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Chapter 9
distances to work. The car also allowed
families to take longer trips.
The one-room schoolhouse of the 1800s
was replaced by neighborhood schools in
the mid-1900s. Now, many school districts
in Pennsylvania are bringing the students
together in larger schools.
Wehave been involved inotherwars after
World War II. The
Korean Conflict
was
fought between1950-1953. Then theUnited
States became involved in the
Vietnam
War
from 1965-1973. Several other wars
have been fought into the 2000s, especially
the on-going
War Against Terrorism
.
Again, thousands of troops served from
Pennsylvania. As in the case of war,
thousands were killed or wounded. During
the rest of the 20th and early 21st centuries,
the industries of Pennsylvania helped to
keep our armed forces supplied with food,
clothing, andweapons.
Communication
Systems Change Our
Ways of Living
N
ow it is time to look at another
industry that grew and developed
during the 1900s. That new
industry is the field of
communications
.
Any system that deals with sending and
receiving information or ideas is called
communication. We will need to backtrack
in time to connect some of these ideas.
Talking and sending letters are ways of
communicating. In the 1860s, the telegraph
was awayof sendingmessages overwires by
dots anddashes. These dots anddasheswere
symbols for letters and words. In 1876, the
telephone was invented inwhich you could
hear a voice sent through awire!Whennew
ways or inventions of communicating are
developed, it takes time tomake theproduct
so that the people can afford to buy it.
Thiswas especially trueof the
radio
. The
radio was invented in Europe as early as
1896. It seemed like a useful device. Ships
could send and receive radio signals.
However, it took over 20 years to figure out
how to make a radio for people’s homes.
That answer was found in 1920 when the
first radio station (KDKA) for profit was set
up in Pittsburgh. The age of radio had
begun. Soon, the radiobecame the center of
home entertainment. People sat in their
homes and listened to radio shows, news,
and sports. Today, our state has over 370
FM andAM radio stations.
Philadelphia VietnamWar Memorial.
