US History

Science and Technology

The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)

This collection uses primary sources to explore the introduction of electric power to the United States.

Excerpts of data from *Forty Years of Edison Service, 1882-1922; Outlining the Growth and Development of the Edison System in New York City*.

Excerpts from *Recipes for Cooking by Electricity*, issued by the New York Edison Company, which introduced customers to electric appliances.

A 1906 map of New York City showing the United Electric Light and Power Company lines.

A 1910 catalog of Edison-Lalande batteries and other electric appliances produced by the Edison Manufacturing Company. 

An excerpt from the 1930 book *Edison as I Know Him*, written by Henry Ford, detailing the “debt” America owes to Edison for his work.

A clipping of “Sketches in Edison’s Laboratory” including the “mechanism employed in producing his electric light.” 

A catalog page from the early 1900s showing shades for electric lamps. 

A photograph of Fifth Avenue in New York City illuminated by electric light, 1913. 

An illustration of “bathing by electric light,” 1880. 

An illustration of “electric light.”

An electric motor for alternating current by Westinghouse Electric, 1888. 

A photograph of Westinghouse equipment. 

A photograph of the World’s Fair Pan-American Exposition buildings lit up by electric light, 1901.

“Petaluma’s pride,” an 1898 atlas article describing a California power company. 

Drawing of the Incandescent Light Bulb by Thomas Edison, 1880.

Questions

1. Why do you think that a power company would be called the “pride” of a town in an [1898 article](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/electrifying-america/sources/718)? Why do you think the authors of the atlas chose to include this description so prominently? What message does it send readers about the town and its people? 

2. Look at the data in the excerpts from [*Forty Years of Edison Service*](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/electrifying-america/sources/705). What do these numbers tell us about the development of electric power? What do the numbers imply about its growth as an industry? About its customers?

3. Why do you think electric companies would produce booklets like [*Recipes for Cooking by Electricity*](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/electrifying-america/sources/706), particularly in the early 1900s? Who is the intended audience for this text and why?

4. Using the items in this set as a guide, explain how the development and commercialization of electricity impacted other industries. 

Activity

In the excerpt from *Edison as I Know Him*, Henry Ford writes of Edison: “We are only learning to use the tools and the methods that he has given to us. Already our general prosperity leads the world, and this is due to the fact that we have had Edison. Nearly every important factor in our prosperity directly or indirectly traces back to some invention by him.” Ask students to make a poster showing developments that followed from the advent of electric light. What are some other inventions or technological breakthroughs that we can now “trace” our “prosperity” back to? In what ways do developments coming from these mirror the developments that came from electric power?


Teaching Guide: Exploring Electricity in America

Resources

1. [Lighting a Revolution](http://americanhistory.si.edu/lighting/19thcent/hall19.htm), National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. 
2. [Tesla: Life and Legacy](http://www.pbs.org/tesla/), PBS. 
3. [Edison vs. Westinghouse: A Shocking Rivalry](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/edison-vs-westinghouse-a-shocking-rivalry-102146036/), Smithsonian Magazine. 

Overview

On November 4, 1879, Thomas Edison filed for a patent for an electric lamp using carbon filaments. Edison’s patent, which became the first commercially successful, long-lasting light bulb, changed the way people across the world live and work—with the flip of a switch. Soon, electricity became a business in and of itself, with Edison and the American engineering mogul George Westinghouse bringing electric power to cities across America. Supported by innovative scientists and engineers like Nikola Tesla, this booming new industry shaped twentieth-century American culture and industry. This primary source set explores the development, commercialization, and impact of electricity. 

English

Electrifying America

electrifying-america_11_fef629068d90f9de1164fb33cc1464f5.jpg

Courtesy of National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center via Smithsonian Institution.

Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing, “Electric Motor for Alternating Current,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/fef629068d90f9de1164fb33cc1464f5.

An electric motor for alternating current by Westinghouse Electric, 1888.

Cite this item

Tips for Students

Item 11 of 15 in the Primary Source Set Electrifying America