Progressivism

I think that we have a great deal of control over the future. I believe that every decision we make, big or small, will ultimately play a factor in how the future is shaped for years to come. I don't believe that anything is already predetermined. Speaking on national terms, I believe that choosing a certain candidate for president(voting) is a way in which we have control over what we want. It is up to the citizens to choose the government who will then proceed to do work and shape the world around us. However, to a certain extent, a part of me says that there is only so much we can do to try and shape our future. For example, being born into a family with less opportunity or a less chance to become successful makes it kind of hard to have control and work for the outcome one wishes for. From a source I approached that argued the same opinion I shared, the article argues how it is not up to fate to shape our future, but up to a person's will or desire to cause that change. It shares how there are no limits in doing anything and the amount of discipline a person requires to follow through on their aspirations for the future. In summary, after reading the blog post, I believe that we, as people, have a great deal of control over shaping the world and our future, as long as we have the will and desire to put in the work and do so.


Outside Source Link: http://palmistryforyou.com

Thinking about the Future

1. In an article from BBC News, the page discusses an early 1900's American civil engineer who made predictions about what the world would be like in 2000. Some of the predictions he made about the future 100 years from when he was living were actually right. His name was Elfreth Watkins. Most of his predictions were based on the growing interest in science and technology. Some of the important predictions that Watkins made that actually turned out true was the creation of digital color photography and the Television. From his words, Watkins wrote/predicted about photography, "Photographs will be telegraphed from any distance. If there be a battle in China a hundred years hence, snapshots of its most striking events will be published in the newspapers an hour later.... photographs will reproduce all of nature's colours." And then for his prediction about the television, the way he described it, he wrote, "Man will see around the world. Persons and things of all kinds will be brought within focus of cameras connected electrically with screens at opposite ends of circuits, thousands of miles at a span." When visiting another article on ABC news written by Michael S. James on the predictions about the future, he shows a different aspect of bizarre predictions. Scientists thought that we would have talked with the Martians by now and that their appearance would be of giant dragonflies with 72-foot wingspans. Hopes of travel by personal airships were also wished by the people back then. They predicted that people would be able to commute to their job across town by air or through submarines. Theodore Waters from the New York Herald in the 1900's predicted that cancer would be out of the question and could be cured at first appearance.

2. The list of predictions made by the people sounded more like a wish list to me than a warning. From the hopes of great entertainment systems being created like the television to meeting the Martians sound like ideas people back then wanted to happen.

3. The predictions like the camera and the television turned out to be true, but the most bizarre one I read about was the appearance and meeting of the Martians.  Cancer being cured at first sight is also a little off-track.

4. Trends that I see were all somewhat scientific in their predictions. All the ones I happened to read about were traits or machinery that would be devised to fix an issue, or to create a more developed world. Everyone was more hopeful about their predictions rather than just jumping to the world will end as we see common in today's generation.

5. I see the cure for cancer being within reach. I think the technology being developed to create a better treatment or a better prognosis for it in the future. I have a bizarre feeling that the techno world we are moving towards will be more emphasized. 

The Evolution of Urban Life through Transportation

       From the late 19th century into the early 20th century, the population of America increased sevenfold in just 50 years. Specifically, New York City grew from a population of 1 million people to 3 million people in approximately 40 years. In 1920, a census reported that for the first time more people were living in "urban" areas. Although this sounded unprecedented at a first look, it was actually happening all around the Western world due to industrialization and the factory system. With the immense amount of people moving into such a popular area, cities became crowded and there was very little order. After always being interested in how life develops around society and the dynamic between the two, I decided to concentrate my research on the development of different modes of transportation in cities. Consequently, I further looked at the impact of the development of transportation in the cities, studying how each fed off one another. Narrowing it down even further, I decided to focus on the creation/development of subways, cars and highways, and bridges along with their impact on urban life. 

       




This picture shows how congested the roads were back during the early 1900's. This picture is specifically of Prince Street in New York City.












