Synopses & Reviews
This brief history of technology in America begins with the colonial period but emphasizes the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The authors break new ground by concentrating on the impact of American society and culture on technology, instead of taking the traditional approach (considering the impact of technology on culture). The organization of the text reflects this perspective by following conventional American history periodization rather than a more limited industry-oriented outline (pre-industrial, industrial, and postindustrial). Part Two employs systems and systemization as a theme. The final section of the text (post-1950) has been completely rewritten to reflect recent scholarship and technological advances.
Table of Contents
Part I: From the Old World to the New, 1607 to the 1830s. 1. Manufacturing America, 1607-1800. 2. The Young Republic and Individual Opportunity, 1800 to the 1830s. Part II: Uniformity, Diversity and Systematizing America, Late 1830s to 1920. 3. An American People and a Common Material Experience, Late 1830s to 1870s. 4. Systematizing Power, Communications and the Power to Communicate, 1870s-1920. 5. Systematizing the Fabric of American Life, 1870s-1920l. 6. Systematizing Workers and Their Workplaces, 1870s-1920. Part III: Society to Self, 1920 to 2000. 7. Technology as Social Solution, 1920 to 1950, Part I. 8. Technology as Social Solution, 1920 to 1950, Part II. 9. Expressing the Self: Individualism in an Era of Plenty, 1950 to the Late 1960s. 10. Public and Private: Technology as Social Question: The Later 1960s-2000. 11. Private and Public: Technology and Individual Autonomy: The Later 1960s-2000.