Wires That BindTechnology, Democracy, and

Nationhood in the Mirror of the Media1877-1914

Torsten KathkeAmerika-Institut

LMU München

The Long 19th Century 1780-1914

Constitution

Early Republic

War of 1812

Age of Jackson

Slavery and Civil War

The Nation

Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities

sovereign

geographically finite

community of equals

imagined

Technological Advances

1820 Agrarian Society

1865 Civil War, modern technologies utilized

American Progress a.k.a. Manifest Destiny John Gast, 1872

Track in KilometersRailroads,1870-1916

Workers Laying TrackWestern History/Genealogy Department, Denver Public Library

0

30

60

90

1850 1870

Travel Time/ Days (ca.)

New York to San Francisco

Technological Advances

1820 Agrarian Society

1865 Civil War, modern technologies utilized

1900 Transcontinental Industrial Society

The Media

Yellow Press

Big Dailies (New York Times, Washington Post)

Monthlies and Weeklies (Harper‘s)

Small Local and Amateur Papers

The Media

Yellow Press

Big Dailies (New York Times, Washington Post)

Monthlies and Weeklies (Harper‘s)

Small Local and Amateur Papers} National Discourses

become immediate

Thank You

Wires That BindTechnology, Democracy, and

Nationhood in the Mirror of the Media1877-1914

Torsten KathkeAmerika-Institut

LMU München