       Rapid transit is a term often associated with fast public transportation such as subways used in cities. With fast transportation open to the public, other areas or sections of cities can be accessible to people, which raises the potential for growth in these areas. Subways were not only valued for their ability to create more accessible land but they also allowed for significant capital investment, which consequently raised the value of the land due to high demand. Subways were originally created to relieve cities of traffic congestion in the central business district. For example, the Boston subway consisted of a tunnel that went below some of the big streets so that they would be open up above. With this theory, subways became very effectual for speeding up transportation. The New York rapid transit system became the largest and fastest system in the world at the time. Its express systems traveled as fast as 40 mph, which was three times faster than previously used steam-powered elevated railways, and even more, six times faster than electric trolleys. This was very important to all the WWI workers commuting during the time, because not only did it cut travel time immensely, it was also much safer for the environment. A problem, initially, with subways was that they were a major pollution and environmental concern because they were powered by steam locomotives. Soon after, electricity was adopted with the development of a multiple-unit control, causing a major spur of growth in subway construction. This was much more efficient because the locomotives weren’t polluting its surroundings anymore. I also believe that subways were the main factor behind the growth of surrounding sectors of land. After 1905, the growth of the New York boroughs is credited to the subway's existence. As previously noted, because the subway took away the time needed to commute to jobs in downtown Manhattan, the subway propagated growth of residential sections in northern parts of Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn. Without the subway, much of these areas wouldn't have been populated or even developed in half the time that they were. Speeding up to today, there are currently 11 American cities with subways: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay area, and Washington, D.C. As I looked closely at the list of the cities with subways, I noticed that these are some of the most developed and populated cities in the U.S. today, showing how essential this form of transportation is to people.

This is a picture of the Brooklyn Residential area from a view of the Brooklyn Tower. The borough started to grow rapidly after it became connected with Manhattan and there was easy access between the two boroughs.






After looking at the history and impact of subways on urban society, specifically the New York Subway, I then proceeded my research to The New York Subway: Its Construction and Equipment, a book published in 1904 by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, as a celebration of the opening of the subway. I was presented with a table of contents that consisted of 12 chapters, all pertaining to the importance and construction behind the subway during the time. From the book, it explained the purpose of the creation: "Upon the completion of the road, the city will own the best constructed and best equipped intraurban rapid transit in the world. [...] They have striven, not to equal the best devices, but to improve upon the best devices used in modern electrical railroading, to secure for the traveling public safety, comfort, and speedy transport." In other words, the basis behind the creation of the subway fulfilled all of the peoples' hopes and needs. It truly did shorten travel time and was much safer for the environment and people. However, as far as comfort, I honestly don't know how comfortable it was, we would need to actually ask the people on the subway for their opinion. The book also explains the reason behind the idea of the subway even being brought up: "From 1850 to 1865 the street surface horse railways were sufficient for the requirements of the traveling public. As the city grew rapidly, the congestion spreading northward, to and beyond the Harlem River, the service of surface roads became entirely inadequate." This excerpt from the book further shows how revolutionizing the subway was for its time. Revolutionizing their mode of transportation from horse carriages to electrical-powered underground subways, accommodated to the many people spending time in New York daily.

This picture is of the underground Car: R-10 local New York City Transit. This picture was taken at Van Siclen Avenue by Eric Oszustowicz.

       Even though subways were the center of transportation, cars and the construction of highways followed right behind it. While looking at the early creation of cars, I found that all the American car parts were created and put together through a simple assembly line. This impacted society and mainly the economy, because it allowed for more people to be involved with the economy. Through the creation of many jobs and having many people contribute to the speeding of transportation, the economy thrived. In the beginning, it was a belief that cars were only for the rich because they were the only ones who could afford it. That belief became false soon after cars became popular to the general population. The reason it became so popular was because it allowed for the freedom of people to travel anywhere they wished to whenever they wanted. I believe that this wouldn't have happened without the contribution Henry Ford made to the car industry. He played a large role by creating higher wages for his workers and by making cars more affordable for people to buy. As a result, people were freed from living only in areas of near rail lines or stations, and instead, could branch out and be spaced around a given area. By the time the many of the general population owned cars, this act further rippled into states establishing motor fuel taxes which were used to build and maintain highways. At this point in my research, my interest led me to then look into the construction of highways and its impact on urban life. While searching for documents upon the creation of highways, I came across the actual documentation of the "Good Roads" Act of 1916. The source was formatted from the dictation of a debate occurring on the House floor in 1916, discussing the terms of which the roads would be built along with the financial requirements. From the debate, it was written that the clerk says, "A bill (H. R. 7017) to provide that the United States shall aid the states in the construction of rural post roads, and for other purposes." The debate then goes on record for 12 more pages discussing the amount of money put into this act and where and where not to build. For instance, in a section of the debate, the House discusses how they cannot run the roads through a forester's land. In short, this grand debate over the construction of roads and highways goes to show how much work and time was needed to be put in, in order to benefit the whole of urban society. I believe that through the creation of roads and highways running in different directions, traffic was and people were diverted because there were so many more routes to take to get to one place. People could choose to take different routes or even different types of transportation which was so eminent that it allowed for more work to be done at a much faster rate, thus advancing urban life.

A view of an early highway in Massachusetts as a result of the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916.

