Using Dynamics IV

Most of the foundations of what we now see as the "modern world" were put in place...

Compare the changes during your life to those that occurred during the fifty years between 1875 and 1925. During those fifty years, electricity first lit the night and revolutionized factories and homes.  In 1880, the trip from Boston to Cambridge and back was a full day's journey on horseback. Only five years later, the same trip was a twenty-minute ride on an electric streetcar; with the streetcar came commuting and commuter suburbs.  Instead of relying on a single giant steam engine or whiter wheel to power a factory, producers switched to electric motors to being power into every nook and cranny.

The sewing machine put decent clothing within every one's reach.  And electricity powered the telegraph, the telephone, and then the radio, triggering the first significant acceleration in communications since the Roman roads.  During that fifty-year period, railroads knit the country together.  The automobile came into common use and revolutionized American life.  The airplane was invented and commercialized.  Modern paved highways were build and agriculture was mechanized.  IBM's first automatic tabulating machine was developed in 1906.  A huge wave of immigration changed the face of cities.  Modern patters of advertising, retailing, and consumer branding were developed--hundreds of famous brands, such as Kellogg's, Hershey's, Kodak, Coca-Cola, General Electric, Ford, and Hunt's date from this era.  Most of the foundations of what we now see as the "modern world" were put in place, and great still-standing industrial empires were established.  All of this took place in the fifty years between 1875 and 1925.

Now, look at another, more modern, period of fifty years.   Since the 50's, television has reshaped American culture, jet air travel has opened the world to ordinary people, the failing costs of long distance transport have generated a rising tide of global trade, retail stores the size of football fields now dot the landscape, computers an cell phones are ubiquitous, and the Internet has made it possible to work, seek out entertainment, and shop without leaving home.  Millions can instantly tweet about their evanescent likes and dislikes.  Yet, all in all, the last fifty years' changes have had a smaller impact on everyday life and the conduct of business than did the momentous changes that occurred from 1875 to 1925.  

ACTION POINT: Historical perspective helps you make judgements about importance and significance.