Rhetoric 3371 Questions

Ruth Cowan’s article “Transportation Revolutions” enlightened me on the many ways in which this country enhanced its transportation methods and all the hardships along the way. It seemed that the early Americans determination to be independent of the British help and knowledge, slowed their pace for perfecting their road system. This made me think about why it is as Americans we are though to be an “individualistic” society. We don’t use collectivism like in many other countries where everyone working together can create a whole, we would rather do it ourselves, even if it means no help and multiple trial and errors and excessive debt is the outcome. In its own way it is admirable, but more then that it’s just who we are. I even see that in society today. I feel much more productive and capable if I figure something out on my own. May it be directions, a school assignment or some foreign concept to me like fixing my computer, I would rather achieve that task without asking anyone for help, when I do I feel like I cheated. When I read about how these early Americans created the roads, it is so impressive that they used such rudimentary tools (to us they are, to them they were most likely quit advanced) to create miles of roads spanning over multiple states. It really puts into perspective what we have today to create the same thing, just a much more efficient version. Learning about the steamboat coming into play showed more of that trial error concept. This time it wasn’t financially, but it was exploding boiler rooms killing multiple people at once. Ouch, that’s a tough lesion to learn. It was strange to hear about how these steamboats since they were privately owned didn’t need to run through any type of inspection until 1838. It seems that Americans had it made in some departments, no inspecting of private areas, most likely no health codes and no child labor laws. Hmmmm sounds like America could have been a pretty scary place back then. I’m not all for big brother but I do think some regulation is good keep businesses in check. As I read about the advancement from the road, to the steamboat, to the railroad, I think about where transportation has gone from there. Now we have the plane, the space shuttle, boats of all genres and styles, as well as cars and easily paved roads. It seems that for as long as this country has been around there has been a steady incline of technological advancements in the transportation field, the only differences are the rate the advancements are going at.

I really think that technology has been based on trial and error throughout history. I conclude from the reading that it is human nature to be stubborn, and somewhat reject the use of new technologies at first. Throughout history, the advancement of technology has been hindered by government and political figures to some extent. The reading refers to our president’s Monroe, and Jackson who opposed the building the American interstate at first and then decided to let the development get underway with firm restrictions. It’s also amazing how much money and government funding play a role as the “vehicles” of our life. It’s the never-ending battle of technological advancement not occurring without substantial funds, and profit or growth of those funds won’t occur without the advancement of technology. An example of this in our life is the advancement of stem cell research, which is regulated by the government, and the advancement is forbidden, at least in the US. What other technological advances in history have been regulated or hindered by laws, governmental agencies or funding? What are the “good” or beneficial regulations towards the advancement of technology? Nuclear weapons?

I think that the simlutaneous phenomena of gain and loss that happened with the technological change from a lack of roads to roads and canals bears analalogy to the Walmart phenomenon now. In Cowan's piece, he reports that the advent of canals played an enormous role in creating large commerce centers along their routes. He also reports that the access to these new markets for farmers of wheat decresed their reliance on local mills, so these declined. The growing communities also drew young men and woman from their rural communities, so rural communities declined in population as well. This is entirely consistent with Nye's account of the opposing narratives that surround a technology. Walmart then, as a more efficient formulation of ma and pa shops, has these narratives around it too. There is the affordability and ease of cheap plastic crap, and regrettably the decline of local business.
It's not completely remarkable that every story has two sides, but what impresse me about these examples is that they make the assumption that technological progress and social progress are positively associated seem absurd.

In the Nye's introduction, he says that, "Every society constructs narratives to make sense of its existence, to explain how its people came to live in a particular place." Is he making the supposition that it is impossible to tell exactly what happened? Is he saying that given some very real occurences we are unable to understand them unless they are rendered within the narratives we believe? I guess I'm asking whether he believes that myth or stories are necessary for us understand reality.

Today it seems like there are a lot of railroad tracks that I cross that never get used, or are used on rare occasions. Today I think we take for granted the technology we have. Today we have machines that can take the place of hundreds of men that it took to dig the canals and railroads in the centuries past. Just a couple hundred years ago people were using horses and boats to travel most places and that’s all people had used for the most part. In the past few centuries transportation has transformed our lives in so many ways. We are now traveling in space, being able to travel anywhere in world in about a day. Transportation is at a level unimaginable to a person a couple hundred years ago, and who knows where it will go from here.

