The greatest age

[Colin W. Montgomery]

The Edwardian or rather the entire period from 1750-1920 was in my opinion the greatest era in all of human history.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Well, I don't know if it would be called the greatest. Matter of some rather subjective opinion I suppose. Without question however, it wss the single greatest surge forward in terms of technological achievement. Some wouldn't regard that as being a very god thing, but I wouldn't be one of them.

 

[Colin W. Montgomery]

Why isn't it? Not just in terms of technology but of genius too. And if you think about it, every major technology we use today, with the exception of computers, has its origins and development in the 19th and even 18th century.
The car: Karl Benz-1886
Electric Lighting: Sir Humphry Davy-1801
Communications: Morse and others-late 1700's-1837
Telephones: Alexander Graham Bell-1876
Flight: Montgolfier Bros.-1783
TV: origins in 1880's color in 1928

But even the car had origins in the 1700's.
The past was far far more advanced than most people realize unfortunetly

 

[Colin W. Montgomery]

And I think one of the greatest achievements was the development of the telegraph and the creation of the great Trans-Atlantic cable in the 1840's.
Imagine it, for the first time in history you can actually talk to someone thousands of miles away in a blink of an eye. Simply incredible. Something so huge that it physically connected two continets!

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>Why isn't it?<<

You'll notice I didn't make a positive statement that it wasn't, but that "I don't know if it would be called the greatest," I still don't know if it would be. There are a lot of people who would gladly assert that all that progress was one of humanties darkest hours. Not that I would agree with that position, but like I said, a highly subjective matter of opinion.

 

[Colin W. Montgomery]

life was better then too. And trust me I've put a lot a thought into that statement. And I can't stress it enough that 90 years wasn't that long ago. Hell, 200 years isn't that long ago. Its only so many lifetimes. I know all about life expectancies and what have you (many figures that people believe now I think were inaccurate). There was enough technology to live comfortably too. Now I will go into further detail if you like about why I feel this way, and give reasons for my responses. I await your reply Mr. Standart

 

[Colin W. Montgomery]

Did you agree with my second and third post?
Thanks sir from Colin here in PA.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>life was better then too.<<

Rampant disease, shorter life expectancy, brutal working conditions, non-existant industrial safety standards, unchecked pollution....better???

Hardly.

 

[Colin W. Montgomery]

I had a feeling you would bring that up. Thats just been drilled into your head about "oh the past was such a horrible place" No I don't think it was. I can find you some hardcore proof that life expectancy was 60-70 years. Brutal working conditions-thats the cost of progress and things were always getting better. Rampant disease? Where? The jungle? Thats another thing, like I said about the preconceptions about older technology being primitive, there were medicines then, there was advanced medical knowledge. Diseases were on the way out.

And the number one proponet of my argument- "testimony" from people I have talked to who lived then. According to them it wasn't the hell hole you described.

Wow we have come such a long way in a short 90 years- yeah right. In Erie, Pa a pizza delivery man was just going about his buisness when some guy strapped a bomb to his head. The man pleaded for his life with bomb squad personal before he was blasted away. Yeah we live in a better time.
You wouldn't find that in 1912. I promise you that.
You've got your terrorists
You've got your aids
You've got your ignorance
You've got your wars
You've got your overcrowding

need I go on.....

 

[Lee Gilliland]

Colin, trust me, there was all kinds of nastiness back then too. People lived in unspeakable conditions - go take a copy of the Josef Riis photos out of your public library and have a look. Or get a set of his engravings.

Robberies with bombs were unusual, but with guns they certainly were not - and guns were far more widespread than they are now. You had two- and three-year-olds blowing themselves away with appalling frequency. Many boys under the age of twelve were sentenced six and seven times to jail for robbery with violence, and the recidivism rates were so close to 100% as to make no odds.

Terrorists? You think they didn't have terrorists? Wrong, me bucko. The IRA was very well known, and some of the political shenanigans in this country weren't too nice either. Don't forget Teddy Roosevelt was almost assassinated - and he was the most popular man in the country at the time!

We had wars too. And overcrowding, and ignorance - ye gods don't get me started on that.

I'm sorry for the rant, I understand you are new here, but I think you need to learn a little more history before making such sweeping statements. May I suggest The Good Old Days - They Were Terrible! by Otto Bettman ( http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0394709411/102-8274030-7326537?v=glance ) for starters, it gives you a nice overview of the era, and a lot of follow-up sources.

 

[Colin W. Montgomery]

You did suggest that actually a while ago.

 

[Lee Gilliland]

Well, not on this thread but yes, I tend to, it's a very good book that puts the past in much better perspective than an awful lot of people tend to see it.

 

[Colin W. Montgomery]

I didn't mean to sound so blind. Believe me from the time I was little all I ever heard from teachers and absorbed in books, whatever was how horrific the past was. I just want you to have an open mind. These are not sweeping statements, I have valid reasons and evidence for my statements. I stand by them. I am trying to change those views that people have. I have an enormous grip on history I can't stress that enough either. I have spent a great deal of my life involved in the study of history, particuarly this era. I completely understand what your saying, but I have valid reasons for what I am stating to. I was shocked that you said that I should learn a little more history?! Oh man. Well anyway, I am not saying that conditions were not terrible then too-to an extent. But how much of those ideas are yours? And where you get this information? it is from a book as well.Did that author live it? But were you actually there? To see it? To experience it? I wasn't but I know people who were. They say life then was better than it is now. That feeling had to come from somewhere right? Are you going to say the people who actually lived the events are wrong?

 

[Colin W. Montgomery]

Why was it called the good old days then?
Had to come from somewhere.

 

[Colin W. Montgomery]

Right there was more dieases and working conditions were poor, but what about the little things. Things we no longer have. Its the little things that count.