Andrew Rowe: American Public Transportation

American Public Transportation

       America can still be celebrated as a country that pushes frontiers because of their elaborate public transportation system. This is shown because one of the key supporters in the biggest cities in the nation are supported by public transportation.

       To begin, one type of the most popular public transportation is the city bus. Although it did not originate in the United States, The Chicago based company, The yellow Coach manufacturing company, became the major manufacturer and had a significant impact on making the bus a popular form of transportation. Furthermore, It is the primary form of transportation in the United States and also one of the most advanced. For example, It is the first public transportation in the world that is accessible to customers with disabilities (http://web.mta.info). This is cutting-edge in the push for new frontiers because now this form of transportation has expanded to a whole different group of people that otherwise would not be able to ride. Also, Buses are beneficial to the environment because is an estimated 1.4 billion gallons of gas saved annually, which also leads to 14 million tons of CO2 saved from the environment.(http://reason.org/news/show/does-bus-transit-reduce-greenhouse).
 
Another example would be the subway or metro system. New York City has the 7th largest amount of people riding, however there are improvements that will raise this number significantly. For example, new subway cars contain computers that regulate speed, which will allow trains to run closer together (http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ffsubway.htm). The metro is also being supported by companies like Xcel Energy, who are investing 8.8 million dollars in making the subway more advanced and efficient (https://www.metrotransit.org/metro-transit-partners-recognize-earth-day-at-new-energy-efficient-rail-facility). However the railway is extremely expensive. Growing cities such as Austin can not afford it since voters have decided against a billion dollar plan that would build a railway (http://kut.org/post/austins-rail-and-roads-bond-defeated). Nevertheless, in the biggest cities, Railways and metros are a big part because they help define a city because of its presence.

Finally, Taxis are a part of the push for new frontiers because of their vast numbers and their availability from almost anywhere. In every major city in the United States, taxis can be found anywhere because there is such a high demand for transportation. Taxis are continuing to change because customers have a higher standard in safety. Starting in 2013, 13,000 new cabs are being exchanged for many of the older cabs because of the significant improvements (bringshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicabs_of_New_York_City#Taxi_of_Tomorrow). Safety and design are updated along with a more fuel efficient engine that reduces emissions and helps reduce transportations impact on the environment.

Americans: The Pioneers of Television

In addition to being the land of fast food and opportunity, the United States is the home of television. America is the safe haven for high risk contest shows, high grossing nature documentaries, bad reality TV, and the best programs to ever air. From its invention, Americans have been creating and consuming the most content, making them TV pioneers in both consumption and production.

The early years of television were dominated by Americans. The origins of the television itself are a bit hard to pinpoint, due to the amount of inventors who were integral to its creation, but its agreed that the first working television was created by American Philo T Farnsworth. In the early years, TV coverage was limited to the news or sports events, but only took a year for original content to be created for the small screen. In 1928, The Queen's Messenger was broadcasted as the first 'TV play'. The Queen's Messenger is of American Origin, but it is significantly less popular than the second TV play, The Man With The Flower In His Mouth- an English program broadcasted a year later.

Despite this, Americans have had very little issue creating popular shows- but, since grossing statistics and viewership are restricted by country, I was forced to view popularity in a more subjective way. Time's Top 100 Television Shows of All Time list provided in an extremely in-depth analysis of TV as a whole, including a disclaimer of how all the shows were picked. I read the list in full and separated all the shows of American origin, which totaled up to a staggering 91 out of 100 programs. However, said list was created by just one man, so I sought out one that could be more accurate, settling on the IMDB Highest Rated list, which is not curated by anyone, but instead made solely by averaging the user scores. At 30 to 20, the list was still dominantly American, but to a much less dramatic degree.

Americans are also revolutionizing the way television is approached now. The internet is making content significantly easier to find and watch uninterrupted, but Netflix is revolutionizing media in more ways than simply that. How Netflix Reverse Engineered Hollywood is a six page article that borderlines on religious experience. It outlines Netflix's complicated method of tagging shows and tailoring suggestions for the user, also touching on how this information helps them create shows that are practically guaranteed  to be hits. In the words of the article's writer Alexis Madrigal: "When [Netflix] create[s] a show like House of Cards, they aren't guessing at what people want."

Medicine: Brandon Tan

European nations in the world were known for It's medical discoveries but America was starting to make its own advances in Medicine. These advances helped solve diseases and epidemics that proved deadly, and In the 19th century, America started become a frontier for medicine in new techniques that are still used today.

One of the first Epidemics to breakout in the U.S. was the Yellow flu, It had killed over 300,000 people per year since being discovered. This disease was caused by mosquitoes transmitting it.In 1937, Max Theiler decided to make one of the first vaccines for this and it proved to be successful. This vaccine was one of the first created in the United States, and was a breakout because vaccines were more useful than the "coffee and quinine" tactic that doctors had originally used. It was so successful, in fact that around 90% of the vaccine had an immediate response to the Disease and could patients could now live life without worries.

