Why Has America Stopped Inventing? takes a close look at why America’s 200 year experiment with patents appears to be failing, and why America has all but stopped inventing. It explains why our over-legislated patent system has snuffed out any incentive to invent desperately needed technologies, such as new forms of clean energy. Why Has America Stopped Inventing? shows how this happened by comparing the experiences of America’s most successful 19th century inventors with those of today.

A thoughtful look at our history of innovation, the problems with the patent system, and the prospects for America’s future. America loves innovation and the can-do spirit that made this country what it is—a world leader in self-government, industry and technology, and pop culture. Everything about America has at one point or another been an experiment and a leap of faith. And one such experiment—upon which all others depend for success—is the US Patent System. Why Has America Stopped Inventing? takes a close look at why this experiment appears to be failing, and why America has all but stopped inventing. Our belief that we are the most innovative people on earth is mistaken. Statistics show that today we invent less than half of what our counterparts did a hundred and fifty years ago. Where are the groundbreaking inventions comparable to those from the Industrial Revolution? Why have we been using the same mode of transportation for over a century? Why are we giving trillions to hostile foreign nations for imported oil when we have the talent to solve the nation’s energy crisis? We don’t have these desperately needed technologies because regular Americans have given up on inventing. This book explains why, comparing the experiences of America’s most successful nineteenth-century inventors with those of today and sharing fascinating historical anecdotes: Jefferson refusing to waste any more weekends examining patent applications; Whitney being robbed of his fortune while the South’s wealth exploded; the patent models that kept British soldiers from burning Washington’s last-standing federal building; the formation of Lincoln’s cabinet; and Selden crippling the entire US auto industry. It also tells the story of the Wright brothers’ airplane monopoly, the Colt revolver’s role in the Mexican American War, the Sewing Machine wars, the last six months of Daniel Webster’s life, and the fraudulently created Bell Empire.

In 'American Inventions and Inventors,' Arthur May Mowry and William A. Mowry compile a meticulously curated collection that spans the breadth and depth of American innovation. This anthology not only showcases the wide array of literary styles employed to discuss the historical and societal impacts of inventions but also highlights the profound diversity within American ingenuity itself. The selection of works demonstrates a conscious effort to represent the kaleidoscope of voices and perspectives that have shaped the narrative of American progress, making it a significant contribution to the literary and historical canon of the United States. The Mowry duo, respected for their scholarly work in the realms of history and education, bring a unique blend of expertise and passion to the theme of American inventions. Their backgrounds provide a rich foundation for exploring the intersection of historical, cultural, and technological development, uniting a variety of periods and movements within the American experience. By weaving together the contributions of numerous inventors and scholars, the collection presents a comprehensive view of innovation as a driving force in American culture and identity. This anthology is a must-read for anyone interested in the confluence of literature, history, and technology. 'American Inventions and Inventors' offers readers a rare opportunity to engage with a multilayered dialogue that spans across time and discipline, encouraging a deeper appreciation for the complexity and richness of American innovation. Through its educational value and its exploration of diverse themes and styles, the collection invites readers to broaden their understanding of what constitutes American inventiveness, making it an essential addition to any scholarly library.

This book describes twelve inventions that transformed the United States from a rural and small-town community to an industrial country of unprecedented power. These inventions demonstrate that no one person is ever responsible for technological advances and that the culture produces a number of people who work together to create each new invention. The book also shows the influences of technology on society and examines the beliefs and attitudes of those who partake in technological advances. The book is both a sociological analysis and a history of technology in the United States in the past two hundred years.

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 15.0px Calibri} TIME LIFE American Inventions: Big Ideas that Changed Modern Life features our top-picks of inventions that were not only successful, but that changed the way we live on a day-to-day basis, shaping the modern world that we live in. TIME LIFE American Inventions investigates the fruits of imagination, innovation, and ingenuity from cities to hospitals to kitchens. With chapters including Building America, The Office, Food, Recreation, Health and Medicine, Apparel, and Technology, learn about how innovations throughout time made this land our land.

The case for revolutionizing the U.S. economy, from a leading CEO America used to define itself by the things we built. We designed and produced the world's most important innovations, and in doing so, created a vibrant manufacturing sector that established the middle class. We manufactured our way to the top and became the undisputed economic leader of the world. But over the last several decades, and especially in the last ten years, the sector that was America's great pride has eroded, costing us millions of jobs and putting our long-term prosperity at risk. Now, as we struggle to recover from the worst recession in generations, our only chance to turn things around is to revive the American manufacturing sector—and to revolutionize it. In Make It in America: The Case for Reinventing the Economy, Andrew Liveris—Chairman and CEO of The Dow Chemical Company—offers a thoughtful and passionate argument that America's future economic growth and prosperity depends on the strength of its manufacturing sector. The book explains how a manufacturing sector creates economic value on a scale unmatched by any other, and how central the sector is to creating jobs both inside and outside the factory Explores how other nations are building their manufacturing sectors to stay competitive in the global economy, and describes how America has failed to keep up Provides an aggressive, practical, and comprehensive agenda that will put the U.S. back on track to lead the world It's time to stop accepting as inevitable the shuttering of factories and staggering job losses that have come to define manufacturing. It's time to acknowledge the cost of inaction. There is no better company to make the case for reviving U.S. manufacturing than The Dow Chemical Company, one of the world's largest manufacturers and most global corporations. And there's no better book to show why it needs to be done and how to do it than Make It in America.

Austin Voronkov is many things. He is an engineer, an inventor, an immigrant from Russia to Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1913, where he gets a job at a rifle factory. At the house where he rents a room, he falls in love with a woman named Julia, who becomes his wife and the mother of his three children. When Austin is wrongly accused of attending anarchist gatherings his limited grasp of English condemns him to his fate as a deportee, retreating with his new bride to his home in Russia, where he and his young family become embroiled in the Civil War and must flee once again, to Mexico. While Julia and the children are eventually able to return to the U.S., Austin becomes indefinitely stranded in Mexico City because of the black mark on his record. He keeps a daily correspondence with Julia, as they each exchange their hopes and fears for the future, and as they struggle to remain a family across a distance of two countries. Austin becomes convinced that his engineering designs will be awarded patents, thereby paving the way for the government to approve his return and award his long sought-after American citizenship. At the same time he becomes convinced that an FBI agent is monitoring his every move, with the intent of blocking any possible return to the United States. Austin and Julia's struggles build to crisis and heartrending resolution in this dazzling, sweeping debut. The novel is based in part on Vanessa Manko's family history and the life of a grandfather she never knew. Manko used this history as a jumping off point for the novel, which focuses on borders between the past and present, sanity and madness, while the very real U.S.-Mexico border looms. The novel also explores how loss reshapes and transforms lives. It is a deeply moving testament to the enduring power of family and the meaning of home.