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Invention Of The Phonograph During The Progressive Era

1376 Words6 Pages

Daniel Garza
Mrs. Magee
Honors U.S. History 2
30 October 2016 Impact of an invention: Phonograph
During the Progressive Era, technology fascinated American citizens. “One invention followed another: an ice-making machine in 1865, the vacuum cleaner in 1869, the telephone in 1876, the phonograph in 1878, the electrical light bulb in 1879, an electrical welding machine in 1886, and the first American- made gasoline- engine automobile in 1895, to name only a few” (Berkin, Miller, Cherny, Gormly; 533). By the time the twentieth century arrived, Americans expected a steady flow of mindboggling inventions. Thomas Edison, a creative mind and household name, was born in 1847. At his death, at the age of 84, Edison held over one thousand …show more content…

Though there were many new devices, one invention stood out among the rest: the phonograph. Edison held many patents/ inventions, but the phonograph was his favorite. The phonograph was a pivotal invention of the progressive era, changing lives in ways that Edison could not have imagined; it was a new medium for communication, the basis for the mass entertainment industry, and paved the way for more advanced inventions.
The phonograph was an early sound-producing machine that used cylinders to record and reproduce sound. In 1877, Edison created a machine using two needles. One was for recording, the other for playback. Edison spoke into the mouthpiece, the sound vibrations of his voice indenting onto the cylinder by the …show more content…

The phonograph allowed sound to be recorded and played back. Without this invention, the television would not have sound; watching a television program without sound would seem pointless in this twenty-first century, but before the phonograph it was just reality. Telephones and other devices would not exist, as we know them, without the invention of the phonograph. All these devices and industries that current Americans deem pertinent to everyday life would not have happened without the telephone. The phonograph reconstructed the way people live

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