Adam Jungdahl's Negative Impact On The Aerial Front

Though Hamady argues for the negative impact that the civilians had on the aerial front of the war, another author, Adam Jungdahl, argues on the side of the public having an overall positive impact on the aerial front as it related to the public influence school of thought. He wants to rewind the clock even further, and look at the impact they had on even getting the military planes at all. While the Wright Brothers were still imagining their aircraft and the possibilities, the United States was investing major money into an investor that promised to give them the heavier than air craft they wanted. The United States invested 50,000 dollars into an inventor named Samuel Langley. He promised to give them a machine that could fly, and in the

Gradually aeronautical competitions and continual development of the airplanes would lead to further interest from the military corporations. Jungdahl explains that even though interested the governments still weren’t ready to contribute enough money to create a substantial enough fighting force to be of any use. This predicament is what leads to Jungdahl’s main argument that the civilians stepped in. They began crowdsourcing and fundraising the money on their own. Collecting money and pooling money at the aeronautical clubs to be donated to the military. This raised a substantial amount of money for the military, which lead to a fighting force big enough to be of use in the war. This success, could then be connected to Hamady’s argument of the negative impact civilians made on World War One. They just had a huge success, funding on their own this amazing new contraption that could fly, Patriotism and a sense of pride for their country was soaring and when World War One came around they felt invincible. This would then lead to their overconfident predications that got them in

Jungdahl makes very good points with regards to the positive impact of the general public on the beginning of flight. Without the public’s help in raising the money to buy airplanes and build up the Air Force, there would not have been a branch of the government even to regulate or fight against the German Airforce that was formidable even before the “Amerika Program.” Hamady seemed to draw most of his sources from primary sources as well as secondary sources from right after it happened. This close up look seemed to grab only one side of the coin, which would suggest that he picked and chose his sources to fit the mindset that he was trying to convey. Jungdahl on the other hand seemed to draw information from many more secondary sources which adds to the idea that he took in more opinions and view points from other historians. This seems to be the more efficient and effective way to analyze history. When there is an ability to use primary sources, but also an abundance of secondary sources youa re going to be able to have a more complete understanding of the topic that you are