You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.
In his classic account of America in 1800, Henry Adams, the grandson and great-grandson of presidents, described a country that was remarkably underdeveloped.
The population, five million at a time when England had 15 million and France 27 million inhabitants, had fewer than a million free, able-bodied adult white males. Fully half the population was under the age of 16.
After two centuries of settlement, two-thirds of the population lived within 50 miles of the Atlantic coast, and the center of the population was just 18 miles west of Baltimore. The entire American population west of the Appalachian and Allegheny mountains numbered fewer than half a million.
Buffalo, Rochester and Utica in western New York were still Indian country. Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana belonged to the Wyandottes, Shawnees, Miamis and Kickapoo. In the South, the Creek, Cherokees, Chickasaws and Choctaws controlled Mississippi and Alabama.
Transportation in 1800 was scarcely any better than a century earlier. The movement of people and goods still depended on horses, boats, wagons and stagecoaches, with the passengers protected from the heat or cold only by leather flaps buttoned to the roof and sides.
In New England, travel was forbidden on the Sabbath. It took two days to get from New York to Philadelphia, a distance of less than 100 miles. When President Jefferson traveled between Washington and his home at Monticello, he had to cross eight rivers; five had neither bridges nor boats.
By later standards, life was primitive. Houses were still heated by fireplaces and lit by candles. Bathrooms were unknown. Fifty miles inland, at least half of the houses were log cabins, many without glass windows. Churches were unheated. Most clothing was cut and made at home.
Intellectual life was similarly underdeveloped. All the public libraries in the new nation contained about 50,000 volumes, including duplicates. A third of those books dealt with theology.
The most prestigious of the new nation’s 22 colleges, Harvard, graduated just 39 students a year, no more than in 1700. Its students typically entered at the age of 14 and its entire faculty consisted of a president, a professor of theology, a professor of mathematics and a professor of Hebrew, along with four tutors.
Methods of production were little changed from a century earlier. Farmers’ plows were still made of wood, and crop rotation, drainage and even the use of manure as fertilizer were rare. Manufacturing was very small in scale. There were only two or three small cotton mills and, in 1803, no more than five steam engines in the entire country.
The largest cities—Baltimore, Boston, New York and Philadelphia—had a combined population of fewer than 200,000 and were the only cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants.
Swine ran loose, serving as garbage collectors. As for the nation’s new capital, Washington, D.C., members of Congress resided in between eight and 10 boardinghouses. The city lacked shops or markets.
Cities were “policed” by a handful of unpaid, untrained, nonuniformed and unarmed sheriffs, alderman, marshals, constables and nightwatchmen. In New England towns, tithingmen armed with long black sticks tipped with brass patrolled streets searching for drunkards, disorderly children and wayward servants. New York City’s entire police force consisted of two captains, two deputies and 72 assistants. Victims of crime had to offer a reward if they wanted these unpaid law officers to investigate a case.
Noah Webster, who had just begun his dictionary, described the country as beset by ignorance: “Our learning is superficial in a shameful degree … our colleges are disgracefully destitute of books and philosophical apparatus … and I am ashamed to own that scarcely a branch of science can be fully investigated in America for want of books, especially original works.”
Resistance to change was strong. “Let us guard against the insidious encroachments of innovation,” a Boston minister (and Yale graduate and the father of American geography) named Jedidiah Morse preached—“that evil and beguiling spirit which is now stalking to and fro through the earth, seeking whom he may destroy.”
Yet the country was perched on the edge of extraordinary transformations, as a series of revolutions—economic, legal and social—shattered earlier patterns of life and brought into existence ways of living that are familiar to us today. Within a span of 30 years, a host of new technologies became commonplace, including artificial lighting, running water, central heating, cookstoves, iceboxes, railroads, the telegraph and mass-circulation newspapers.
Over the course of U.S. history, four technologies fundamentally transformed the American economy.
The first was textiles, which ushered in the first industrial revolution and led to the expansion of wage labor, the rise of the factory and the substitution of machines for human or animal labor. In addition, it contributed to the emergence of a new life stage that was called girlhood—a period of relative freedom when a growing number of Northern women worked in mills, free from the oversight of a father or husband.
The textile revolution made washable clothing widely available, eliminating many traditional forms of women’s work inside the home and devastating traditional forms of textile production in India, Africa and elsewhere. In addition, it helped fuel the growth of slavery, which, in turn, stimulated the growth of banking, insurance, commerce and meatpacking.
Here, we see both the positive and negative sides of the Industrial Revolution. It brought tremendous improvements in living standards to many Americans. But its success depended on the exploitation of labor. Here, we see the interconnections between technology, finance, slavery and the rise of a modern consumer economy.
The textile industry’s voracious demand for cotton transformed the South into one of the richest parts of the world. Indeed, a majority of the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans were white Southerners. However, while slavery was highly profitable for individuals, it produced an unbalanced economy in the South and generated an ideology hostile to cities, factories and technological innovation.
The South’s economy failed to develop significant internal markets, a diversified economy, large cities and a transportation network to connect cities. It also failed to attract large numbers of immigrants.
