Engines of Change: The American Industrial Revolution 1790-1860

Synopsis

THE MATERIAL ASPECTS OF AMERICAN LIFE UNDERWENT GREAT CHANGE in the period from 1790 to 1860, a pattern of development often referred to as the American Industrial Revolution. At the center of this transformation was a series of technological developments that were directly associated with labor, management, and organizational change. This book's discussion begins with physical survivals of technologies of that era, most of them preserved in the Smithsonian Institution. The book, like the exhibition from which it is derived (also entitled Engines of Change), endeavors to look through these artifacts to gain an understanding of the Industrial Revolution that differs significantly from popular perceptions. Specific insights can be gained from three dimensional survivals and from two dimensional views that are neither available in written accounts nor communicable through words alone. The photographs, drawings, and maps included here are, consequently, more than mere illustrations, more than a pleasant way to underline the written text. Indeed, in some ways they constitute the book's primary message. At the same time, the most obvious message conveyed by artifacts and pictures is limited by its unavoidable specificity. It must always be placed in a larger and broader context. Occasionally, observers bring enough context with them to interpret the artifacts they see, but usually extended verbal explanation is required to make objects and pictures truly meaningful. That is the purpose of the text of this book- to provide the context, to look through the physical survivals to an enriched comprehension of the technology and related aspects of the American Industrial Revolution.

Copyright:

1986

Book Details

Book Quality:

Excellent

Book Size:

303 Pages

ISBN-13:

9780874745399

Publisher:

N/A

Date of Addition:

12/23/08

Copyrighted By:

Smithsonian Institution

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Nonfiction, Science, Business and Finance

Submitted By:

Kari G

Proofread By:

RochC

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.