Motorists Don T Make Socialists They Say: Article Analysis

In this complex, perpetually fluctuating world, it is important not only to understand where change has brought the world now, but also to understand what changes occurred in the past brought the world where it is today. From 1899 to 1908, opposition to the automobile changed hands within the social groups that held the different paradigms about the automobile; starting with the opposition of the automobile from the end of the city government and police officials to the lack of understanding as to why a society wouldn’t adopt this progressive technology, as evidenced by the following articles. By analyzing these various articles from The New York Times and The Times to maintain consistency, it is possible to see how changes in paradigms through

In an article titled “Motorists Don’t Make Socialists They Say” written in 1906 and published in The New York times, the media appears to be an ally of the automobile. The article discusses a statement made by president of the time, Woodrow Wilson, which suggests automobiles have had a heavy cause in “spreading socialism” in the US. To dispute this argument, the unnamed author suggest that President Wilson fly through the West to see that the opposite of his statement is true; that automobiles are being mass produced and used for the regular duties of a farming life. The author even suggests that the sentiment towards automobilists in this area is a mostly positive. The author states that even in the northeast US, “a prominent New Jersey automobilist who made a long trip through the backwoods of Maine more than a year ago said that yesterday he found cars in use” in areas that “he would not expect”. It is obvious and known that automobiles began their rise to popularity around this time. As automobiles have found use and popularity, the paradigm regarding the opposition to them has changed which is supported by the quote, “[farmers] whom two years ago could not say enough against automobiles are now motor-car owners themselves”. Instead of the general public and media showing opposition to the automobile, it has become the federal government, a new social group that hadn’t much to contribute in the past. It is obvious here that as the automobile has grown popular among the general public it has lost its original opposition from the general public and has gained new opposition from different social groups. It is also evident that the paradigm where people saw autos as useless and reckless now see them as useful and progressive