Sputnik had a far greater impact on American technology than it has been credit for in the past. It may have been the first man-made object to orbit the earth, a fact that overshadowed the contributions of other nations involved in the IGY and damaged American pride, but it forced Americans to reevaluate their academic …
11. Going to the moon
Space Race Origins
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The space race is often played out in a blow by blow timeline of events, starting with the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, in 1957. But the space race might actually have its beginnings before World War 2. The seeds of the space race began once the Allied nations swept into Germany, confiscating technology and absorbing …
08. Rural electrification
Rural Electrification During the Great Depression
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Electrical power spread slowly from the cities, driven by the demand there. In the countryside, few farms were electrified as the infrastructure costs made it unprofitable for power companies to send it there. By the 1930’s, most farms were still without power, doing things the old fashioned way. In the depths of the Depression, president …
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06. War of 1812
The War of 1812 and the Canadian Perspective
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I recall in high school that we spent maybe all of two days going over the War of 1812. We covered some of the key aspects, the origins of the Star Spangled Banner, the British invasion of the mainland and subsequent burning of the White House, and American incursion into Canada. The reasons for the …
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05. Women and household technology
Household Labor
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The notion that the household went from a producer to a consumer is misleading. Technology did more to increase the productivity of the home due to mechanization of various key areas: food, clothing, healthcare, transportation, water, gas, electricity, and petroleum. But productivity refers more to the ability for the household to do more for itself, …
04. What is revisionism?
Revisionism, Denialism, and Negationism in History
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Historical revisionism is a term used for the reinterpretations of facts and narratives based on new evidence and sources. It took on some negative meaning when revisionists began spinning history in some new direction, pursuing an agenda to cast a different light on some subject, or outright create false histories. While revisionism is an inherent …
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03. Decision to use the atomic bomb: Alternative interpretations
Alperovitz’s “Decision”
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Peter Kirstein is a professor of history at Saint Xavier University, Chicago. He is known for his research on the atomic bomb and studied under Howard Zinn – the author of my textbook in history 2014 (The Twentieth Century). With Kirstein’s knowledge, I felt that his review of Alperovitz’s The Decision to Use the Atomic …
02. Decision to use the atomic bomb
Basic Facts: The Atom Bombs of WW2
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The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the first of their kind, and up to the present day, the only time they have ever been used in war time. The story surrounding “the decision to drop the bomb” has been rehashed many times in the decades since. The high school-textbook-summary maintains that the …
01. Objectivity
Objectivity and History
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Robson opens by describing the reaction of academic institutions to Thomas S. Kuhn’s The structure of Scientific Revolutions. The “crisis”, as Robson describes it, underscored the idea of there being no real truth in philosophy and science, that the “truths” of history may not be any more real than the physical world science attempts to …
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