I found the most surprising thing in the article "Transportation Revolutions" was the fact that many of our transportation methods were derived from the Romans. The early Americans were basing their construction of canals and roads on Roman example. They also knew that they needed a good transportation system to keep the country intact - like the Romans did. In the "America as Second Creation" Book Emerson thought this new transportation system would make the government as tyrranical as the Romans or Babylonians. I think its fascinating that America used Rome as an example of how to create a functional country, but at the same time counter-narrative people like Emerson saw this new technology threatening to create a tyrannical government like Rome. New technology helps to unite a country, but also threatens to give the government more control of our lives. Take our newest technologies today: cellphones, and the internet. They help to connect all of us, but the threat of the government spying on our personal lives now exists.

Nye makes the point that the more easily accessible an area is, the more populated and economically sound it will be. Before roads and railroads everything was transported via canals and it opened up a large gate for trading and selling goods. This reminded me of the major highway system that was proposed last year in Asia that would link the Southeast Asian countries together via roadways. The purpose of allowing easier accessibility to each country was to promote trade and to boost economies. Ideas from hundreds of years ago are still being implemented today and they all surround money. We are constantly trying to outsource to make more money whether it is for our technology or our modes of transportation.

It really suprised me how much of our nation was based on that of the Roman Empire. Many of us know that the Roman Empire was one of the greatest
Empires in History, but I dont think that many people realize (me for one) how much the rest of the world/countries took from the Romans succesful rain and used their ideas while developing their own countries. It just shows you how much you can learn from history and that history should never be forgotten.
I was also suprised how long it took the new country to start to really create transportation systems. They knew that was the key to the growth of the country as many quotes through our readings told of individuals expressing this to others. But still the government and people were reluctant to begin building. Even after a few succesful roads and canals were built and everyone saw how profitable they could be there was still reluctance to build. And after a while after a few more succesful transportation options were built it was amazing to read how fast everything took off from there, and it seemed like no end was in site for how much the country was going to grow.

At first, I couldn’t believe that the federal government wasn’t actually funding some sort of federal road system. Among the founding fathers there must’ve been some economically sound minds that knew that better transportation options for the people could equal better revenue for the government. Now it is commonplace for all forms of government to build roadways and I just thought that the strict reading of the constitution was interesting. I was happy to hear that the Ohio canal was profitable soon after its creation and this caused people to start realizing the worth of such infrastructure.

While reading Transportation Revolutions, I was amazed at what life was like when there were only narrow trails and wide open spaces. People had to start from nothing and build upon a picture that they had painted in their minds. Although there were many failed attempts, they seemed to revert back to Roman architecture. I found that really interesting because they continued to use techniques that were centuries old! Prior to this class, I never took into consideration the economics and manpower that gave America such a grounded foundation. Another thing that I found interesting, was when historian Elton Morison stated that, “ the Erie Canal was the first-- and quite possibly the best -- school of general engineering in the country.” Though the Americans had many troubles with the canal system and road construction, we can look at all that we have today and be thankful that they laid the ground work for us.

The Grid system that we used to lay our land was groundbreaking. It was a veritable slap in the face to nature. Because of our technologies we were able to divide up land in any way we chose. We chose blocks, much like the longitudinal and latitudinal lines of the globe. We no longer had to follow nature, whole houses could be delivered by train and towns erected overnight. It’s scary to hear how many people of this time described the railroads; one can almost see the twinkles in the eyes of the railroad owners towering over their tool, a tool that even Mother Nature was powerless stop. The picture of the West that is conjured up, at least in my mind, does not contain the Native Americans as it should. The industrial capitalists who pushed the expansion west told us that the land was clear, there were no people, and that there were only opportunities. Apparently, unlike the American Dream, the western American Dream was a lie.

Though many may not agree, transportation has changed the lives of all Americans in the past two centuries. Canals, waterways and railroads may seem to be a thing of the past to those of us now, but they forever shaped this country. The ways in which society has changed today are a product of transportation. Transportation of people and ideas has allowed greater cooperation and communication in all aspects of life, which has in turn lead to even further technological advances. It is truly and endless cycle; the more quickly we can communicate ideas to each other, the more quickly we can develop new technologies, many of which lead to more rapid communication. One hundred years ago, it took many weeks to get halfway across the globe; now it takes merely a few hours, half of which is spent at airport security interestingly enough.

