AGE OF INDUSTRIALIZATION: American Inventors: 1840-1910



AGE OF INDUSTRIALIZATION: American Inventors: 1840-1910

In the second half of the 19th century after the end of the Civil War, America had an age of industrialization. New factories were built using new technologies; the country was connected by railroads; and people could communicate more quickly over long distances. By 1910 Americans drove cars through city streets lit with electric lights. They shopped in department stores or by mail. The improved communication led to economic growth.

In the late 1800s there was an explosion of inventiveness in the United States. Between 1860 and 1890 the government granted more than 400,000 patents for new inventions. These inventions helped businesses as well as the common citizen.

To showcase the inventiveness of the era and your creativity, we will be making an invention museum. You will choose one of the inventors from the list below to research. You will present your findings in a one page (only one page) paper in the format attached. The paper will contain background information on the inventor’s family, education and employment, details about his invention(s), interesting facts, the inventor’s legacy, and a bibliography. Your bibliography should contain three sources. Try to use a least one book source or one primary source (patent?) See the example attached on Samuel Morse – you should follow the same format. You will then create an “artifact” to represent the invention. These “artifacts” will be displayed like a museum so that the rest of the class can learn about your inventor.

The paper will be worth 30 points, and the artifact will be worth 50 points. Your artifact will be graded based on the model criteria on the criteria card, and your creativity. Have fun and create!

Inventors

Name of inventor (date of birth – date of death)

a. Background:

--Family: Where born, parents, siblings, wife, children, where lived

--Education: schools attended, degrees granted, training received

--Employment: jobs held

b. Invention: What invented and how it works, or what is different about it. Year patented, any difficulties etc., colleagues, historical context, why invented

c. Interesting facts:

d. Legacy/Contribution: What did the inventor leave for future generations? How will we remember him?

e. Bibliography: in MLA format

Inventors:

|Alexander Graham Bell |Telephone/metal detector |

|Melville Bissell |carpet sweeper |

| | |

|William S. Burroughs |adding machine |

|George Corliss |steam engine |

|George Eastman |box camera |

|Thomas Edison |light bulb/phonograph |

|George Ferris |Ferris wheel |

|Henry Ford |assembly line |

|King C. Gillette |safety razor/disposable blade |

|Joseph Glidden |barbed wire |

|Herman Hollerith |electric tabulating machine |

| | |

|Lewis Latimer |filament for light bulb |

|James Naismith |basketball |

|Elisha Otis |air brakes for elevator |

|Joseph Pemberton |coco-cola |

|George Pullman |sleeping car |

|James Ritty |cash register |

|James Latham Sholes |typewriter |

|Isaac Singer |sewing machine |

|Levi Strauss |blue jeans |

| | |

|Gustavus Swift |refrigerated railroad cars |

|Nikola Tesla |AC motor |

|Lewis Waterman |fountain pen |

|George Westinghouse |air brakes for trains/electricity |

| | |

|Wright Brothers |airplane |

Alphabetical listing of inventors with some biographical data:

Inventor’s Hall of Fame, alphabetical listing:

Inventor of the week biographies

Inventor list and bios:

American Memory – Library of Congress. A good source for primary documents such as letters and diaries and some patents (You will need to browse under technology. There is some info on Wright brothers, Edison and others.)

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