Difference between revisions of "325--2011--Week 2 Questions/Comments"
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McGaw’s theory of technology accessibility in the frontier of Pennsylvania gives serious doubts to the “Independent spirit” that is postulated in Frederick Jackson Turner’s writings in the 1890’s about the frontier. Turner’s belief was that the self-sufficiency of Americans began with and fermented in the frontier, but McGaw’s data shows otherwise. It shows communities with farmers having other farmers process their textiles, grain, and fruits. Was this due to some farmers having the money or wealth to buy the technology to process or was there a division of labor amongst families in the frontier? ~~Kyle Allwine | McGaw’s theory of technology accessibility in the frontier of Pennsylvania gives serious doubts to the “Independent spirit” that is postulated in Frederick Jackson Turner’s writings in the 1890’s about the frontier. Turner’s belief was that the self-sufficiency of Americans began with and fermented in the frontier, but McGaw’s data shows otherwise. It shows communities with farmers having other farmers process their textiles, grain, and fruits. Was this due to some farmers having the money or wealth to buy the technology to process or was there a division of labor amongst families in the frontier? ~~Kyle Allwine | ||
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| + | McGaw’s comment that our image of colonial America’s technology is distorted really stood out to me. It’s not just colonial America’s technology that is distorted or stereotyped; we all do this every day with virtually every topic. I once asked a student from Germany to tell me about their history classes, and to them WWII was just a conflict, not a huge war. As far as colonial America is concerned, it’s no wonder we have a distorted view when Disney produces movies like Pocahontas and we all grow up watching them. | ||
| + | Also, she discusses the artifacts that farmers in colonial America had and comments that many had the means to produce goods, and in fact did produce, but very few had the materials to process these goods. Is it possible that trading, or the beginning of the market system, was in the works? It was probably easier to send all your wool to somebody who was really good at spinning it than to sit in your house and try to become extremely efficient at multiple tasks. If you have neighbors that can cut down on your work, why not utilize them. --Meagan B. | ||
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