I was surprised at how much I learned from and enjoyed “Transportation Revolutions.” I never really thought about the development of transportation systems or the role they play in uniting the country. I just considered them ways to make travel more convenient and efficient. It struck me how many things that we consider to be unique or new are just continuations of the past. The first example very early on is the idea that every property owner was responsible for maintenance of a section of road. Today we have the voluntary program where businesses, organizations or families agree to maintain the cleanliness of road sections. Second example, communities shrank as young people left dying rural towns to migrate to the canal towns. Today we see many rural towns declining again as the young abandon them for big cities. Third example, the legislation to insure public safety which serves a useful purpose but has really gotten out of control.
Last example, the success of “Clinton’s Folly” on the Erie Canal reminds me of the success of our own light rail system. It just seems like history repeats itself in updated ways. One thing that has changed is the attitude expressed towards Oliver Evans’ idea for a railroad. The article states that many believed his ideas to be “ridiculous, even insane” causing him to say “One step in a generation is all we can hope for.” I think people today have the attitude that anything is possible and will probably happen soon, if not yesterday. When time travel becomes possible I would love to see the transportation visionaries of early America brought back to see the results of what they began.

A cycle of “Gains-and-Losses” stood out in Rowan's overview of transportation innovation in the United States. In brief: Technology begets technology. Amateurs took on hefty endeavors to build transportation infrastructures, and their discoveries encouraged economic and social booms.

Roads and turnpikes established the foundation of transportation. Yet as investors poured their money into the latest and greatest developments, visionaries were fast on their way to "pave" canals and waterways. Canals gave way to steamboats. Steamboats introduced the need for machine shops. Economic growth mirrored transportation development.

The influence of transport industries on national growth and unity is astounding. Breakthrough legislation regarding various aspects of the transport ion industries shaped the character of the nation. A song title by the modern music group Daft Punk describes the growth of transportation: “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.”

Rowan presented the first example of "Lazy Americans," citizens unwilling to promote growth on the basis of land ownership alone. It was the beginning of private ventures for the good of all (akin to Franklin's philosophy as detailed in Marx's article). The needs of any one particular transportation industry directly led to business development, such as machine shops for steam engines used on boats, and migrated to railroads. The very nature of America as a melting pot for immigrants shows through in Rumsey and Fulton's efforts to bring in foreign skill for American innovation. Groundbreaking legislature on a federal level (interstate commerce and public safety) are rooted in conflicts of the transportation revolution.

I can't help but correlate the historical insights of the transportation revolution to modern day achievements in global transportation and communication. Roads, canals, steamboats, and railroads were driven by the desire to grow the nation equally and fairly (despite objections by older states over funding for new states). We've now obtained a global reach on a personal level. Where can we expand next? What will promote further development? Is there a time and place for another revolution that has as important of an impact as the innovations detailed by Rowan? Or is it time to focus on bringing the rest of the world up to American standards?

Often when i ride down the streetin my car, especially when i'm on a multi lane highway that goes to far off places, i think wow, what a great invention this road. And it is amazing. As both authors show these roads are huge parts of our countries history and therefore, the way our country is today. Ours is a very individual society and i think the stubbornness displayed in the building of the orads exemplifies that. These stubborn individually built roads have lead to people who drive around, sometimes stubbornly, in their individual cars. How much do you need a car? many people i know tell me they feel stranded with our a car and i often feel the same. a car can be a freeing possesion despite it holding you to it.once again this takes us to a modern problem, and once again one of sustainability. what will be the next big step in transportaion? we need some sort of change obviously. do we do it our own stubbornlly alone or with the world? can we do it alone? weill any one help us?

I can't believe that canals were what formed American cities. I guess it really shouldn't surprise me considering the Erie canal does run throgh all those towns that Nye mentioned Buffalo, Utica, and others. I did think that there was some double standards from individuals that would have identified themselvews with Calhoun's viewpoint. I thought that example of the canal built on the Ohio River saving all that time and providing a way to travel from New Orleans to Pittsburgh was amazing. Why was that not done right away if we were all about the greater good. The answer is politics. The system was flawed then as it is now-just in different ways. Then states had too much control and the federal government could not impose its will when necessary. Also, because of the articles of confederation there was selfish bickering that went on between states. States were only interested in their interest not the nation as a whole. Today that's not the problem but selfish politics still get in the way of the greater good. Whether that be by taking money from special interest groups or imposing an administration's agenda on a people that don't want their agenda. Why can't government be run by honest people? Will it take an civil uprising for change to take place in this country?

It is interesting how hesitant our society is when it comes to new technologies that will have a seemingly giant impact on technology. In the reading, the interstate was an example from the reading. In the reading, our president objected the building of the interstate but eventually let it slide with some government regulations. Other technologies seem to be in the same state today. Cloning of any sort has been met with very harsh restrictions on what is legal and what is not. What other sort of technologies have experienced the same sort of negative social 'press?'

