. "Babe" Ruth helped to make baseball "america's national sport" again. He died 8/16/48. -
First Color Television Transmission
The first color broadcast was of the Rose Bowl Parade in Janaury 1953. It wasn't until the late 1960s that color sets started selling in large numbers. My mom told me that the NBC peacock (pictured here) was what her family waited to see when they got their first color tv set here in Boone in 1969. That was the same summer of the moon landing. By the 1070s, color TV was standard in almost every house and color broadcasts were nothing special. -
Public Broadcasting Act of 1967
President Lyndon B Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act on Nov 7, 1967. This Act was significant beacuse it created the CPB (Corporation for Public Broadcasting) , the PBS (Public Broadcasting System) and the NPR (National Public Radio). These were the first nation wide networks for public television and radio. Prior to this act, the television and radio stations were mostly owned by corporations and had political agendas. Splitting the news from politics was important. -
Woodstock Music & Art Fesitval (Aug 15 - Aug 18, 1969)
Woodstock was an explosion of art, music and anti-establishment. It was not supposed to be so many people but the idea exploded on a small farm in upper New York. The "flower children' of the 1960's came together for a massive protest of the war in Viet Nam and a major statement of anti-establishment of the 'baby boomers'. Even today, Woodstock is seen as a great moment for peace, music and the arts. -
First Earth Day Celebrated
After the 1st Earth Day on APril 22, 1970, several things happened. So many people were made aware of the earth's pollution that the US government established several agencis to protect the Earth's environments. One was the EPA. A second was the creation of the President's Council on Environmental Quality. The last major thing to happen as the Clean Air Act being passed. This act established national air quality standards. -
Roe Vs Wade Legalizes Abortion
On January 22, 1973, the US Supremem Court ruled that a woman could have an abortion legally, with or without consent of her husband. This was a landmark ruling as women for 100s of years before were no able to end an unwanted pregnancy in a safe, sterile environment. Since then, everytime the Republicans get behind in a political race, they pull out the "right to abortion" along with the right wing religious people who can't see the separation of church and state. Luckily, It stands today.
