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Spinning Wheel
This was a tool that women have used to take natural fibers and threads and turn them into yarn. Mothers taught their daughters how to use the wheel at a young age so that they could manuver the machine well by the time they were adults. -
Irrigation Canal
Irrigation techniques and systems were used all throughout South America region by the natives that inhabited the area. It was brought into the North American continent by the Hohkam and was very useful to farming. It enabled farmers to harvest two crops a year, even through a dry environment. -
The Cotton Gin
Relative to the time period, the cotton gin sped the process of harvest cotton by eight times. This invention quickly and easily separated the cotton from the seed. Since the process had been shortened by so much, farmers began planting more cotton, and soon became heavily dependent on it. The patent on the cotton gin has been disputed when Eli applied in 1793, got it accepted in 1794, but it was actually in effect until 1807 creating controversy. -
Gunpower
Gunpowder was a chemical explosize that was very effective in war. It helped many of the Americans in war, but by the mid 1800's new innovations surpassed the success of what the gunpowder once had.. -
Butter Churn
Women at home used the plunger churn until the much more effective barrel churn was invented. This plunger churn could only produce butter for one family and as well as a few locals. However, the barrel churn allowed for women to produce butter for their families, as well as have a surplus that they could sell to merchants in the towns. Just to produce a pound of butter took about three hours, so innovations in the dairy field were continually occuring. -
Interchangable Parts
Eli Whitney revolutionized production when he developed the idea for interchangable parts. He demonstrated his idea to the United States Congress when he dissemble ten guns, put the parts into a mixed pile, and reassembled the ten guns right before their eyes. This made a huge impact in the production of weapons, and eventually inspired the assembly line of Henry Ford. -
Polygraph
Thomas Jefferson did not enjoy his time as a president, but enjoyed his time as an inventor. One of his most useful inventions at the time was the polygraph in 1806. This enabled Thomas Jefferson to make copies of his letters from his time as a young man to death. This was a helpful machine that had a major contribution to the world. -
Camera
The first photograph was an amazing sight to the naked eye in the 1800's. Many people were blown away by the ability to capture a moment in time. The camera created a new spectrum of possibility in America, and during the Civil War we can see the impact it had. Many photgraphers went out to document the incredible war, and the photographs were ultimatley presented to the public shortly after, and the images shocked everyone. -
Steel Plow Invented
The steel plow was used to break up the poor, dense soil the frontier had to offer. Great Plains farmers used this tool to increase the farms tenfold. -
Reaper
The reaper was a very simple contraption used by farmers in the 1850's. A cutting bar separated the chaff from the wheat, and then the reels pushed the wheat onto a platform for collection. Although the reaper was extremely helpful in the field, many southern plantations owners saw agricultural advancements as a way to get rid of their slave labor. -
Sewing Machine Invented
The sewing machine revolutionized the way women in the home provided for their families. They could now create clothing for their family faster than tedious and frustrating hand sewing. It also allowed for families to have some style in their wardrobe! -
Amusement Parks
Amusement parks attracted the lower-middle class civilians who wanted an escape from the working hardships they faced during the day. New York's Coney Island was one of the first amusement parks and offered a standard for the ones in the future. The main attraction to these parks were the Tunnel of Love and the crazy rollercoaster that resembled a steepechase . -
Barbed Wire Invented
Many farmers on the Great Plains used barbed wire to keep unwanted visitors out! However roping off teritory lead to firey debates on who owned what land. -
mimeograph machine invented
invented by Thomas Edison. A mimeograph machine is a printing press that forces ink through a stencil onto paper -
phonograph invented
invented by Thomas Edison, "phono" meaning sound and "graph" meaning writer. -
Carbon Microphone invented
Both Thomas Edison and Emile Berliner claimed they invented the carbon microphone; the courts awarded the patent rights to Edison. -
Vaudeville Evolves!