Throughout history, the advancement of technology has been hindered by government and political figures to some extent. The reading refers to our president’s Monroe, and Jackson who opposed the building the American interstate at first and then decided to let the development get underway with firm restrictions. It’s also amazing how much money and go

I found Cowan's "Transportation Revolutions" to be very interesting. It was neat to read about the progression that the Europeans and Americans made throughout history in terms of making life more efficient for businesses and people. I had no idea that the first years of steamboat travels people died due to explosions. And that while on a locomotive you could get whiplashed or scorched by fire. I guess I never really thought about how far we have come. It makes one think about how much it took to be able to travel to Europe in one day or recieve a shirt the day after you ordered it. Things that I seem to take for granted. Cowan has made me see that the persistence of a person is amazing. How someone can see something as big as a locomotive build it in their heads, draw it out, and make it become a reality.

I’ve never realized how big of a feat it was to transition from rugged horse paths to wide paved roads. I think much credit should be given to the engineers behind the designs, as well as the entrepreneurs who undertook such risks.

I thought there would be a smoother transition from one transportation method to another. Some of the text in “Transportation Revolutions” explained a relatively abrupt end to one method as another gave birth. The steam boat must have been extremely popular though, as people would put their lives and products at risk of an “exploding steam engine.” I find that interesting.

I want to know why some new transportation methods were immediately profitable (Erie Canal) whereas others faced many hardships before they took off, if they even took off at all. Looking to the future, do you think our current roads will become obsolete? What if the next method of transportation is a flying car and roads are no longer needed? We are the masters of our time currently, but in the future people may say that paved roadways were primitive.

After reading “Transportation Revolutions” I was honestly impressed by the impact that roads, canals, and steam boats have had in America, especially in the field of transportation. However, no matter what the impact made by the roads, canals, or steamboats these technologies seemed to be dwarfed by the impact of the railroad. Before reading this article I knew that the railroad was a big deal in the 19th century but I had no idea how big. I was amazed to see read the effects of the railroad, and not only its impact in how we travel, but also how we communicate, live, eat, and fight. Ironically what seems to have been the most loved mode of transportation now seems to be one of the most controversial. In certain cities like D.C. and NYC the subway and train systems are basically essential to wellbeing and actually this tend is gaining ground in the Twin Cities with Mr. Train’s cousin, the Light Rail. However, the railroad is not as embraced in other places like Rochester, Minnesota. Right now in Rochester there is a large backlash against the DM &E railroad company because they want to greatly increase the number of cars that go through the city on a daily basis. I’ll assume more cities are experiencing similar controversies, so is it safe to say that conventional railroads are somewhat of a lost art? If so, is this a result of more cost/time effective modes of transportation such as cars and planes? Finally, what kind of role does/should the government play in railroad preservation and usage?

When I was reading about the trains I think about the impact that they have had on minnesota's economy and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."

We have a long family of train engineers and it is something to be proud of. Trains revolutionized the way we thought about the west or even America geographically. It made us feel strong and powerful to be able to travel 25 miles per hour without a team of horses. this is my thought on "The Man Who Shot LIberty Valance", in the movie in the final scenes they are talking about how now that there are trains going out west, they feel civilized enough to live out there. The reason is because trains could bring them anything they wanted from out east.

Also, trains made the iron ore industry northern minnesota, possible. They created a booming economy (at the time) and contributed to the overall growth of Minnesota.

John C. Calhoun’s quote about conquering space doesn’t surprise me, being that it was said in 1817. Almost two hundred years ago, Calhoun saw America with thousands of acres of land unused. He seemed to have an open mind in developing land for society by roads and canals. His vision became accomplished throughout the years and many would argue today that we have over development. While the population has since increased dramatically since Calhoun’s time, our world has certain land developments that far exceed the living requirements of human beings. Calhoun was interested in developing railroads and canal systems. A form of public transportation which upper class citizens were drawn away form because they could afford their own transportation. I wonder what the U.S. would be like if we had not had railroad or mass ways of shipping products. I would guess less industrialized and less mobile.

After reading David E. Nye’s Chapter 7 “the conquest to conquer space” was inevitable. With the introduction of the canal and railroad in the early 1800’s created a population shift from the urban cities to the suburbia. The expansion of the cities created a need for improved communications. Jason Madison addressed “the need for better transportation, both to bind the nation together politically and economically and to ensure the armies could move swiftly to defend it.” The decisions made by presidents Monroe, and Jackson prevented federal funding. They believed the constitution did not give them this right. It was interesting to me that the within the states the people began to collaborate funding to build such technology’s themselves. Soon cities grew extremely fast and created an infrastructure that provided a means of transportation. This technology revolution gave cities the ability to act politically, socially, and militarily.

