I chose this historic event because it represents one of the most impressive achievements of the 19th century and the importance that railways played in American life during this time period. As with any form of transportation, railways were all about connection. Railways helped to connect cities to towns, factories to farms, and urban communities to rural ones. With the completion of the transcontinental railroad, railways could even help connect the untamed West with the well-established East. Despite the fact that modern Americans don’t utilize or appreciate trains nearly as much as our 19th century predecessors may have, railways are still an important tool for connection and transportation, and the nailing of the golden spike in Promontory Summit still remains a hallmark achievement for both American history and the history of locomotion.

I chose the story of Alexander Bell’s patenting of the telephone device because it represents two remarkable things. First is the invention of the telephone itself, which helped to drive communication technology forward by leaps and bounds and which produced a device that has changed the world forever. Second is the fact that the story of the rival patents shows how complicated it can get claiming an achievement in history as belonging to one man or woman alone. Most inventions or achievements in human history have been the combined effort of many, many people over many, many years. Even the title of Bell’s patent as an “Improvement in Telegraphy” (The Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities) points to the fact that he owed much of his design to the inventors, electricians, and engineers who poured their efforts into the making and improvement of the telegraph that preceded the telephone. All and all, Bell’s Patent Number 174,465 was a huge milestone in communication technologies and a fascinating example of how complex the idea of “invention” can be.

I chose the construction of Edison’s “Invention Factory” because I believe that it was one of the most important and influential hubs of science and technology during the nineteenth century and because it helped to propel the world of electricity forward by leaps and bounds. I also wanted to write about the “Invention Factory” specifically, instead of just writing about Edison himself, because I think that one of the core aspects of what made Edison successful was his willingness and ability to work with others and surround himself with likeminded talent. Science and invention are a team sport, I believe, and Edison showed off how to do it with his “Invention Factory” at Menlo Park.

I chose to write about Joseph Glidden’s design and patent for barbed wire because I believe that it is an invention which modernity often takes for granted, but which massively changed the world of the West and the status quo of agriculture. Barbed wire made property boundaries firm and fixed and was one of the major nails in the coffin of the “Cowboy Age,” as we might call it. The story of Joseph Glidden’s patent also shows that an invention does not have to be the first of its kind to be successful and remembered. Joseph himself must have seen what an achievement his design was because he dubbed it “The Winner” (Winnerman). This would prove quite prophetic since his design has endured the test of time, despite lots of initial resistance from ranchers and cowboys during the late nineteenth century.

I chose the story of Westinghouse and Tesla’s AC system versus Edison’s DC system because it’s an intriguing battle of minds and because the invention of alternating currents massively changed the scope and range of commercial electricity. It’s hard to tell whether or not Thomas Edison actually believed that alternating current was too dangerous to be trusted, but his bull-headedness in fighting AC turned out to be something of a low point for the celebrated inventor. Edison’s own electric company, poetically, would eventually switch from DC to AC, showing that, despite even the most hard-headed resistance, the facts spoke for themselves and AC was the truly superior system. Thanks to Tesla and Westinghouse, electrical power can be made readily available practically anywhere in the U.S., and for that I am certainly grateful.

I chose to include Albert Einstein’s miracle year because I believe that the discoveries he made drastically enhanced our understanding of the physical universe. Whether or not we realize it, many of the topics that university students have to study today were majorly influenced by the career of Albert Einstein, such as chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Even topics such as U.S. History were majorly influenced by Einstein because he played an important role in spurring on the Manhattan Project during World War II (Shi, 1149). Though he wasn’t an American, Albert Einstein’s life and career would impact the U.S. in many incalculable ways and his discoveries are still making waves even to this day.

I chose the production of Ford’s Model T because it marked a great advance in the availability of automobiles to the working public. Before the Model T pioneered efficient assembly line production, automobiles were only truly available to those of the upper class who could afford them. Henry Ford and his team’s dedicated and scientific work on designing and producing the Model T helped open up the possibility of owning a car drastically and would change American transportation forever.

I chose the first flight at Kittyhawk because I believe it was one of the most important and memorable moments in aviation history. The breakthrough invention of the Wright Flyer and the determination and ingenuity of the Wright brothers to see it airborne served as crucial stepping stones towards later breakthroughs in flight. The airplane, as a mode of transportation, has massively changed what is possible when it comes to travelling the globe. In time, it even changed the scope of travel to beyond the globe, since the invention of the airplane helped lay the groundwork for the many spacecraft to follow. The Wright Flyer’s first flight, though unassuming, helped pave the way for the awe-inspiring aviation feats of the later twentieth century, as well as the many aviation feats that are yet to come.

I chose the November 2 KDKA broadcast because it marked the beginning of the age of radio for America and the world. Though radio had been around for decades before the KDKA’s first broadcast (the first radio patent was issued in 1896 (“1890s – 1930s: Radio”)), its potential as a means to connect large numbers of people over long distances had not yet been realized. After the November 2 broadcast, radio would rapidly rise in popularity in the U.S. and would be used as a tool for marketing, politics, entertainment, education, journalism, and more. Though the KDKA’s first broadcast was a humble start for commercial radio, it nonetheless proved that radio was a viable and valuable way of connecting the masses.

I chose the historic flight of The Spirit of St. Louis because it shows how far aviation technology had progressed since the fateful first flight of the Wright Flyer in 1903. In a little over two decades, airplanes had progressed from only being able to travel about 120 feet and stay airborne for twelve seconds (Uri) to being able to travel over 3,000 miles and stay airborne for an entire thirty-three hours (“Charles Lindbergh”). Charles Lindbergh’s tremendous transatlantic flight was not only a win for the pilot himself, but was a major win for aviation at large and helped to prove that airplanes had become an invaluable form of transcontinental travel. Aviation would never be the same after Lindbergh’s celebrated touchdown at Le Bourget Aerodrome on May 21, 1927.