Vaudeville developed from the antebellum minstrel shows where comdians posed as blacks and performed in comedic skits which attracted many people of different classes. Vaudeville was a little different, because it had a slew of skits that critisized occurances in urban every day life. Even though it put its opinion on city officials, stereotypes, different cultures, and usually ended with a trapese artist against a black background. This was called a "flash" finale. -
Lightbulb Invented
Lightbulb was actually invented in 1879, but was not patented as the incandescent lighbulb until the date above. This invention allowed the home to be lit up, not by fire, but electricity. -
Motion picture camera and film invented
Invented by Thomas Edison and his assistant William Kennedy Laurie Dickson -
Vaccuum
Like many of the inventions that were sold in the 1920's, many of them had already been invented, but were not reasonably priced for the middle class family. When the 1920's came, money was circulating and families had more money to spend. The vaccuum is one of those inventions that became extremely popular in the 1920's because once again it eased the workload. -
panama canal
Construction began on the Panama Canal -
Electric Washing Machine Invented
Although washing machines had been criculating throughout the 1800's and early 1900's. But finally in 1911, the elecric washing machine was put on the market to sell, and housewives once again relieved themself of a heavy work load brought out by hand washing. It cut the time needed to wash clothes and allowed for the young mother, housewife, and women to focus on other important jobs. -
Birth Control Invented
Margaret Sanger began advocating birth control in 1914 after her mother had died due to bearing eleven children. Her conquest for contraception continued into her magazine The Bircth Control Review and in 1921 she founded the American Birth Control League. This is the ancestor of Planned Parenthood Federation. -
Silent Movies
These began as middle class entertainment in 1914, without sound, were a shift in the forms of entertainment available to citizens in America. These movies were a safer alternate than the risky amusement parks that were also offered -
panama canal finished
Construction of the Panama canal is finished. The first ship sailed through the canal in August 1914. -
Poison Gas
poison gas was first used by the Germans in WW1 in 1915. -
Tanks invneted and used in WW1
in 1907 a device called the Holt tractor was created and through out the war new designs were created based off of the original tractor until the tank was finally invented. -
Creation of Vitamin D
In today's society we know that milk is a good source of vitamins, minerals, calcium, and good for our bones and bondy. But back in the 1920's nobody knew this until Harvey Harry Steenbock. This man worked at the University of Wisconsin and made remarkable finds in the field of chemistry. One of his contributions include the creation of Vitamin D in milk using ultraviolet rays. This dicovery made milk a very health commondity. -
Skyscrapers
Skyscrapers had been rarely seen in America before the 1920's, however with the mass steel production and other inventions, skyscrapers popped up more and more! Many skyscrapers found in New York were built during the 1920's and were finally becoming recognized. -
Electric Refrigerator Invetned
When the electric refrigerator was invented, like many other home appliances, made the work of a housewife that much easier. The ability to store food in the electric refrigerator was a lot less time consuming. It also improved the diet of Americans, with the ability to store food with a lot of nutritional value, people were able to get proper nutrients for their health -
X-Rays Invented
A nuclear physicist, Arthur H. Compton, created and started a medical phenonmena that would pave the way for the medical field. A professor at the University of Chicago, he produced the revolutionary X-Ray. He won the Nobel Prize in 1927, along with a name revolutinary in the medial industry. -
Televisions commercially available
At first televisions were only for the upper class but by the 1960 90% of Americans owned a TV. In difficult economic times TV shows gave the public an escape and in times of prosperity TV shows showed the stereotypical American family. -
Color Motion Pictures Introduced to the Masses
The earliest type of color film was created in 1922, called Technicolor. However, this type of color film was not very successful. Color films were first introduced to the masses in 1939, with Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz.