What enthralled me was how hard-working people used to be. No matter what task was to be accomplished, you’d put all the work in, and hope for some help from others. I don’t see this too much these days, at least not in physical labor. Of course we now have machines to make our lives easier, but look at the pioneers who invented these machines. They worked doggedly their entire lives and were geniuses – not by birth but from learning. And there wasn’t only one person inventing one machine. It seemed as soon as an unfamiliar technology appeared, everyone was eager to experiment with it. Now I don’t know if people today have gotten lazy, stupid, or ran out of technology, but it seems new inventions (at least machine inventions) don’t appear as much anymore. It could be our creative minds have been tainted by some of our favorite inventions, the television and the computer. Or we’ve become such a materialistic society that we’re so influenced by advertising all we can think about is what the next thing we’re going to buy will be. Maybe we’ve entered a new age were inventions are occurring mostly in the digital world – which is what’s currently happening. But I would love to see a really cool new machine be created that would make all of civilization incredibly more efficient. And just think about how expensive everything used to be! We take for granted how cheap our food is these days.
Many citizens don’t appreciate our capitalistic society. But the only way we prospered is through private investments. If it wasn’t for corporations funding the transportation boom we wouldn’t have had a boom at all and we might not even be the U.S.A. right now. However, capitalism may be the reason the earth is slowly dying. Money has taken over as the number one priority as opposed to societal advance. Maybe that’s why there are no new inventions.
What surprises me most is the evolution of transportation (technology). Most technologies’ progress is exponential. However, transportation technology has seemed to slow down tremendously, or at least the paradigm shifts of it. It took only a span of about 50 years to go from dirt roads of horse and carriage, to paved roads, to canals of incredible length, to railroads! But we’ve been driving automobiles for about 100 years now. Of course, the plane was invented and space travel has recently been heavily invested in, but why are we still driving cars? Where is the flying car?!

What struck me the most in each of these articles was (as others have mentioned) the tentativeness that accompanied the development of transportation systems. Though I'm sure many of the construction delays occurred for practical reasons such as lack of funds/workmen/etc., it seems that more often than not, delays were caused by a lack of support. I can imagine that this must have been ridiculously frustrating to those who saw how important these technologies were to the country's economy as well as its stability as a nation. At the same time, I respect how cautious they were about new technologies. People on both sides of these development issues were really trying to think about what was best for the still-developing nation. The amount of deliberation involved in this process makes me wonder if they had better foresight into the impact a certain technology can have on a society than we do now, despite the lack of experience in such domains. Then again, maybe the resistance was actually DUE TO the fact that they couldn't anticipate what such technology would lead to. As others have mentioned, it could have been pure stubbornness. Either way, I find it fascinating that the development of transportation systems was such a hot topic for debate. I'd just like to know how much of the debate was based on sound logic about the issue and how much was based on wariness and/or stubbornness.

Also, Nye wrote, "Before c. 1820, however, Americans balked at the expense and still did not think in national terms, identifying instead with states and communities" (p. 148). So perhaps the lack of nationalism was the greatest deterrent in the process of improving our transportation systems. If so, this must have been even more frustrating for those trying to push legislation through, because a greater sense of nationalism was a major goal of the canals/roads/etc. in the first place. A lack of support only further demonstrated how badly these systems were needed.

America as Second Creation:

I found this section of chapter seven to be very interesting and I realized how often I take basic transportation for granted. I thought of how different life would be without these forms of transportation. First, personal day to day life would become far more time consuming. The daily commute to school or the office or just to run a few errands could end up taking hours, or even days, more than we are accustomed. Second, I realized the effect this would have on our economy. Without trucks, airplanes, trains, or other mass shipping vehicles, much of what we purchase would have to be manufactured relatively close by which, in turn, would lower competition and drive costs and prices up.

I find it ironic how everyone seems to get the impression that people are
hesitant to accept new technology. It appears to me that one of the only
reasons that the hesitation occurs is due to the love of money. No one
wants to approve a grant for millions of dollars for some
transportation/road system that will eventually fail. If it weren’t for
money everyone would spring to the occasion of a new creation. I found this
evidenced in chapter 7 of Nye through the description of the up-rises of
countless towns due to the railroad. Had someone thought about whether the
new and unstable towns, depending solely on the railroad, would continue to
grow endlessly or fall to pieces with the advancement of technology.
Perhaps not as many towns would have sprung to live with the hopes of
“becoming the next Chicago.

blah steamboats arec ool blahhh