World Geography 1, Project 2 Presentation

For World Geography 1 By Katherine Powers

The United States The United States has been one of the most successful and influential countries in the world when it comes to technology. For example, an American named Samuel Morse invented the single-wire telegraph in 1837 which eventually led to the invention of the telephone; The first practical telephone was invited by a Scottish man named Alexander Graham Bell. Bell was Scottish, lived often in Canada, but taught, experimented with his invention of the telephone and eventually successfully “invented” it in Boston, Massachusetts in the later 1800s. Years later, in 1908, the patent for the first wireless telephone was given to a Kentucky man named Nathan B. Stubbfield. This was the very beginning of the history of the modern cell phone.

Communication in the U.S. • Communication in the U.S. begins with Samuel Morse’s invention of the telegraph in 1837. • By the 1860s, telegraph offices were in nearly every “important city”. Telegraphs allowed American’s to communicate in a matter of minutes rather than days or even weeks. • In 1876, at the nation’s centennial expositions in Philadelphia, Alexander Graham Bell presented the telephone. • By 1915, telephones were being used in many cities, connecting people as far as the other side of the country. • These days, nearly 90% of United States households have telephones and there are many other ways of communicating; such as the internet or satellite. • The first regularly scheduled television service in the United States began on July 2, 1928. • It was not until 1947 that the first regularly-scheduled TV programs began to appear. • By 1942, there were 5,000 television sets in operation.

Transportation in the U.S. • In the 1800s, the fastest transportation was on water, not land. Until the steam engine was used, people traveled by riverboat and/or on canals (man-made waterways) • 1850s, steamboats were finally commonly seen and used for transportation. • By 1869, steam-powered railroads linked the east and west coasts and trains almost completely replaced the steamboat. • In the 1890s, the invention of the automobile brought with it a newer, better way of transportation. • By the 1950s, automobiles had significantly grown in popularity and more and more people owned cars. • More recently, the American automobile industry has been struggling which can be blamed on a recent financial crisis- among other things.

Canada In comparison to the United States, Canada hasn’t been quite as influential in the world of transportation and communication technology development. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, had a home and family in Canada, but did most of his work in a rented laboratory in the United States. Similarly, the inventor of FM broadcasting was a Canadian man named Reginald Fessenden who conducted many of his experiments in the U.S. Between the 1920s and the 1950s, the world was obsessed with automobiles. During that time, a Canadian named Joseph Bombardier developed the snowmobile. Around then, a man name Donald Higgs developed an early Walkie-talkie as well.

Communication in Canada • Sometime between 1880 and 1920, the telephone made its entrance in Canada. • The telephone system of the Bell Telephone Company of Canada was established in 1880. • By 1915, 7.6% of the population was using telephones. • In Montreal in 1900, Emile Berliner, inventor of the gramophone sound recording technique, established the Berliner Gramophone Company and began to manufacture the first phonograph records in Canada. • In 1920, Montreal’s XWA became the first commercial AM broadcaster in the world. • Television was introduced to Canadians in 1952 with the Canadian television channel CBT, originally introduced in French and as CBFT.

Transportation in Canada • • • • •

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Early European settlers in Canada relied on canoes, kayaks and other small boats. Through the 1800s to the early 1900s, the focus shifted to oxen-lead wagons and canoes and sailboats were popular in the Maritime-type transportation. Not until the later 1800s did Canada see steamships or railways. In 1862, locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway allowed transit of vessels. The St. Lawrence Seaway connects the Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence River. It’s often called Canada’s highway to the sea and is an important part of Canada and its role in transportation. Nearly 60% of Canada’s population lives in the region around the St. Lawrence Seaway. In 1963, the development of the Trans-Canada Highway in Canada established ribbon development, truck stops, and industrial corridors along throughways. There’s a total of 647,700 miles of road in Canada; 17,00 of which is made up of highway. Roads and highways were managed by provincial authorities until construction of the Northwest Highway System and the Trans-Canada Highway project initiation in 1948. The Federal Department of Transport established November 2, 1936 supervised railways, canals, harbors, marine and shipping, civil aviation, radio and meteorology. Compared to the United States, Canada is a lot more sea-oriented in terms of transportation. There is a significantly less amount of drivers, highways and airports in Canada then there are in the United States.

A History of Communication and Transportation in the United States and Canada. • In comparison to one another, over time, the United States has been more of an influence on technology and advancements in communication and transportation than Canada has. • Not to say Canada hasn’t had its influences. Transportation-wise, Canada is a bigger influence on Maritime travel than the U.S. • While Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in the United States, he was a Scottish man and lived mainly in Canada. • Things, on average, appeared (such as the television, railroads, etc.) sooner in the U.S. than in Canada, but Canada has had it’s fair share of firsts as well. Canada did have the first commercially-broadcast AM radio station.

Sources. • • • • • • •

upload.cowikimedia.org en.wikipedia.org www.animatedatlas.com/ www.collegesintheusa.com/ www.shgresources.com/ World Geography textbook. Online coursework from http://highschool.unl.edu/.