With many diseases in the world, one of the most common was Diabetes. In 1920 Dr. Frederick Banting and Charles Best created a pancreatic extract, which is known today as Insulin. There invention was revolutionary as patients without insulin would die within the next year, but with insulin, they could live much longer with life expectancy just 10-15 years shorter. This discovery made the U.S  a frontier in medicine as it is still used today and throughout the world. With 29.1 million Americans, In 2012 ,living with diabetes, they can now live knowing they will live a longer and safer life.

Humans are evolving in a lot more ways than just biologically. Since the existence of mankind, humans have constantly changed their ways in order to fit in, strive, and achieve more in society.

Whether we are conscious of it or not, "survival of the fittest" is seen in our society in a variety of different ways as time goes by. Since the first American settler stepped foot on American soil, Americans have pushed frontiers and evolved in numerous categories, specifically in family structure. The structure of a family in the US has evolved considerably since the 1800's and early 1900's.

 A lot of what we believe to be normal now, would have been completely radical back in the early years of American society. This is not only seen in families, but also in race, technology, entertainment and other aspects of our culture. There is no doubt that America has evolved to a new socially acceptable family structure over the last two centuries. One of the biggest ways American families have evolved since the 1800's is in size. This can be attributed to birth control and economic reasons. In America women went from on an average having 7 babies to a little under 2. According to an article on why woman have fewer babies, historians believe that family budget has a lot to do with the decline in number of babies per woman. In the 1800's kids were taught at home or at their churches. Having a lot of kids during this time was seen as beneficial for moms, so they could have extra around the house. As public schools emerged in the U.S. children were of less use around the house, and more expensive to take care of, so it was a smarter economic decision to have fewer kids. A reporter for USA Today News asked a number of different married couples what they thought was the "ideal size" for a family. Most couples said that they thought having two children would be ideal, and if they wanted more than that it would be a tough financial decision. Birth control is arguably the biggest reason that the number of children per woman has dropped down to 2 on average. In the 1800's religious people were forbidden from having an abortion, and abortion is allowed to be preformed in 39 states if it is done by a licensed physician. For most women, abortion is not their desired method of birth control, and it is more of a last resort. In America things such as condoms, pills, surgeries and other things can be used as methods of birth control. Besides birth control and economic reasons, families also changed as society changed in a lot of different ways. 

For starters with the acceptance of interracial marriage. In 1664 a law was passed in Maryland that forbade slaves to marry whites. It was only up until the early 1960's that whites and other races were legally allowed to get married. Because interracial marriage became more popular and it was accepted by society, there were a lot more families that emerged with mixed races. 

Julian Flores: American Education System

For years after gaining its independence from England, the US had not created a national education system. The constitution never guaranteed the right for Americans to have an equal opportunity in education. With no help from government, people set aside land and created schools so that their children could be productive people when they grew up. It wasn't until the 1840s that education reformers, such as Horace Mann and Henry Barnard, pioneered the basis of the national American education system we see today.

Hornbook had letters (upper and lowercase)
Also contained the Lord's prayer

In colonial times, the thirteen colonies had a different education process in the three different areas: New England Colonies, Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies. In the New England area, boys and girls were taught how to read by their parents so that they could learn about christianity through the bible. Although there wasn't much after learning to read for women except learning "how to run a home", boys went to grammar schools set up by establishments with more than 100 families that taught boys latin, math and other subjects they needed to attend college. Although literacy rates were lower in the middle and southern colonies, the middle colonies had the second best schooling and then came the southern colonies. Most boys and girls were taught how to read by their parents with the use of hornbooks. Although people were coming together to form little schools, there still wasn't really any help from the government but it was their own sort of system still.

After about 60 years of those kinds of schools, Horace Mann and Henry Barnard began a movement known as "The Common School Movement." They helped create state operated school systems so that they could increase the opportunity for each child by providing them with an equal education. This idea was the basis of the school systems we see today, and they pioneered this idea because most countries that had education systems were education systems that were operated by a central national government.

The US is still continuing to push the frontier with many different acts. The 20th century and the present are filled with acts making Horace Mann and Henry Barnard's idea stand. The Department of Education which was established in 1979 and their mission is to "promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access." This department enforces acts like the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This act was an important step into funding from the federal government to fund states for public schools. Finally, Obama has taken action recently in 2010 revising the Primary and Secondary Education act in order to “The blueprint challenges the nation to embrace education standards that would put America on a path to global leadership." Since our schooling isn't as dominant as it once was, America is now pushing children to their limits so that they can compete with other countries "on a path to global leadership," which truly shows how America is a pioneer in education.