In 1860 the North had approximately 1.3 million industrial workers, whereas the South had just 110,000, and Northern factories manufactured nine-tenths of the industrial goods produced in the United States. The South’s transportation network remained primitive by Northern standards. Traveling the 1,460 overland miles from Baltimore to New Orleans in 1850 meant riding five different railroads, two stagecoaches and two steamboats. Public schools failed to develop, and 20 percent of the South’s white population was illiterate. Social services lagged far behind the North’s.
Meanwhile, in the North, the early stages of industrialization promoted an ideology hostile toward slavery and increasingly anti-Southern—an ideology that emphasized the value of free (i.e., wage) labor. Slavery and industrialization were increasingly perceived as antithetical, an opposition that helped pave the way toward civil war.
The second transformational technology involved steam and railroads. It integrated the West into the nation’s economy, helped create the world’s largest internal market and helped drive the growth of the steel industry. It made the long-distance transportation of good as well as travel affordable. It changed how Americans marked time with the introduction of time zones in 1883. It made the first mail order catalogs possible. It also helped spur some of the most violent labor conflicts in U.S. history.
The third technology that radically reshaped the economy involved electricity, chemicals and the internal combustion engine. The automobile, in particular, had huge multiplier effects. It not only required glass, petroleum, rubber and steel, but gas stations, highways and motels and made greatly expanded suburbs possible. Mass production and the assembly line were given a big boost from the auto industry, which also gradually adopted installment credit.
The fourth transformation is the digital revolution—the widespread adoption of computers, the internet, mobile phones, analytics and apps. These have disrupted communication, entertainment, journalism, publishing and retailing. In addition, they have transformed interpersonal relationships and has created a surveillance society with an unprecedented ability to collect and analyze information.
I sometimes ask my students: When did everyday life in the United States change most radically?
Is it the 21st century, with the advent of the smartphone, apps, social media and streaming, along with artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, autonomous vehicles, augmented and virtual reality, biotechnology and genomics, data analytics and informatics, genetic engineering using CRISPR technology, natural language processing, quantum computing, regenerative medicine, renewable energy and advanced energy storage systems, 3-D printing, wearable technologies?
Or the early 20th century, which brought us the airplane, the radio, the mass production of cars and the widespread electrification of factories and homes and which enabled new appliances like refrigerators, washing machines and vacuum cleaners, reducing household labor and significantly improving living standards? Those years also saw a series of public health measures that helped prolong life expectancy.
How about the late 19th century, which introduced the elevator, the internal combustion engine, the light bulb, motion pictures, the phonograph, the skyscraper, the telephone and the typewriter?
I think a case can be made for the early 19th century, when this country underwent a series of revolutions that transformed every facet of life—though it took decades for the impact to be fully felt.
The most obvious innovations were a host of life-changing technologies: anesthesia, artificial lighting, balloon frame construction, central heating, the daguerreotype, the revolver and rifle, the sewing machine, the steamboat and steam-powered railroad, the stethoscope, the telegraph, and the tin can.
But the most important developments went beyond any single technological innovation. These included:
- A transportation revolution, with the emergence of turnpikes, canals and railroads.
- A communication revolution symbolized by the invention of the telegraph.
- An agricultural revolution, thanks to the advent of steel plows, threshers and mechanical reapers, which vastly increased productivity.
- An urban revolution that not only increased the size of cities, but produced a shift in urban geography, as distinct residential, business and factory districts arose and separate working class and middle class neighborhoods emerged—accompanied by the appearance of the first professional police forces.
- A legal revolution that prioritized economic growth, risk-taking and entrepreneurship by embracing the idea that wages, prices and interest rates should be determined by the marketplace and that businesses’ liability for various harms should be in the name of assumption of risk.
The early 19th century saw:
- A shift from subsistence to commercial agriculture.
- A separation of the household from the workplace.
- The emergence of the doctrine of separate spheres for women and men.
- The rise of the bounded, inward-turning, emotionally intense nuclear family replacing the more permeable families of the colonial era.
- A sharp reduction in the birth rate, predating the development of any new contraceptive technologies, with families relying instead on abstinence, the rhythm method and chemically induced abortions.
- The birth of new forms of commercial entertainment like the minstrel show, the penny press and the dime novel and the first team sports with well-defined rules and records, beginning with baseball.
The early industrial revolution was much more than an economic revolution; it was a cultural revolution. It altered every facet of life, from the way people dressed, ate, worked and entertained themselves to the families they lived in. Every subsequent technological revolution also had a cultural dimension that transformed life across multiple dimensions.
This very brief account of the technological revolutions that have reshaped American life doesn’t simply raise economic questions. It also poses the kinds of cultural questions addressed by the humanities and the “softer” social sciences. Here are a few of the more humanistic questions prompted by the introduction of new technologies:
- Why do some technological innovations act as turning points for societal transformation, while others don’t?
- Do technological breakthroughs take place suddenly and unpredictably or are they better understood as the product of a more gradual, continuous, cumulative and iterative process?
- What social or economic conditions make certain societies more receptive to technological innovation than others?
- How does the introduction of pathbreaking new technologies reshape social hierarchies and labor structures and access to opportunity?