This was significant because during the Depression 65% of Americans went to the movies at least once a week to get through the troubles that they were facing. -
Refridgerator Invented
The refridgerator and freezer were invented in 1940, but did not become incredibly popular unitl later. The fridge allowed for the storage and preservation of food, and gave the American people a better diet since they had the ability to maintain more nutrients within the household. -
Refridgerators Invented
The refridgerator was invented in the 1940's and did not become popular in the households untll later. This refridgerator provided for the preservation of food, which allowed the Americans diet to improve. With the ability to save food, the people were able to maintain more nutrients in the house, which they could later consume. -
IBM produced Mark 1, a calculator to decipher secret Axis codes
It was very slow and cumbersome, with 500 miles of wiring and 3,000 electromechanical relays. -
The Atomic Bomb
Developed in the secret Manhatten Project, scientist used molecular structure to create the most powerful weapon. The atomic bomb was then used twice! The first bomb, "Little Boy," was dropped on Hiroshima, and "Fat Man" was dropped on Nagasaki at the end of the second world war. This invention stimulated other nations to create and start developing weapons of their own. -
U.S. army develops ENIAC (first electronic computer)
It reduced the time required to multiply two tenth-place numbers from the three seconds that it took Mark 1, to less than three-thousandths of a second. It constantly had to be debugged becuase the heat and light attracted insects. The computer changed the American economy and society. -
The first Credit Card became available
The Diners Card was first available in 1950, it allowed people to purchase even more luxury items. -
Sputnik
On October 4, 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik. Sputnik was the first artificial satellite, weighing 184 pounds with a diameter of 22 inches. Sputnik ended the American myth that there was no question that America was superior technologically. -
Sputnik 2
Sputnik 2, also launched by the USSR, went farther into orbit and carried a dog. Critics said Eisenhower had allowed a technological Pearl Harbor. -
silicon computer chips
The data that could be held on one single chip increased enormously. This allowed computers to be miniaturized. -
The Pill
The Pill was a major breakthrough in technology for women and it gave many women in America the chance to control pregnancy. In addition, it gave women the ability to be sexually active without having to worry about pregnancy. It was widely supported by the feminists within the women's movement. -
IUD and Diapgram
Along with the birth control pill, other forms of contraception were becoming available for women in America. New forms, such as the IUD and the Diaphragm were invented to allow women to once again control their pregnancy. Many women were pleased with these forms of contraception, but some were opposed to this idea. -
Abortion
Abortion was invented in the 1960's as a way to stop unwanted pregnancies that were already underway. The women withing the feminist movement heavily supported this scientific breakthrough. Others in America reacted poorly, not accepting this new procedure. Many believed that this was killing lives and was morally wrong. However, in Roe v. Wade the abortion procedure was ruled constitutional much to many Americans dismay. -
LSD
Timothy Leary, who was previously working at Harvard University, began in the 60's encouraging the use of a new drug called LSD. He wanted students to experiment with drugs , and soon hallucinogens became popular from coast to coast. The magic and mystery of LSD influenced many songs in the 1960's and is commonly paired with the counter culture movement of the 1960's. -
8-track tapes
8-track tapes revolutionized music listening, the public saw it as a better option than vinyl records. Also, by 1967 all Ford automobiles offered 8-track tape players as upgrades to the cars. -
Super 8 home video camera
The super 8 home movie camera allowed people to make their own home movies. -
Altair computer kit
MITS developed the do-it yourself computer kit with Intel computer chips. It had limited memory and primitive programing but it was the first step in devolving practical home computers. -
Apple 1
Steven Jobs and Stephan Wozniak began selling Apple 1 at a local Bay area computer store. Apple was founded on April 1, 1976. The sale of home computers revolutionized business and had enormous cultural and economic impact. -
Apple 2
The second Apple computer increased sales of computers even more, especially since the price was dropped from $666.66 to $475. By 1980 sales has reached $118 million. -
The IBM-PC
The IBM-PC was IBM's version of a personal computer. Many buyers were attracted to the IBM name, the state-of-the-art hardware and Microsoft (Bill Gates' company) software, despite the price of $1,565. -
CDs and CD players introduced in the US
CDs were enthusiastically received and replaced older forms of music listening. CD players allowed people to listen to music easily on the go, though it took a few years for their price to drop before they became extremely popular. These CDs paved the way for CD-ROMs, recordable CDs and DVDs. -
World Wide Web
Basically, since computers were invented people were attempting to find more efficient ways to share information. While there were some advancements from 1961-1990, the World Wide Web (WWW) was not invented until 1991. The web allowed information to be shared faster than ever. The Web was at first just read-only content, allowing authorship of the web to longer to develop.
