THANK YOU, MR. EDISON Electricity, Innovation, and Social Change Robert Gabrick and Barbara Markham   In Electrifying America: Social Meanings of a New Technology, David E. Nye argues, "A technology is not merely a system of machines with certain functions; it is part of a social world. Electrification is not an implacable force moving through history, but a social process that varies from one time period to another and from one culture to another" (p. ix). Nye continues, "Americans adopted electrical technologies in a wide range of social, political, economic, and aesthetic contexts, weaving them into the fabric of experience" (p. x).

Using documents from American Memory, plus supplementary material, students investigate electrification as both a technological and social process. A focus of the student's investigation is Thomas Edison, because, as Nye contends, "Electricity was the sign of Edison's genius, the wonder of the age, the hallmark of progress" (p. 1).

Procedure

Lesson One: Impact of Electricity On People's Lives  (1-2 class periods)

In Part One, students construct a profile of Mrs. W.C. Lathrop of Norton, Kansas using her letter to Thomas Edison and develop historical judgments about the values and beliefs evident in the letter. In Part 2, students analyze a speech by President Calvin Coolidge.

• Students may work individually or in groups.
• Class discussion of student findings and conclusions is essential.
• Be sure students cite examples to support their responses.

Lesson Two: Edison's Role in the Electrification of America  (2-3 class periods)

Biography:

Students focus on the life of Thomas Edison. The timeline activity could be an entire class project and displayed in the classroom.

Phonograph:

This activity works well if student groups work on different sections of the project.

Sound Recordings:

1. Provide students with an example such as vaudeville. Explain how vaudeville influenced popular vocal recordings. While offensive today, "coon" music was popular. Ask what "coon" music was, and why it was popular. Play excerpts to demonstrate how each recording sounded. For some genres, provide copies of the words with an analysis.

   You may want to use the collections American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment, 1870-1920 and African American Sheet Music, 1850-1920. Type in the keyword "coon" and 100 songs will be identified. Recognize the controversial nature of this topic. Such a discussion can be an opportunity to explore racial issues with sensitivity.

2. Assign groups to each of the seven genres of Edison Diamond Disc recordings. (See Overview of Edison Disc Recordings by Genre.)
3. Each group prepares a web-based presentation to the class, incorporating selected portions of various recordings and an analysis and explanation of each genre.

Motion Pictures:

1. Give students an example using The Great Train Robbery, one of the most famous of all early films. An analysis of racial attitudes apparent in other films could also be helpful.
2. Assign groups of students to specific sections of:
   • History of Edison Motion Pictures, and
   • Overview of Edison Motion Pictures by Genre.

3. Assign web-based presentations to each group. The presentations should provide:
   • a brief summary of an aspect of Edison movie history.
   • an analysis of one of the film genres.

Lesson Three: Merchandising and Advertising   (1-2 class periods)

Advertisement Gallery: Assign students to work in pairs for written and oral work on each advertisement.

Lesson Four: Women and the Mass Consumer Society  (2-3 class periods)

To assess understanding of the social and technological effects of electrification, students identify and analyze examples of each kind of change: new inventions, changes in work activity for women and men--both at home and in the workplace, uses of leisure time, and changes and continuity in values and beliefs.

The purpose of this activity is to validate student constructed generalizations about the process of electrification. Assign this activity at the start of the unit so students can gather their documentary materials as they do the various lessons.

1. Students assemble a gallery of excerpts from documents in collections investigated in these lessons. Additional documentary material may come from other American Memory collections.
2. Students create on-line, off-line, or PowerPoint presentations.
3. In a report to the class, students state their generalization and present their document selections, explaining and analyzing how these excerpts validate their generalization.

• Thomas Edison, while given credit for things he did not create, was a significant figure in the development of modern forms of entertainment.
• Electrification had significant social effects on women.
• Magazines played a significant role as educators of women in the development of the mass-consumer society.
• Americans sought to redefine their long held values in light of the changes in society.
• The social and technological changes of the period were a mixed blessing for women.
• The "New Woman" of the 1920s was a product of the changes brought about by electrification.

General

• Read the Learning Page Collection Connection, Inventing Entertainment: The Edison Companies.
• As an introduction to the entire range of activities related to Edison and electrification and to get students thinking about the influence of electricity, consider some word games such as:
  1. Give students a word scramble, e.g., NSIDEO, THLGI, HROHPNAOG.
  2. Ask students to brainstorm words or phrases based upon electricity that describe human behavior, feelings, emotions, or situations. Some examples are: live wire, charged, dim-witted, bright, shocked, out like a light, plugged in, and recharge your batteries; and words and phrases with a mechanical or electronic/computer focus: screw loose, zapped, and overloaded circuits.
     

Lesson One

1. Edison National Historic Site. This National Park Service site features Edison's West Orange, New Jersey research laboratory and home and has sound recordings, photographs, movies, and a virtual tour.
2. Henry Ford Museum. Biographical information about Edison. Henry Ford and Edison were friends.
3. The National Register of Historic Places: The Invention Factory. This site includes a lesson on the laboratory, research, and manufacturing facilities used by Edison.
4. Thomas A. Edison Papers at Rutgers University. This site gives a timeline listing the important inventions of the period 1865-1930. Students may construct a timeline using illustrations or drawings. Students can research and report how life has changed as a result of these inventions.
5. Listen as Len Spencer, announcer, delivers: First Recorded Promotional Message On The Edison Phonograph (.mp3)
6. The National Archives provides analysis worksheets for motion pictures, sound recordings, and written documents.

Lesson Two

• American Leaders Speak, 1918-1920 contains fifty-nine sound recordings of speeches by American leaders from World War I and the 1920 election, including Calvin Coolidge.
• Panoramic Photographs: Taking the Long View, 1851-1991 provides an opportunity to see small towns like those in which Mrs. Lathrop lived.

Lesson Three

• Students may do more in-depth research of the three magazines to further an understanding of the world of Mrs. Lathrop in the 1920s. The advertisements for other products, such as automobiles, provide interesting comparisons with today's products. Students may analyze the technological and social changes occurring in the increasingly electrified mass-consumer society depicted in the mass circulation magazines.
• Students may read Sinclair Lewis's Babbitt, a wonderful novel about the mass-consumer society of the 1920s.
• Students may explore "Gopher Prairie," the fictional counterpart of Mrs. Lathrop's world of Norton, Kansas, in Sinclair Lewis's novel Main Street.
• After completing the activities in this unit students participate in a "talk show" to discuss the various themes of this unit. Guests could include Thomas Edison, Mrs. Lathrop, and other individuals such as: farm men and women, including teenagers; urban residents with a variety of gender, class, racial, and ethnic characteristics; and business, political, and civic leaders, i.e., the head of the Chamber of Commerce. Students in the audience prepare questions prior to the show. The teacher acts as host, wandering about the audience, or that role may be assigned to a student.

Questions to consider for discussion:

1. The increased emphasis on leisure and entertainment: is it good or bad?
2. How has electricity altered people's lives?
3. Are there differences in the impact of electricity on men and women's lives?