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Golden Spike Laid
The first transcontinental railroad did in 1869 what the internet did in the early 90's.[1] It was a superhighway, allowing for the exchange of ideas and goods. In the great plains, the railroad created settlements and industry. By hammering the last spike at Promontory Point, Utah, the Union and Central Pacific railroad companies completed the Pacific Railway Act.[2] This act, the first of many involving railroads could be seen as the roots of the modern military-industrial complex. -
Benz Patent Motor Car
The Benz Patent Motor Car was the world's first gasoline powered automobile.[3] While the Benz Patent Motor Car did not look like the modern car of today, it still had many of the same attributes and was capable of travelling long distances as shown by Bertha Benz in 1888 when she took one 180 km round trip.[3] America is a nation of immigrants, and without this German-made machine, the automobile that is such a staple of American culture would have been unthinkable. -
The Birth of Aviation
At Kitty Hawk, North Carolina a new kind of machine was conceived. The airplane defined long range transportation in the 20th century just as the railroads had done in the 19th. In addition, air power proved vital in war after it's creation. The figure shows that the Flyer looks very different than modern planes, there are no control surfaces and the body had to be warped to maintain stability on the roll pitch and yaw axis.[4] These axis of control are still integral to aircraft design today. -
Ford and the Model T
The Model T revolutionized the automobile industry. While it was under powered with only 20 hp, it's price tag and innovation made it appealing to the middle class.[5] In addition, Ford's moving assembly line changed industry forever by cutting manufacturing costs.[6] Ford also offered his workers a standard 8 hour work day paying $5, which was highly unusual during the era.[6] By the end of the 1920's there were millions of automobiles on the roads and a Model T could be bought for $5.[6] -
Goddard Liquid-Fueled Rocket
In January 1920, the Smithsonian Institute published Robert Goddard's "Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes."[7] His work, among other things, outlined a way of using liquid fueled rockets for reaching the moon. While rockets are not publicly used for transportation, they had a large impact on American culture. The Space Race and the cold war's threat of nuclear annihilation could not have happened without Goddard's first flight on a farm in Auburn, Massachusetts.[7] -
Route 66 Commissioned
US Highway 66 ran from Chicago to Las Angeles. It was the first transcontinental highway and quickly became known as the mother road. It allowed for a new boom of towns and businesses nationwide and was an escape route for the poor farmers of the Midwest during the dust bowl.[8] It became a pop culture icon as America's obsession with the automobile grew during the 1950's.[8] Route 66 was the 20th century's railroad, it was the highway through which commerce and people moved from east to west. -
Lindbergh Transatlantic Flight
By flying from Roosevelt Field in New York to Le Bourget in Paris, Lindbergh completed the Orteig Prize and propelled himself to national fame.[9] Lindbergh's flight inspired a new generation of engineers as the New York Times called him, "extremely imaginative in the mechanical sense."[10] Nearly 50 years after the completion of the first transcontinental railroad, he ushered in a new era of transportation technology as he assured the airplane's place in long distance travel.[6]