- What role do government policy and private industry play in accelerating or delaying adoption?
- What are the unintended environmental or ethical consequences that accompany transformative technologies?
- How do large-scale technological shifts impact cultural values and everyday life?
- What factors determine the rate at which societies can adapt to or resist transformative change?
The humanities explore how some technologies resonate culturally, gaining symbolic meaning that drives societal adoption, while others don’t. Literature, art and philosophy help us understand why society rallies around certain innovations that tap into shared desires, fears or values.
History and philosophy suggest that most “sudden” technological leaps reflect long, cumulative shifts. By studying historical precedents, we can see that “revolutionary” changes usually emerge from gradual cultural, economic and intellectual developments.
Also, the humanities examine how cultural openness, narratives and beliefs shape a society’s adaptability. Cultural studies, for instance, reveal why certain societies welcome or resist change due to deeply ingrained attitudes toward progress, tradition and authority.
Sociology and anthropology shed light on how new technologies redefine social roles and hierarchies, often benefiting certain groups while disadvantaging others. This helps us understand how technologies impact equality, identity and class.
Political science and history clarify how the interplay between policy, industry and societal interests can accelerate or stymie technological adoption, examining past cases where either government support or corporate monopoly affected technological progress.
Ethics and environmental studies help us explore the unforeseen effects of technology, like environmental degradation or data privacy issues, examining ethical responsibilities and the need for caution when adopting innovations.
Cultural studies and philosophy analyze how technologies impact daily life and values, altering concepts like privacy, community and identity. The humanities help us grasp the broader cultural shifts brought about by, say, digital communication or industrialization.
Historical and sociological perspectives reveal why certain societies or subgroups resist change, often rooted in cultural values, economic conditions or the fear of lost jobs or identity. By exploring these resistance factors, the humanities offer strategies for managing the human dimensions of technological transformation.
Predictions about the future are notoriously unreliable. Consider these examples cited by the economist David Henderson:
- Western Union’s claim in 1876 that “The telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no use to us.”
- Lord Kelvin’s 1895 statement “Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible”?
- Harry Warner’s quip, uttered just before the release of the first talkie, The Jazz Singer: “Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?”
- IBM president Thomas Watson’s 1943 statement that “there is a world market for maybe five computers."
- Bill Gates’s 1981 statement that “640 kilobytes [the capacity of a floppy disk] ought to be enough for anyone.”
Almost anyone who predicts the future with confidence is either a fantasist or blissfully unaware of the unpredictability inherent in the complex forces that shape the world.
The economist Robert J. Gordon is neither a fantasist nor blissfully unaware of the future’s utter unpredictability. But he does offer a prediction in his landmark 2016 study of shifts in American living standards since the Civil War. In The Rise and Fall of American Growth, he argues that in the absence of certain policy measures—like improving educational attainment and reducing regulatory barriers that slow or block construction, whether of housing or infrastructure, including sources of renewable energy—this country’s living standards are likely to stagnate. Worsening economic inequality, an aging population, increasing governmental and household debt and a plateauing of educational attainment threaten the underpinnings of economic growth.
To which I’d add another barrier: a “degrowth” ideology driven, in part, by a well-meaning desire to preserve the natural environment and save the planet from climate change and which is itself an outgrowth of improvements in people’s standard of living. Unfortunately, this ideology has the practical effect of impeding the very steps that are necessary to meet the climate challenge and other pressing problems.
It is deeply ironic that environmental protection laws are often invoked to block clean-energy initiatives, including solar, wind and geothermal power and an upgraded power grid, but also construction of housing and infrastructure, like high-speed rail.
At the same time, in the name of public safety, the FDA is at times excruciatingly slow in approving promising treatments, while state and federal policies deliberately limit the supply of doctors and block nurses and physician’s assistants from delivery certain kinds of care.
The humanities provide an essential lens through which we can understand technological change not only as a series of inventions but as transformations that reshape the human experience, affecting people’s identities, relationships, ethics and cultural values. The humanities disciplines remind us that technological innovation is also a social, ethical and existential phenomenon.
By interpreting how past innovations have influenced societal structures and values, the humanities offer insights into what we might expect in the future. The humanities encourage us to reflect on the ethical implications of tech innovations and their impact on people’s everyday lives.
A technological revolution reshapes more than just the tools we use; it redefines how we perceive, interact and prioritize in daily life, influencing everything from our economic structures and entertainment to our interpersonal relationships and ways of thinking. As digital and AI technologies drive the current transformation, the resulting shifts in attention span, social norms and communication methods present profound questions about the nature and direction of progress.
The humanities and the arts provide crucial insights into how technological changes alter core human experiences, values and ethics. They encourage us to weigh the benefits of increased efficiency and connectivity against potential costs, such as the erosion of deep, sustained attention or the fragmentation of communities. By fostering critical reflection, the humanities help us grapple with the trade-offs involved as technology advances.
In understanding these trade-offs, the humanities remind us that human connection, meaning and empathy remain as vital as technological progress itself, guiding society to adapt responsibly while preserving values that matter to the human experience.