Most importantly, Turner felt that the dominant individualism frontiersmen displayed led to the development of individualist democracy. With the absence of eastern institutions, frontiersmen were forced to rely on their own intuition and vigor. Frontiersmen were heartland Americans, people who overturned eastern deference to authority and depended on their own perceptiveness and energy to develop the West. Most importantly, Turner suggests that the frontier disregarded eastern homage to authority and promoted a distinctly American democracy. Turner felt that American democracy and institutions were not simply a result of European influence, nor were they a result of agreements such as the Mayflower Compact or the Massachusetts Bay Charter. American democracy was born in the forests of the West, developing even further with each new evolutionary stage of the frontier. (Limericks, p.
143) Turner explains that American democracy was shaped by various events and occurrences in frontier society or frontier-like settings and resulted in a government whose people were often disinclined to obey. The frontier bred a democracy born of free-land, characterized by individualism and a lack of tolerance of central authority. Therefore, a pioneer for Tuner would be someone who is a bright individual and an intellectual person, moreover, someone who strives to make America a better country to live in and succeeds in this endeavor. Thomas Edison is the best representation of pioneer according to this definition. The standard of living prior to Thomas Edisons great inventions was of poorer quality. Up to the latter half of the nineteenth century, the machine had always been closely bound to its prime mover.
The Essay on The Turner Thesis Frontier American West
In 1893, historian Frederick Jackson Turner made an historic speech at the Columbian Exhibition. In his address, he spoke on, "The Significance of the Frontier in American History." Turner's hypothesis was that the frontier was the single most important influence on the development of the United States and its values. He spoke of the frontier's important influence on America for the first time ...
It could not be placed too far because of the inefficiency of belts and shafting as a method of distributing energy. Energy and power is everything, it is the key to a working invention. Each gear, joint, or wheel was a source of power loss. Known for his brilliant inventions and ideas, Thomas Edison improved the standard of living at the turn of the twentieth century with such inventions as the electric light bulb and the electric generator. At the start of the nineteenth century, electricity was a scientific curiosity, a plaything of the laboratory. As the result of widespread investigation and experiment, however, it became a commercially useful form of energy, such as illumination. For the first time electricity offered something useful not only in industry, or in commerce, or on the theatre stage, but in every home.
Electric lighting would now replace the traditional gaslights that were used. Thomas Edison improved the standard of living during the late 1800s with the electric light bulb. With his ideas and inventions, he helped the American way of life and opened the way to lighting around the world. Edisons invention of lighting using electricity would now begin to phase out the gaslight era. Now that the gaslight era was coming to an end, gas stocks began to tumble. People believed he would now replace gas lighting with electricity. Edisons first announcement that he had a practical filament that had the necessary endurance for long illumination was premature.
Not long after, he found a filament that would work for long periods of illumination. Unlike other inventors who failed, Edison kept trying and succeeded. Edison also used electricity for generators. The generators would be the source of power for the lights. They would be more efficient and easier to use than the old machines. He invented the Long-Waisted Mary Ann. This was a more efficient generator than any other. This was an even bigger step towards electric light.
After Edisons invention of his electric light bulb and electric generator came the development of a system of power, wiring, and bulbs. In 1876, Edison moved to a new research facility in Menlo Park. He wanted to get away from Newark because it was filled with distractions. After starting small, in 1882 Edison began to make a profitable success of his incandescent lighting system. Being the innovator that he was, Thomas Edison was a true pioneer to America. His incredible work ethic became a model for other inventors that followed in Edisons footsteps..
The Term Paper on Electric Generator
Early 20th century alternator made inBudapest, Hungary, in the power generating hall of a hydroelectric station In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge (usually carried by electrons) to flow through an external electrical circuit. The source of mechanical energy may be a reciprocating or ...