       




       Alongside the creation of roads and highways for cars to travel on, another piece of architecture that needed to be created for transportation across the water were bridges. Bridges have been around in many forms for as long as the ancient Romans and Greeks who constructed early, simple forms of it. The bridge I decided to focus on, without shock, was in New York City: the Brooklyn Bridge that connects Brooklyn to Manhattan over the New York City's East River. John Augustus Roebling, who created the bridge, studied the engineering and construction behind it over in Germany. This was such an important creation to urban life because connecting the two boroughs through a bridge allowed for cars to start traveling across both sides. As a result, the two boroughs then became more accessible for people. Bridges had such a great impact that within 24 hours of the opening, over 250,000 people had gone across it. Merging the two areas created a much more functional and flourished area for work. Looking at the impact of the bridge today, thousands of people still use it every day to get across, including myself, who as gone across the bridge multiple times in a day for its full effect. Now over 125 years old, the bridge is fully functional and stable, making it as impactful today as it was back then. 

This is a picture of what the Brooklyn Bridge looked like in the early 1900's. It connects the Brooklyn borough to Manhattan.

This is a picture of the Brooklyn Bridge today. In comparison to the photograph from the early 1900's, the bridge is still intact in the same way it was back then.

      





       Transportation ultimately had a positive impact on urban life by revolutionizing everything around it. Through the creation of new modes of transportation, new residential areas were created, the environment became less polluted, travel became faster, and more work was accomplished by the people. As a result, the economy thrived and many jobs were created. Without transportation especially during World War I, many people wouldn't have been able to commute to their jobs, thus making work and deadlines longer and slower. Everything from the roads to living spaces would have been congested, creating a lot of busy and stressed out people. By creating new/different modes of transportation like the electric-powered underground subway, affordable cars, and architecture like bridges, urban life grew qualitatively and quantitatively. Imagine the thought of thousands of people trying to gather at an amusement park or a football game without the help of transportation. I think it would be impossible to make happen. The transportation revolution changed the previously "leisure" America just as much as it did help innovate the American agriculture and industry. I can't imagine a society surviving back then or even today with the use of only horse carriages and one road routes. It would be chaotic. 

Works Cited

Brancheau, Josh. "The Impact of the Automobile on the 20th Century." The Impact of the 

           Automobile on the 20th Century. AgentSheets Inc., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2017. 

           <http://l3d.cs.colorado.edu/systems/agentsheets/New-Vista/automobile/.>

 This source helped me learn about the early creation of cars and its impact as far as transportation and its impact on the economy. It also talked about how Henry Ford was very influential to the car industry.

Brinkley, Alan. "Chapter 18." American History: A Survey. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. N.                   Print.

 The textbook helped me with introduction and background information about urbanization and about my topic in brief. I used it to gain general knowledge about urban life. 

History.com Staff. "Brooklyn Bridge." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 05                    Feb. 2017. 

             <http://www.history.com/topics/brooklyn-bridge>.

This source helped me when I was looking at the impact of bridges on transportation. It helped me learn about the Brooklyn Bridge and its creation and impact. I used this source when talking about bridges.

"The New York Subway: Its Construction and Equipment (1904)." Www.nycsubway.org: The                     New York Subway: Its Construction and Equipment (1904). N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb.                   2017.    <https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/The_New_York_Subway:_Its_Construction_and_Equipment_(1904)>.

This primary source helped me when researching about subways and how fast it made transportation. I learned about the evolution behind subways and how innovative they were once electricity was involved.


"1916 Good Roads Act - House Floor Debate on Conference Report." The Eno Center for

          Transportation. ENO- Center for Transportation, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2017. 

 <https://www.enotrans.org/etl-material/1916-good-roads-act-house-floor-debate-conference-report/>.

This primary source helped me when researching about highways and the creation of roads. New roads and highways were created to accommodate to the large supply of cars being sold, which caused traffic in the streets.

Shumsky, Neil Larry. "Subways." Americanhistory.abc-clio.com. ABC-CLIO, n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2017.

         <americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/571690?

         terms=transportation+in+urban+cities&sType=quick>.

This source helped me gain an understanding of how subways were integrated into American society and how much they revolutionized transportations. It also explained the importance behind how much time was cut from commuters traveling to work every day.

Timmons, Todd. "City Transportation in America: 19th Century." Daily Life through History. 

         ABC-CLIO, 2017. Web. 5 Feb. 2017. 

         <https://dailylife.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1378437?

         terms=transportation+in+urban+cities&sType=quick>.

This source helped give me a perspective on transportation as a whole. I learned how much we wouldn't be able to do today without the modes of transportation we have today to use. I learned how much safer, easier, faster, and cheaper it was to use public transportation rather than traveling by horse carriages.