Advances in technology in the late nineteenth century changed the lives of people in the United States. Ideas ran like rivers through big cities and country towns alike. These changes took place in many areas including communication, transportation, manufacturing, and consumer goods. The impact they made is still remembered, and written about, today.

Ding! A bell goes off. A bucket of water pours itself into a waiting pink tea cup. “See, I told you my tea-cup-pouring-inator would work!” says a happy Thomas. Just then, the bucket falls off its hook, landing on the teacup which shatters while the bell rings endlessly. “After all, genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration…” grumbles Thomas Edison. You have just witnessed one of the many test trials of Thomas Edison’s inventions, in this case the “tea-cup-pouring-inator”.  Though I guess this invention never worked out, there are numerous discoveries and innovations that can be credited to Edison’s name. One of the most important of these is the light bulb. In this modern era, we take electric lights for granted. But back in the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries candles and lanterns were the main source of light. So when Edison first introduced the light bulb, you can probably guess it was a hit. After the slight kinks were worked out, over 1,000 homes in America were lit by the glow of Edison’s new invention. Another one of Edison’s more important inventions was the phonograph. This was like an old-fashioned radio that had to be wound up to play.  With it, you could record and replay sounds which meant reporters could record presidential speeches, and people across America could hear them. This not only unified the nation, but also provided a quick workout for those who wound the phonograph up!

These days, cars zooming down the highway at 70 mph are a common sight. But in the early twentieth century a rickety old jalopy of an automobile moving at the speed of cows would be a sight to remember. Why? Because back then a moving vehicle that wasn’t pulled by horses was something that people thought was impossible. When a man named Henry Ford heard about that he just said, “Bushwa!” and went to work on America’s first automobile. Creating the automobile is not the only thing he was famous for. It was also how he made the automobile. Ford created the assembly line, which is a system for manufacturing that lets products be produced quickly and cheaply. The system spread, which meant that now all sorts of items were being produced cheaply so they could be sold cheaply. That would allow more people to afford more items. And we can give the credit to Mr. Ford, and thank him for saying “Bushwa” while everyone else just said “Dream on”.

“Watch out Wilbur!” “What?” “I said watch out!” BOOM! The dust clears and you see Orville Wright looking disappointed as he helps his brother Wilbur out of a mess of torn canvas and scrap metal. What has just happened is another test trial of the Wright brothers “flying machine”. These two determined brothers have been working on what you know as an airplane. Their work will soon lead to the test flight of their last prototype in Kitty Hawk North Carolina on a clear day in December 1903. On that day, they will set the record for longest time man has been in the air. And a few years later America will feel the full impact of this remarkable advance in transportation. People will make a 7 hour trip in 5 hours. That’s just the start. Modern airplanes can cut travel time in half. And who do we have to thank for all the work? Orville and Wilbur Wright, that’s who.

Those inventors and their ideas were very important, but they are not the only things happening in the bustling nation during the early nineteenth century. The ideas I said were running like rivers through the nation weren’t just leaking into Edison, Ford, and the Wright Brother’s house; they were flooding the country with innovations that would let people like Alexander Graham Bell and Eli Whitney become famous. All those inventors and their ideas would help America expand and grow, and at the turn of the century the nation would be a nation with spirit!