US history

The scientific and technological advance developed rapidly. Among the most important technical achievements there are the following: automobile with a combustion engine, radio, electrical tools and equipment. Many achievements were made in the fields of culture, especially development of the movie industry, and science, especially medicine and health care. Of course these attainments made specific effects on our society so the next paragraphs will be devoted to review of these effects on social, intellectual, and economic development of the United States.

Invention of the two most significant technical means, radio and automobile, indeed made long distances shorter in different fields. They changed most habitual realms and views of US citizens. Radio made long distances in the air shorter and people gained a wide source of different information (news, interviews and reviews, scientific and educational information etc) and entertainment (music, interactive programs and shows, direct broadcasting of sport events etc). The most pleasing moment is that all the above can be received just at home or office. After this in the US began the rapid development of radio-stations, which at least provided new work places and smoothed over the leisure. But in the first turn, radio helped people to be timely informed about all the important matters – correct health care, utility or harmfulness of different products and world events.  Automobile made long distances on the land shorter and people got many new opportunities – the location of the workplaces ceased to be up to the address (people received opportunity to live in one place and work at the other one); traveling, shopping, changing address became simpler and so on. Well-known Henry Ford constructed Ford Model-T, which was affordable to most citizens (his price was $850[1]), and as a result he received many benefits and became very rich. But US received much more benefit than H. Ford because motorization brought development of national economy which can be illustrated by the following chain: construction of roads à development of wayside hotel business, oil industry and industry in general à creation of new work places and reduction of unemployment level à profit from taxes paid, capital formation, increase of work productivity and growth of living standard.

Progress in electrical technology brought to people new domestic electric appliances, such as toasters, lawn-mowers, dish-washers, coffee-machines, electric razors, electric kettles and others, and made safer the old ones. Invented domestic electric appliances and tools made simpler and easier people’s everyday life.  Moreover, labor became even more productive and it increased the overall productivity and US GNP, in its turn. The everyday actions, which usually took much time, became easier and faster. Thereby people received an opportunity to save their time and spend it on something that indeed requires it and if a man does not have anything that requires time he can just relax more or spend his free time with the beloved person. In the field of electricity and its derivative there was also invented: 1921 – the first robot built, lie detector; 1923 – traffic signal, iconoscope (read television); 1924 – the dynamic loudspeaker; 1925 – mechanical television; 1927 – electronic television and color TV; 1928 – electro shaver and at last 1929 – car radio[2].

In the 1920’s there was an impetuous development of movie industry. At the beginning it was a theatre, then it evolved to silent pictures in black and white colors, then there was added musical illustration with the help of orchestra. I consider it can not be left unmentioned, that this period was famous thanking to the most world-known actor and comic – Charlie Chaplin. Within a few years, technical progress allowed making movies with the sound and later on movies became colored[3]. It was unbelievable and movie industry attracted more and more people everyday.

The twentieth years of the twentieth century characterized by many very significant inventions in medicine – Earle Dickson invented Brand-Aid (1920), Frederick Banting invented insulin (1922), Philip Drinker invented iron lung (1927), and Alexander Fleming invented penicillin (1928)[4]. These people saved millions lives through over the world and their inventions are still relevant and scientists do not predict their obsolescence in the foreseeable future. In this period there were discovered many new vitamins (1923 – S. S. Silva discovered vitamin C in the lemon juice, discovered vitamins D, A, B, C and K in 1929 by Henrik Dam[5]) and owing to invention of radio people were informed about this important facts, people were also informed about eutrophy and nutrition. All the above attainments in medicine served as the basis for the following researches and scientific projects for many years, the harvest of these attainments will be consumed through the generations.

Finally I want to draw a comprehensive conclusion about the role of the new technology in the social, intellectual, and economic development of the United States in the 1920's. In this period there were made such important inventions as automobile with a combustion engine, radio, many electrical tools and equipment, movie industry, Brand-Aid, insulin and penicillin, iron lung and vital vitamins. These inventions changed the society in a positive dramatic way.  Humankind will never forget those people which made our lives better, easier, more productive, more comfortable and safer, and which saved millions of people over the whole world. United States’ society received many positive effects in economy – multitude new workplaces, substantial reduction of unemployment level, industry and business development, capital formation, GNP growth and growth in the living standard. The American society made a great step towards the development of the democracy owing to the development of radio caused the development of the mass media, which informs people about important matters. Ordinary citizens became more conscientious and conscious, more educated, and learned how to live in a healthy life-style. And one of the most important things is that these years’ achievements created the ‘bridgehead’ for many future researches thus advanced the humankind development a long way off forward.

[1] The Henry Ford website, article Mode-T Specifications < http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1908/specs.html >

[2] Inventors About website,  article about Timeline of the twentieth century inventions, < www.inventors.about.com >

[3] Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia Online, article about films, < www.wikipedia.com >

[4] Inventors About website,  article about Timeline of the twentieth century inventions, < www.inventors.about.com >

[5] Inventors About website,  article about Timeline of the twentieth century inventions, < www.inventors.about.com >