How does new technology change our daily lives and connections among people and places?
Subject(s): Arkansas History, Economics, and Science and Technology
Time Period(s): (1890-1930) Emergence of Modern America and (1929-1945) Great Depression and World War II
Grade level(s): 6-8 and 9-12
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Daily life in Arkansas and the United States changed dramatically between 1900 and 1945 due to changes in technology, particularly in the areas of transportation and communication. In addition, newly available technology altered home life, including refrigerators and freezers, electricity, and running water. This primary source set asks students to consider what types of technological changes came to Arkansas between 1900-1945, and to consider how those changes would have changed the nature of work and daily life.
Source Set
- Fort Smith Telephone Office
- Young Girl Playing with a Telephone
- Arkansas in Nineteen Sixteen: An Industrial and Agricultural Review
- Arkansas Power and Light Company Preferred Stock sales brochure, Page 7
- Conversation with male, Pettigrew, Arkansas
- Playgrounds in Arkansas
- West 2nd St., Little Rock, Ark.
Description
Photograph of operators working in a telephone office around the turn of the 20th century.
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Photograph shows little girl sitting in chair with dog and holding telephone receiver to dog’s ear, c. 1902
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A single page from the 10/16/1916 edition of The Arkansas News
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A map showing electrical power lines completed, under construction and under consideration in Arkansas in 1927 along with other services such as ice plants.
Description
Oral history of work during the Great Depression in Arkansas
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Description of Bella Vista in a pamphlet about vacation spots in Arkansas, 1920s.
Additional Resources:
Arkansas Power and Light, Encyclopedia of Arkansas
Early Twentieth Century, 1901 through 1940, Encyclopedia of Arkansas
Arkansas Frameworks(s):
United States History Since 1890
Era7.2.USH.6 Construct historical arguments and explanations about the long-term impact of social, economic, political, and cultural changes that occurred during the 1920s utilizing evidence from a variety of primary and secondary sources
Arkansas History Grades 7-8
E.3.AH.7-8.2 Analyze the economic impact of transportation systems in Arkansas (e.g., rivers, railroad, highways)
H.7.AH.7-8.9 Examine social and cultural transformations in Arkansas
Arkansas History Grades 9-12
Era6.6.AH.9-12.2 Examine effects of social and cultural transformations on various segments of the population across Arkansas