Reading the introductory unit fleshes out some new ideas for me about thinking historically. I think looking at old documents may be as interesting as looking for old documents. Learning where to look is as important as learning the historical significance of artifacts. Also, the link in history where objects tie two or more other aspects of study together becomes a new data base, a starting point for a different path of inquiry.

Encouraging students to become detectives and hypothesize functions of prototypes of objects they see everyday is an excellent method for them to glean relevance from the process of applying historical thinking to the object. The enjoyment of this hopefully will increase the likelihood of students making more connections while seeing objects around them with a new, more discerning eye.

Preserving food became a crucial pursuit as WWII continued and more soldiers were in need of nutritious food to stay fighting strong. Dehydration allowed for simple battlefield meals to be prepared with water. Scientific findings reflected the benefits of vitamins and enriching flour became a common processing step. The war with Japan ended suddenly with the atomic bomb. As the US was figuring on a year long invasion, companies had been in full swing making dehydrated, freeze-dried food for K rations and canning for C rations. Companies had refitted their factories and national and corporate stores of the new processed foods abounded. Marketing began to target housewives to sell this new way to prepare food for the family. This was initially a hard sell as cooking was seen as an intrical part of being a wife and mother. However, since the war, women's traditional roles were changing as they were now working in factories, construction and other male-dominated roles as their husbands were away fighting. Marketers' challenge lay in the idea that cooking fast was cooking smart (think the 20 minute meal for eight). Marketers also worked to persuade the public that the new processed food stuff actually tastes better (think the Nescafe advertisement describing their scientific way to get the best out of each bean and all one has to do is add water). Baking from scratch was not necessary because it took too long and the "fast" cake was as good (though taste tests results proved otherwise) and a woman's time was valuable. This concept was adjusted by putting back a step (eggs, I think) to make it seem as real cooking included cooking from a box.

Marketing in the first half of the 20th century was generally male-oriented, and one would suppose older males ran the show. Women's worth was judged by the one she married, how she kept house, and the ability to take care of a large passel of children. One would be hard-put to find advertising extolling the value of the successful suffrage movement or giving deserved credit for taking tough, physical jobs to replace the men overseas during the war. Gender roles were becoming somewhat twisted. This is evidenced by the advertising focus after WWII: what can you women do for your family? It took a while for the advertising industry to realize the genie was out of the bottle and a good woman need not be ranked by the sum parts of domestic life. They had proven themselves to be quite competent at more than having babies and fixing meals (my god, they even got the vote!). By the time the sixties rolled around, marketing reflected an entirely different approach to targeting women.

In electronic manufacturing, the transistor took the industry from making fragile, often unreliable tubes to tiny, cheaply made and more reliable components. This made electronic devices portable and more accessible to the masses affecting leisure time and family budgets in the 1950s. Transistors were used to replace "repeaters," a type of signal-boosting tube used on transcontinental wires so as to enhance and improve cross-country communications. Transistors' downside included a pragmatic wall against minimizing the size as factory linemen needed to be able to manually install these components. This led to developing technologies precluding this such as the semiconductor and the microchip. The computer used to develop the atomic bomb was the size of a large room whereas the computer to send a man to the moon was equal to a laptop's power. The rise of technology increases exponentially these days as predicted proving Moore's Law. The fancy stuff that came out only decades ago are now on our wristwatches...transistors were an integral part of our history.

As the agrarian culture grew from simple subsistence farming to a market-based harvest, toll roads, railroads and canals were built to address the need for better distribution methods. During this time, the northern states became more industry-based. Their factories were now needed to manufacture farming machines as croplands grew. More people began moving to the cities for factory jobs. Families on the farm were generally large. As the country depended more on technology for efficiency in farming and manufacturing, the US went from 75% of the people living on farms to 40%. Sectionalism grew between the northern and southern states setting the stage for the Civil War.

Archival records containing publications of the time would reflect what life was like. Advertising in magazines would show the new items back then. One could get a sense of what was important. Dividing the publications' information into "north", "south" and "both" with subcategories of perhaps "rich" and "poor" could be one way to organize the data for analysis. Publications of the time can be found at the public library.

Inoculation, a much older method of addressing the disease, was dangerous as people died who underwent the procedure. However, statistically, inoculated people generally developed a milder case coupled with life-long immunity. Gen. Washington initially forbade the practice but changed his mind as the war went on. Smallpox killed 125,000 during the Revolutionary War where 10,000 died in battle. Commerce brought it from overseas and the virus was so prevalent many had the attitude it was "just the cost of doing business." Ship captains were directed to inform port authorities of any contagious diseases aboard before conducting business. Given the uncertainty of the times, it seems doubtful such reports were very accurate. Jenner's work with milkmaids and cowpox led to the vaccine and the ultimate defeat of smallpox world wide.The skepticism of the new treatment reflected in the political cartoon (showing folks with cow heads and horns erupting from their bodies) evidenced a somewhat healthy doubt of the medical field of the times. Smallpox was especially deadly for populations that never encountered it before. Between a half and a third of the population of Mexico and Hispaniola were wiped out after the European visits. In North America, many natives succumbed to the disease as evidenced by oral history and other symbols.

Fatal disease studies giving data about where it proliferates, where it moves and where it dies help to address the spread and perhaps save lives with new strategies. Because it is deadly, accurate records are kept and future researchers can better understand the societal actions of the times. Mistakes may be avoided later and beneficial protocols can emerge. Observation and ingenuity borne of necessity gave rise to the vaccine from cowpox.