The Mobile Phone

In 1973, Martin Cooper was given credit for creating the first hand held mobile phone.  He is also the first person to make a cellular call. On April 3, 1973 he made a call to his rival Joel Engel using his Dyna-Tac prototype before proceeding to a conference where he unveiled his new invention. Over the years the mobile phone has evolved into a smaller more advanced model unlike the first two pound prototype. Cooper's invention allowed people to communicate with each other from anywhere in the world. People where no longer constrained to their cars and homes, but could now make calls as they were walking down the street if they wanted to.

The Telephone

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the patent for the first telephone. This early phone consisted of a receiver made of a stretched diaphragm with an armature of magnetized iron attached to its middle, and free to vibrate in front of the pole of an electromagnet in circuit with the line. A second membrane-device was built for use as a transmitter. Because of the creation of the telephone, people were now able to communicate freely with each other over long distances of space.  Instead of merely sending messages back and forth with the telegraph, people could now actual talk with one another.

Federalism




Countries in green currently use federalism

 

In today's society federalism has become very popular.  Federalism is a system of national government in which power is divided between a central authority and a number of regions with delimited self-governing authority. Today out of the 193 countries in the world, 25 of them have adopted federalism. These countries include: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Comoros, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Micronesia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, St. Kitts and Nevis, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, and Venezuela.

Summary

Three things I learned:

• Britain refused to let people leave the country because they did not what industrialization to spread to other nations
• Communism believes that government will crumble and no longer exist
• William Wilberforce led the movement to end slavery and slave trade in Britain

Two things I found interesting:

• many of the different -isms are actually interconnected.
• Factory jobs offered higher wages for women, despite the fact that they only made 2/3 of what men made

One question I still have:

• Why did life expectancy go up during the Industrial Revolution if living and working conditions were so poor?

Unionization

Prior to the 1800's factory workers faced long hours in dangerous conditions with no guarentee of even keeping their jobs. This motivated workers to take a more active stand in politics. With the creation of Unionization they began forming unions, which spoke for all workers in a particular trade.  Unions began what they called collective bargaining, which allowed workers to negotiate with their employers for better working conditions and higher pay. If their needs were not met workers then had the opportunity to go on strike. With all their skilled workers on strike, employers were left scrambling to find replacement and many found it easier to just succumb to workers demands.

This was an effective reform because it gave power to the lower class. All workers had the opportunity to voice their opinions and finally be heard. They were no longer restricted to the demands of the middle class.

The Light Bulb

In 1879, Thomas Edison created his first version of the light bulb. This early version worked by passing electricity through a thin platinum filament in the glass vacuum bulb, however the light soon burned out in a matter of hours. The following year Edison came up with a different approach in which he substituted a carbonized cotton thread filament in for the previously used thin platinum filament.  This new design produced an orange glow that lasted 15 hours. Because of the developement of the light bulb people were now able to access long lasting light without the constrants of sunlight or the danger of lanterns.

The Reaper

    

In 1831, Cyrus McCormick created the reaper which was used to increase the production of wheat.  Cyrus's father Robert McCormick had worked on creating a patent for a horse draw reaper for a good portion of his life, however he was unable to perfect his idea. After many failed attempts, Cyrus requested to take on the challenge of finalizing the patent. By 1831, Cyrus had drafted the design for his machine called the reaper. This early version of the reaper cut the wheat and had a revolving wheel that would sweep the wheat onto a platform. A man walking alonside the machine would then collect it into piles and prepare it for production.  This tool soon became revolutionary in the agriculture industry. In only a few hours the reaper could harvest as much grain as it took for two or three men to harvest in a day.  Not only was it faster but it also eliminated much of the backbreaking labor.

Introduction

This blog is about Chapter 9, The Industrial Revolution.

During the 1700's Britain began seeing dramatic improvements in farming methods leading to an agricultural revolution. This in turn paved the way for the Industrial Revolution. By the beginning of the 1800's the cotton industry had become completely modernized, using inventions such as the cotton gin and the spinning mule. Urbanization also began to develop as more and more people began flocking to cities hoping to find factory jobs rather than the traditional occupation of farming. Although industrialization original began in Britain other countries began industrializing as well. Other political issues that had previously gone untouched also came into question such as child labor, slavery, and womens rights. The Industrial Revolution impacted all aspects of society, and would forever change the standard of living in Britain and other foreign countries.

With this blog I hope to learn about the advancements made during the Industrial Revolution and how they benefit our society today.