Lesson 6: 20th Century Technologies
This lesson will discuss the early 20th century technologies. We'll discuss the automobile, Henry Ford's new mass production techniques, and the early road systems.
Who Invented the Automobile?
There is no easy answer to the question of who invented the automobile. The automobile is not so much a technology as it is a technological system, and it is not just a system; it is a system that has changed over time.
Many inventers in the mid 1800’s attempted to invent a “self-propelled road-running vehicle” (pg. 225). They wanted to find a way to have an engine powered substitute for a horse and buggy. There were several early 19th century inventors who produced patented designs for automobiles. The term automobile is defined as a "self mover". Most of these were to be powered by steam and turned out to be not much better than a horse. The fuel for a steam powered automobile was heavy and bulky, and the engines needed a long warm-up time.
There were also a number of electric automobiles patented at the end of the 19th century; however, their batteries were huge and needed to be charged quite often.
It soon became apparent that a automobile needed to be powered by an internal combustion engine; not an external one such as steam. There were many problems presented by the internal exhaust system. How do you control explosions in such a confined space? Also, how do you mix just the right mixture of air and fuel to drive the piston smoothly? And how do you ignite the mixture, not just once but repeatedly, to keep the pistons running?
Early inventors of the “horseless carriage” in America were Charles E. and J. Frank Duryea who were bicycle mechanics. They copied a description of Benz’s German automobile, and successfully ran a model on the streets of Springfield Massachusetts in September of 1893. A trio of engineers also put together an automobile and ran it in Kokomo, Indiana in 1894.
The real turning point in automobiles in the United States came in the years 1895 to 1897. A trade journal titled “Horseless Carriage” began publishing that year and counted 300 companies and individuals who were building automobiles during that time. These early companies were more assemblers than manufacturers. They used very little capital, put their automobiles together in bits and pieces, and did not make a lot at one time. This would all change once Henry Ford came into the automobile game.
Why do you think that Cowan states that Henry Ford didn't invent the automobile?