Although national and state governments are pushing Americans to want to learn, it may not be a good thing to force these ideas this way. It feels like there is too much pressure on some kids because they know that without an education, in this time period, it is very difficult to succeed without a good education.

American Architecture and the Skyscraper: Wright On So Many Levels

In South Carolina, the rural countryside resembles much of where architecture was about 300 years ago. Colonial plantation homes, victorian houses, most of which are the basis of architecture in American history. However, at the beginning of the 20th century, architecture was being pioneered into new and unthinkable areas that continues today.

Falling Water. Mill Run, PA. Built in
1935

Frank Lloyd Wright, a notorious American architect, was a true pioneer in this field with his interesting take on modern architecture. His ideas were that nature should not be tampered with, so a building should seem to blend eloquently into the landscape:"form and function are one." This concept lead america, as well as the world, into a new age of modern architecture: organic. Frank Lloyd Wright is well known for Falling Water(pictured to the left), a house that he built upon a stream that runs directly through the structure, and Taliesin West, another piece of organic architecture that blends into in the desert in Arizona. Organic Architecture became a breakthrough in the way in which architectects, and humans saw the purpose of buildings. 

Modern skyscrapers were pioneered by American Architects. One of the most famous being the man Frank Lloyd wright apprenticed under named Louis H. Sullivan. Sullivan was nicknamed the 'father of skyscrapers,' for his buildings in the late 19th, early 20th century that led to the advancements of how big a building could be.

The beginning of Modern Skyscrapers can be traced by the tallest building record holders, which began in New York City. The Singer Building (1908),Woolworth Building (1913), the Chrysler Building (1931), and finally the Empire State Building which was the tallest building for 39 years. The installation of buildings that really scrapped the sky, redefined what cities across the world looked like.

Burj Khalifa (pictured left and middle)
Mile High Building Concept (Pictured right)

The influence of American architecture can definitely be felt in the Burj Khalifa (pictured right), which used Frank Lloyd Wright's Mile high building concept (Far left of the picture) as the inspiration for it's modern structure.This demonstrates the long lived influence of architecture in America, combined with the desire for the American skyscraper.

The newest form of American architecture formed from Wright's organic architecture concept: Green architecture. As stated in a keynote speech, Eric Corey Freed, a green architect, believes that the state in which architecture is set simply is not enough. The environment is at risk as for "half of our carbon emissions come from buildings." The new era of Architecture, as well as human thought could create a better, safer, and more maintainable world. Creating buildings with the idea of biomimicry, which is, essentially, just copying the shapes in which nature has been creating for billions of years, in order to pollute less and conserve more. This futuristic thought of equaling nature's "buildings" and creating self sustaining structures with organic energy, is American architectural frontier of tomorrow.

Jayna Horton: American Innovation of Art

What is art exactly? What can be categorized as art? I believe art is anything visual that expresses one's creativity, but art can also be categorized by the way that that image is displayed. In these terms, the U.S. was and is a pioneer in pushing the boundaries of traditional art. Americans instigated a huge street art movement that still continues on today. American companies have also created products that increase people's ability to create art and express themselves. Even though the concept of art is open to interpretation, the U.S. has still been able to pioneer new ideas of what art is, and how it can be displayed.

Before the 1960s, graffiti was not viewed as art, just random scribbles by obnoxious, young people destroying private and public property. However, after the graffiti boom in New York City, graffiti became more elaborate and evolved, instead of just spray painted words or designs. This shift, pioneered by Americans, lead to the change in perspective that graffiti, or street art, was indeed real art. Nowadays, street art and murals are everywhere, including Austin, London, Toronto, Sao Paulo, and many other places. In Austin, some murals are so iconic, when mentioned by name, everybody knows what, or where they are, like one would know of a famous painter or photographer. Art should be everywhere to inspire people and make them smile, and this is what street art does.


The American company GoPro, started by their CEO Nick Woodman, has developed a small, simple, camera that can take incredible photos and videos. The innovation and success of this portable camera demonstrates Americans' abilities to enhance art and make it simpler through technology. Woodman believes in storytelling, and telling these stories through photos and videos. This belief along with his desire for extreme photos without the professional help inspired him to create the GoPro. The transportability of the camera is one of its beauties, seeing that finding a way to capture an image is just as much an art as the art is itself. The success of the contemporary idea of a more mobile yet still great quality camera demonstrates Americans' modern thinking and their capacity to accomplish their visions.



A huge part of art is expression; one should be able to express oneself at any time, and this is what Americans did and continue to do. They express themselves publicly with murals, and the transportability of the GoPro allows art to be created almost anywhere, even underwater and in outer space. The U.S. continues to provide innovative advancements in art, even though the literal frontier movement has ended.