Unit 5 Invention Assignment

Ch. 13, Section 1: A Technological Revolution

Read page 456 through the top of page 460.  You will read in detail about the period following the Civil War, which was characterized by the significant growth of technology and inventions. According to our text, between 1790 and 1860, the government issued only 36,000 patents.  A patent is a license that gives an inventor the exclusive right to make, use, or sell an invention for a set period of time.  In contrast, between 1860 and 1890, the government issued 500,000 patents. Inventions such as the typewriter, telephone, and phonograph influenced changes in the economy, business practices, and the daily lives of Americans.  Thus, America experienced the “Gilded Age,” as termed by Mark Twain.  Gilded means “covered with a thin layer of gold,” and the term implied that the thin layer covered the poverty and corruption in the country.  However, the Gilded Age was a golden period for industrialists, and many Americans became rich as a result of booming industries.

Your task is to research one invention from the post-Civil War era (1860-1890).  Each student in the class will have a different invention as chosen at random.  Answer the following questions from your research and create a keynote/powerpoint presentation. 

-       Use bullet points and PARAPHRASE

-       Include pictures

-       6-8 total slides

Refer to your textbook and credible sources from the internet to find the information. DO NOT plagiarize, as this will result in the grade of a zero.

1.     What is the invention? Identify who invented the product, the time frame (year) of the invention, and the progression of the idea/finished product. (at least 4  bullet points)-  5 points

2.     Explain and analyze the IMPACT of the invention on the American economy as well as on the daily lives of Americans. Be as specific as specific as possible in your answer. (at least 6 bullet points)- 7 points

3.     Compare the invention to a modern day product, or how it has transformed to a product at the present time (at least 3 bullet points) 3 points.
4. Last slide- list your sources utilized- URL link only; at least 3 sources are required- 3 points

Neatness and organization= 2 points
work ethic, turned in on time= 3 points

Total point value= 23 points

Due: Friday, December 5^th at the beginning of class.