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Jan 1, 1000
First Humans Arrive
The first humans arrive in America. Most travel by foot or boat along the Beringia, ice that froze during the ice age creating a path between Asia and the Americas. -
Oct 12, 1492
Columbian Exchange
After the discovery of the Americas in 1492, a biological exchange occured consisting of diseases, animals, plants, and other such materials between the old world and the new. This exchange was facilitated by the increasing knowledge of the available routes between the new and old world and faster ships. -
Magnetic Telegraph
Cooke and Wheatstone create the magnetic telegraph, which operated with four needles and was rather expensive.However, it helped long distance communication become more efficient. -
Pacific Railway Act
This act approved the construction of a transcontinental railroad and provided land grants and subsidies to the railroad the track that was laid. -
The Transcontinental Railroad
It was created by the Union Pacific Railroad, going from Omaha westwards, and the Central Pacific Railroad, going from Sacramento, eastwards. The nation was more accessible than ever before, and people traveled in greater numbers towards the west. The two railrods met at Promontory Point in Utah, and were completed with the labor of thousands of Irish, Chinese, Mexican-Americas, and black workers. -
The Telephone
The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell, and it made communication between distant places much easier. -
Modern Bicycle
The BicycleThe modern version of the bicycle is invented and becomes popular among young people and allows women a new degree of freedom, promoting the "new woman" ideal. -
First Successful Airplane Flight
SourceOrville and Wilbur Wright create the first successful airplane. Their airplane successfully completes four very brief flights on this day at Kitty Hawk. Their invention, though still a marvel at this point in history, will evolve to eventually become the most efficient form of travel for long-distances. -
Henry Ford's Model T is Introduced
Henry Ford's Model T was introduced to consumers in 1908. The Model T was more affordable to people not belonging to the upper classes. Once a product for the wealthy this development caused the car to be assocated less with the wealthy and more with the average American. -
Panama Canal
The panama canal opened August 14th, 1914. The panama canal was a result of imperialism in America. It facilitated trade between the U.S. and Pacific countries, and served as a monument to American power. -
First Commercial Radio Station
KDKA becomes the first commercial radio station in the world. It is used on this day to announce the results of the presidential election. The radio becomes a main part of households in America beginning in the 1920s; the main soucre of entertainment and communication for many. The radio will remain an important form of communication until it is replaced by television. -
Introduction of Henry Ford's Model A
Henry Ford's new model that was designed to be more aesthetically pleasing and still as or more efficient than the Model T. The introduction of the Model A best demonstrates the increasing demand and market for cars. At this point in time nearly every American family had a car providing an ample market for the Model A. -
First Fireside Chat
Following his election to the presidency, Franklin D. Roosevelt began making "fireside chats" over the radio as a way to comfortably inform Americans about the progress of the nation in regards to the banking crisis, the subsequent Great Depression, and the war effort, until the last "fireside chat" in June 1944. In this way FDR was able to soothe the fears and axieties of a large number of Americans in the comfort of their own homes. -
Civil Works Administration (CWA) Unveiled
Civil Works AdministrationThe CWA was a New Deal program created under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) that employed about 4 million workers in construction jobs. The program ended in March 1934, but built or improved 255,000 miles of roads and almost 1,000 airports that the nation previously had been severly lacking. These new or improved roads and airports greatly improved transportation, making it easier to travel by car and greater accesibility for military planes. -
Harvard Mark I/the IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator
The first automatic digital calculator in the United States and the largest electromechanical cauculator ever built was the Harvard Mark I. The Harvard Mark I was built during WWII and was the predecessor to the ENIAC. Just as with ENIAC, the Harvard Mark I was significant because it would eventually evolve into the communication device the computer serves as in the future. -
Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Works Progress AdministrationModeled after the CWA, the WPA did the same projects as the CWA; building construction, building or improving highways and bridges, as well as other projects. The WPA accomplished more than the CWA due to its 8 year existence during which they built 651,087 miles of roads, constructed/repaired 124,031 bridges and built 853 airport landing fields, all of which made transportation in the US more efficient. -
Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938
Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938This act made one federal agency in charge of regulating and controlling air transportation. Primitive as it was, the act allowed the government more contol over air mail carriers affecting communication by eventually allowing mail to be distributed more easily and cheaply over long distances. The act would also aid in the development of a safer and reliable form of transportation by airplane in the future. -
Television Introduced at 1939 World's Fair
At the 1939 World's Fair television was first introduced in the exhibitions. Though WWII would hinder efforts to advance television to the point that it could be available in people's homes, television was reintroduced following the war to a public far more capable of purchasing such a machine and became a main souce of enbtertainment and communication from then on, replacing the radio. -
The Office of War Information
The purpose of the Office of War Information was mainly to distribute propaganda to the American public during WWII. This was significant because of the profound effect it had on life on the home front and the racism demonstrated in the portrayal of the Japanese that influenced how many Americans viewed the Japanese, mostly as ruthless inhuman enemies. -
The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC)
ENIAC was the first genral-purpose electronic computer and was built at the University of Pennsylvania. The machine itself was cumbersome and slow compared to todays standards, but at the time was extremely advanced. It was intended for use by the military for the war effort but was not ready for use until the war ended. This computer was the pioneer for a new electronic age, paving the way for many more technological advances that would lead to computers that could be used for communication. -
Transistor Radio
Bell Labs develops a transistor, and shortly afterwards develops a prototype of the transistor radio. Transistor radios will eventually end up being the most popular electronic communication device in history, with billions being manufactured in the 60s and 70s. Texas Instruments is believed to have been the first to create a working model of the transistor radio. -
Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956
The bill was signed into law by Dwight D. Eisenhower. It alloted $40 billion for 41,000 miles of road to eventually create the Interstate Highway System. It was a single project meant to unite the whole country, and made travel infinitely easier for the future. Americans unified more by an increasing accessibility of regions that we distant before. -
Vanguard TV3
In response to Sputnik and Sputnik II being launched by the Soviets, the Eisenhower administration, behind-the-scenes, pushed to have the American Vanguard missile launch an American satellite. However, when it was launched, it rose six feet in the air and then exploded. Newspapers gave the satellite the name of "Flopnik." However, it was still the first American attempt to send a satellite into space. -
Creation of NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was formed as a result of Sputnik. It's responsible for the space program and for research in aeronautics and aerospace. NASA launched many missions into space, and was responsible for eventually sending man to the moon and elsewhere.
