The Machine in America: Social History of Technology - Hardcover

Pursell

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801848172 ISBN 13: 9780801848179

Publisher: John Hopkins University Press, 1995

Synopsis

From the medieval farm implements brought by the first colonists to the invisible links of the Internet, the history of technology in America is a history of our society as well. Arguing that "the tools and processes we use are a part of our lives, not simply instruments of our purpose," historian Carroll Pursell analyzes technology's impact upon the lives of women and men, their work, politics, and social relationships--and in turn, their influence upon technological development.

Pursell shows how both the idea of progress and the mechanical means to harness the forces of nature developed and changed as they were brought from the Old World to the New. He describes the ways in which American industrial and agricultural technology began to take on a distinctive shape as it adapted and extended the technical base of the industrial revolution. He discusses the innovation of an American System of Manufactures and the mechanization of agriculture; new systems of mining, lumbering, and farming, which helped conquer and define the West; and the technologies that shaped the rise of cities.

And he shows how the export of technology helped to foster American hegemony both in theWestern Hemisphere and elsewhere in the world.

Pursell also argues that American technology has created a social hegemony, not only over the way we live but also over how we evaluate that life. He shows that such developments as scientific management techniques and industrial research changed Americans' lives as much as the mass production of such durable consumer goods as radios and automobiles. In many ways, he concludes, today's military-industrial complex is the legacy of the intense cooperation between science and technology during World War II.

About this title

Review:

"It would be hard to find a better introduction to the history of American technology -- or, for that matter, to American history itself." -- American Heritage of Invention and Technology

""A balanced and clearly written account of the development of American manufacturing and engineering from the colonial period to the present... Well illustrated." -- American Studies International

"[A] good introduction to the social history of American technology through the 19th century." -- Matthew R. Hyre, Studies in American Culture

"Introduces the social history of technology in the U.S. to nonspecialists." -- Book News, Inc.

Synopsis:

This text presents an analysis of technology's impact upon the lives of American women and men, their work, politics and social relationships as well as their influence upon technological development. The book describes the ways in which American industrial and agricultural technology began to take shape as it adapted and extended the technical base of the industrial revolution. The author argues that American technology has created a hegemony, not only over the way we live but over how we evaluate that life. He shows that such developments as scientific management and industrial research changed American's lives as much as the mass production of consumer goods such as radios and automobiles.

About this edition

• Publisher: John Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0801848172
• ISBN 13: 9780801848179
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256