Inventors and Inventions Recap This time period begins

Inventors and Inventions

Recap • This time period begins just at the end of the Civil War and is called the Industrial Revolution • The country is continuing to expand Westward • Why it matters – Innovations in technology and new business combinations help the United States grow into a great industrial power • Main Idea – Inventions improved the transportation and communication networks that were vital to the nation’s industrial growth

Communication Changes • Inventions in communication improved and transformed American life • They helped unify different regions and encouraged economic growth • Laying the transatlantic cable

Inventions in Communication • Telegraph - Samuel Morse 1844 • System of dots and dashes called Morse Code • Used to communicate around the world • Telephone – Alexander Graham Bell – 1885 – Used mostly to speed up business – 1900 – homeowners began to find it a timesaver • Wireless Telegraph (Radio) – Guglielmo Marconi – 1895 – First used for entertainment in 1906

The Genius of Invention • Between 1860 and 1890, the United States government granted more than 400, 000 patents for new inventions. – Famous inventions: • • The Kodak Camera – George Eastman Vacuum Cleaner – John Thurman – 1868 Typewriter – Christopher Sholes - 1868 Adding Machine – William Burroughs – 1868 • What might we be without today if these inventions were never created? – Think about what all these inventions may have lead to and list everything you can think of on the paper below

Thomas Edison • Most famous inventor of all time • Many of his inventions made life easier for Americans. – Light bulb quite possibly his most important invention – Phonograph (record player), motion picture projector, battery and hundreds of others. • The Electric Power Plant – Edison built the first one in New York City in 1882 – Soon after, more were built to power homes and businesses

African American Inventors • Because of racial segregation many had trouble getting patents • Lewis Howard Latimer – developed an improved filament for the light bulb and joined Edison’s company. • Elijah Mc. Coy – created device that oiled engines automatically • Granville T. Woods – created an electromagnetic brake for trains • Jan Matzeliger – created a shoe-making machine that performed many steps previously done by hand.

A Changing Society • In the 1900 s, improvements ushered in a new era of transportation • The Automobile – No single person invented the automobile • People started building cars in the 1860’s • Only the elite or rich could afford – Henry Ford changed the industry • Ford introduced the assembly line • Allowed for mass production – Cars were made more efficiently which made them more affordable

The Automobile • The automobile changed American culture – People no longer needed to live close to work • The suburbs were born – People could go out and do more fun things • Socializing was revolutionized (dating changed) • What other ways did the automobile change the world?

The Airplane • Invented by the Wright brothers in 1903 – Did not attract much attention at the time – Eventually airplane pioneers used their idea to adapt to make better planes – Changed the world because exotic and remote places became accessible.