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.

Oakland Ghost Ship Fire

             The Oakland Ghost Ship Warehouse is often described as "a labyrinth of artists studios." The building was two stories of various rooms that contained a collection of sculptures, musical instruments, and acting props.  During the night of the fire, there was an electronic music party going on the second floor of the warehouse. More than 100 guests arrived at the party from various artists backgrounds. Around late at night, a fire started in the back of the building. The fire is claimed to have started from faulty wires and cables in contact with the wood, causing a spark. A former resident explains how the place was set up terrible in which the wires all run into the same socket and wires would spark and smell. There were so many victims because there was a mass invite on social media telling everyone to come out. This fire is connected to the conditions of with the Triangle Waist Company fire when the lives of 146 immigrants were taken. The conditions of the workplace were also similar. In the Triangle Waist Company, all of the exit doors except for one were locked. In the Ghost Ship, it is described as very hard to navigate out of, making it harder to escape the fire. Similar to the Ghost Ship, the conditions of the workplace in the Triangle Waist Company were not adequately monitored by the state, which is what allowed for it to be so horrifying. Both areas were not safe and were not properly kept monitored, which is what ultimately led the terrible incident to happen.

Picture #1: This is a picture of the Ghost Ship Warehouse the night of the fire. 

Picture #2: This is a picture of the Triangle Waist Company building after the fire. 

Sources: 

Description of Ghost Ship Warehouse

Cause of Fire at Ghost Ship

Cornell University Website on Triangle Waist Company Fire

Native American Research: Sitting Bull

         Sitting Bull was a Native American warrior during his time. He was born near the Grand River in South Dakota around 1832. He was originally named Jumping Badger, but then later inherited his father's name, Sitting Bull. During his life, he was always against and in conflict with white assimilation. Around 1856, Sitting Bull became the head of the Strong Heart's Lodge, an honor of the elitest in his culture. Before he became involved with fighting, he would always stand behind and cure people to help out in fights. He was very good with medicine and healing others in dire need, but because Sitting Bull was so relentless with the white movement, he was always encouraging his people to join him in the opposition against them. Sitting Bull even took it so far that he opposed and countered white missionaires and he condemned land agreements with them. Fearing from uprising, officials believed that Sitting Bull would help benefit the tribe if he wasn't a leader, and would be better off removed. The Sioux police officials approached him and arrested him, but some of Sitting Bull's followers resisted removing him. The officials shot those blocking his exit, and as a result, Sitting Bull, his teenage son, and five other Sioux laid dead in the snow. Throughout Sitting Bull's life, he embraced leadership within his tribe and always fought for his people to the fullest, even if it was potentially going to hurting them. 

Picture #1: Sitting Bull's Death 

Picture #2: Sitting Bull

Resources Used: 

ABC-CLIO Sitting Bull Website

History Study Center Sitting Bull Website

Native American US History Classwork

Link to Archive: https://archive.org/stream/conciseschoolhis02camp#page/118/mode/2up

The purpose of this assignment was to explore how Native Americans were viewed during the 1880's. First, we looked at definitions of of the words, "savage" and 'savagery." Then from the archive listed, we read a certain range of the passage from the archive, and the references to Native Americans as "savages" was explored by using a specific word choice of the word. Using this research, we then formulated how we would view Native Americans if we were American students living in that time frame.

Savage- fierce, violent, uncontrollable. Also they can be referred to as a member of people who are uncivilized and primitive.

Savagery- The quality of being fierce or cruel. Also can be referred to the condition of being uncivilized and primitive. Without society; wild.

In the passage of the archive, it portrays the Native Americans as ruthless, merciless, and dangerous people. It creates this image of a group of people, who are not stationary, and will kill if anything in their way. If I was an American student living in this time period, the descripition of the Native Amercicans as savages would terrify me, and I would never want to interact with one. I believe that if I ever saw a Native American, I would act in defense and try to kill them because of the way the book portrays them as savages. Even if there were tribes that consisted of peaceful members, the thought would not cross my mind because I would be preoccupied by the thought of being attacked by them. The reading talks about how the Native Americans lived in this small huts constructed from simple materials, which suggests that their shelter was not permanent. The archive also talks about how they tortured their prisoners to the extreme, causing a lot of pain and trauma, which shows how they never showed mercy in anything. Types of torture included burning the prisoner at a stake by a slow fire, and it was actually considered as pride to the tribe to torture the enemy to their death. Ultimately, I would be extremely scared of the Native Americans and would never want to mess with one under my choice.

US History Cross-Writing Letter

Link to Newspaper Reference: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82014381/1880-06-28/ed-1/seq-1/

Letters From the West

1) In the first letter, the writer talks about the land in the area he is located in. He is writing to his wife and baby about how pretty the country is, updating them on his financial status, while also informing them how much land he wishes to acquire. He talks about being able to settle in the area around Turkey Creek. He also explains how safe the environment is by communicating to his family how he had the oppurtunity to nurse a 7 month old baby. He also expresses how deeply he misses his family by explaining how lonely he is in the vacant place. In the second letter, the writer focuses more on the job and occupation of the land he is in currently. He talks about how he is not employed yet, but hopes and expects to be by the coming winter. Again, he tells them how much he loves and misses them in the vacant land. The letters are about communicating or informing the reader how oppurtunistic, yet vacant the West still is. Directed at the wife, the writer expresses the amount of land and jobs he desires to acquire, but to also start a life and settle there for the future.

2) It stood out to me that the man did not travel with his entire family. I thought that the entire family would move and settle together, but from the way the letter is presented, it seems as if the man moves alone and is essentially reporting back to his wife the conditions and giving her feedback.

3) Letter writing in this era was very important for communicating with their family back home. Because of the harsh conditions and how hard it was to travel across, writing letters was the only way of communicating back to loved ones to tell them that they are doing well and healthy. Letters are also very personal, ranging from a unique handwriting to different tones of voice, which serves as closure to the reader and helps them be sure that they recieved the letter from their loved one. It meant a lot to a person recieving a letter during this time because it also helped the know that their husband or close one still cared for them and thought about them as they wrote the letter directy to them.


2nd Primary Source from The "Old West"

"Killed On The Road"