The Typewriter: Relevant and Impactful

As an important predecessor to the modern-day keyboard, the typewriter laid the foundation for the development of modern communication that does not utilize any verbal components. There is a bit of slight controversy over the origins of the typewriter due to a patent in 1714, the first commercially viable typewriter was accessible to the public as early as 1874. This typewriter is most similar to the initial image that uses the standard keyboard layout.

The set-up of the original typewriter streamlined the writing process, allowing for quicker production times. The “QWERTY” organization of keys on a keyboard is a prime example of the typewriter’s relevance to this day. Although the typewriter is far too inefficient to function above the modern standard of speed and accuracy, it can be said to be a huge leap forward as an innovation applicable to media, literature, communication as a whole, and a variety of other disciplines.

Aside from the apparent milestone in the evolution of communication technology, the typewriter gave rise to opportunities for females in the workplace. It comes as no surprise that women were not accommodated in most industries during that era, but the lighter workload of typing could have been a relatively appealing position as opposed to factory laborers’. Overall, I would say that this technology was one that affected society as a whole, in multiple facets nonexclusive to its intended field, a true innovation.

Source:

https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/

https://onlinetyping.org/blog/invention-of-the-typewriter.php

Carrier Pigeons, Winged Heros

As methods of communication continue to evolve, it is interesting to see the rapid progression of our communication channels. Today the physical distance has all but been eliminated by the use of digitalization, helping communication to become near-instant over the cyber plane. Many of these innovations we see today such as instant messaging, email, and phone calls are all a part of modern history, but far more rudimentary ways of relaying messages are still within our society, however obsolete they may be. Past century’s use of telegraphs, radio, and in-person letter delivery are just a few methods previously employed to get a message to the intended receiver. One method that particularly stands out would be the way of carrier pigeons, a delivery method arguably with more moving parts than most of their modern counterparts. 

Carrier pigeons, technically known as homing pigeons, can be noted as a method of relaying messages as far back as ancient Rome. In a world with limited access to electricity or none at all to speak of in the Romans’ case, winged messengers are far more efficient than on-foot delivery. While not all physical barriers are overcome, the delivery system is, or was, an effective medium for its time. Pigeons are not inherently known for intelligence, but despite outward appearances and a scavenger guise, the pigeon is extremely adept at navigating great distances to return home. This homing ability, like many creatures in the animal kingdom, is mysterious, but believed possible by a sun reliant compass mechanism, as well as utilizing magnetic fields, also called magnetoreception.

Notable usage of carrier pigeons in World War I and II brought recognition to homing pigeons. In World War I specifically, carrier pigeons could be found in every branch of the military thanks to their accuracy and speed in battlefield messaging. Frequent updates to on-ground commanders provided the necessary information to formulate the most successful battlefield tactics. In the modern-day, the use of carrier pigeons is more of a novelty than a dependable communications system, because there is a higher margin of error in comparison to other channels. Whereas electronic messaging has inhibiting factors such as reception and access to power, carrier pigeons, in many cases, were faced with the clad of bullets over the battlefield. Such obstacles were expected, but not as impactful as one might think, considering the small size and high speed of a bird in flight. In summary, the tactical advantage of carrier pigeons when considering the lack of modern communication technology outweighed any foreseen complications and were instrumental in saving countless lives during military conflicts. Dating back, pigeons have served as reliable curriers in a variety of situations and subsequently contributed to the evolution of communication as an early success.

Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/30/style/the-hallowed-history-of-the-carrier-pigeon.html
https://mypassionforscience.org/homing-pigeons-vs-carrier-pigeons/
https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2018/01/08/unsung-heroes-of-world-war-i-the-carrier-pigeons/

The Road to Suffrage

In class we brushed over the ratification of the 19th amendment, which can be argued to be one of the most equalizing amendments to the constitution, seeing women were granted the right to vote and they make up roughly half our population. The suffrage granted to women in 1920 set a precedent for the entire feminist movement, which stills holds a great amount of relevance in this world due to the soaring rates of domestic violence, harassment, infringements on reproductive rights, and many more injustices that fall underneath this veritably pink umbrella. The road to that suffrage, and the subsequent movements that have ensued, were achieved through a long journey riddled with racial exclusion and anti-humanitarian idealism.

Like the events following the 15th amendment that stood to stifle its progress, women across America experienced the same obstacles, and particularly those of color. Not unlike the African American men in the south, barriers such as poll tax, literacy tests, and other acts of exclusion barred women from representing themselves in our democracy. These instances of subjugation were not exclusive to the American south, women from Puerto Rico, which was and still is a territory, were not allowed suffrage because the 19th amendment did not extend into the territory. Literate Puerto Rican women were later enfranchised in 1929, preceding the enfranchisement of all citizenized Puerto Rican women in 1935. Historical data suggests that while many women were supportive of the Women’s Rights Movement, many more lied consistently with intolerant attitudes of racism in the country at the time. For the colored supporters of this movement, their encouragement was admirable, yet in instances declined by the middle-class white women who spearheaded the crusade.

The struggle for equal rights is an ongoing battle, one that shows no signs of concluding even today. Women, among many other groups, combat discrimination within a conservative society that progressed as quickly as it ever has, with little urgency. The Women’s Rights Movement was tethered to many prejudices, it was a historical account of perseverance in the face of adversity, but most importantly, it was, and is, a shining narrative of the will of people to gain a voice among the wrongly disenfranchised.

Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/15/arts/design/womens-suffrage-movement.html

The Essence of Social Slavery

Slavery was one of the most reproachable periods in American history,  characterized by cruelty, injustice, and negative attitudes that persist even into the modern era. Slavery then, existing for the economic stability of the agrarian communities in the American South, persisted through post-war acts of discrimination against African Americans, only here slavery was just a little more subtle, seeing how as it was illegal. The injustice during the enslavement of African Americans, and what could be considered slavery in a different and seemingly less pronounced form, promoted inequality over distinct levels. While the governmentally sanctioned mistreatment of former ‘slaves’ was then after the war condemned, Americans, especially in the south, persisted to persecute African Americans in a variety of avenues in society in such a manner that I refer to those set of circumstances as a kind of social slavery.

The cultural attitudes in the south had been influenced by the long-standing hierarchies, both social and racial, subsequently impeding the white southerner’s mental outlook regarding the shift from blacks’ enslavement to citizenship. It is an important distinction to refer to African American enslavement as such, and not slavery, which could imply that at some point the subjugated were, in fact, slaves. No person has ever been a slave, for no person has ever been lesser than the rest of humanity, the benchmark of personhood is invariably observed to be in every human. However, the reality remained that such truths were inconceivable to many people in the US at the time, understandable given their child-rearing, yet nevertheless inexcusable.

Any fundamental change cannot occur in a night, only after the initiative can be realized amongst the entirety of the people can this change make true advancement. The bigoted members of southern society, raised only knowing the institution of slavery as beneficial, would more than likely be disgruntled after the ratification of the 13th and 14th amendments, unjustifiably so, but a reasonable assumption nonetheless. I believe that the efforts imposed by former slave owners to diminish the rights granted to African Americans were rooted in their superiority complexes. The whole situation strikes one as rather petty given the backstory, this pettiness, unfortunately, seems to have been adopted by the following generations, giving rise to the racism we still see today.

Sources:
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/civil-war-era/reconstruction/a/life-after-slavery
https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/reconstruction