Before we had smartphones and cars,
people actually had to send letters and walk to everywhere they wanted to go.
But when the Industrial Revolution rolled around America started introducing
new inventions that would be the basis to all the progress we have made up to
this day. Like the light bulb for example, if Thomas Edison never invented that
we would still be using candle light to this day. Same thing with telephones,
transportation, etc.. There were a ton of inventions that were looked at as
absolutely amazing during the 1800’s that we just take for granted now. Like
the Apple Watch that just came out. Everybody is going to look at that as
awesome new technology but a decade from now it will be looked at as nothing
new.
The first invention that kicked the
whole revolution off is the Cotton Gin which was invented by Eli Whitney. This
was supposed to help harvest the cotton that the slaves would collect. You’d
think that the slaves would not be needed anymore but people just thought of
another part of the job to do. Which that shows that technology does not
replace jobs. People think that when new technology is made in their job they
won’t be needed anymore. But that is not true because there will be another
bigger and better job for you to do. That’s how I look at it anyway.
Did you know that there was a
telephone that you can only make calls on? Yep it’s true! The first telephone
was invented by Alexander Graham Bell. But even BEFORE that there was a
different invention that was made that wasn’t as good as the regular telephone.
That was the Morse Code. The communication system was called a telegraph. This
wasn’t as efficient but it worked during the time. You were able to convey messages
through it but it wouldn’t always get to the other person you’re talking to as
fast as a telephone. But, it was the fastest communication device that was made
during that time in history. Just like the IPhone 6 though, a bigger and better
communication device got invented and that was the telephone. I think the way
they looked back then were pretty cool. But today, we don’t really look at the
technology aspect as really cool. Like I said before you could only make calls
to people. No texting, video chatting, playing games, etc.. But all of our
updated technology is basically just for amusement. We could do without it but
it’s another way for people to entertain themselves. People back then did just
fine without all the silly “apps” that we have now. But as time goes on we are
making more and more technology. There’s also news that they are working on
mastering DRIVELESS cars?! During the 1800’s it was horse and wagon. In fact I
would love to have traveled by horse and wagon because I think it would be a
fun experience. You wouldn’t get to your destination as fast, but I still think
it would be interesting.
Thomas Edison invented the
lightbulb. At least….that was one of his inventions. Yes, he invented more but
we remember him for that extravagant creation. Before he invented that, people
just received lighting from candles. If it was nighttime, they would either
light candles, or go to bed because it was too dark. Look at us now, some
people are up till midnight without any problem because of Thomas Edison. Think
of all those lightbulbs in your house as candles. That is how many candles you
would have around your home to be able to see at night. Also think how much you’re
turning them on and off. Back then though, you would want to continually keep blowing
and lighting candles over and over. We don’t really take appreciation to this
technology because we have been surrounded by it all our lives without any problems.
Now are you starting to see how much our population takes for granted?
There’s one invention that was the
most influential out of them all and that was the Steam Locomotives. This
definitely gave America an upgrade. It was another mode of transportation that
was invented. This (in the future) would improve distributing goods from place
to place with less issues. This was the beginning of trains. With this
invention and many more it was making our country more efficient in many areas.
This isn’t even all of the inventions that were made in the 1800’s. There’s a
whole list! I find this part of history very interesting because its shows the
improvement that we made and how we got to where we are today. If it weren’t
for these people who invented these things, we wouldn’t be getting anywhere. So
next time you look at a lightbulb as nothing great, or your smartphone, think
twice and be grateful for the people who provided that technology for you. I
know I’m grateful. But even with all of this technology I would still love to
go back in time and take a peek at what it was like back then where they had to
start from scratch and discover new things. I wouldn’t mind experiencing the
old fashioned ways of transportation, communication, etc. because it would be a
great experience. Of course I wouldn’t want to be in the 1800’s forever because
I would much rather have the technology that we have now. But I would still
like to see how it was before all of this because I only know this way of life
because it’s been like this my whole life.
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