Excellent news for Oregon historic newspaper enthusiasts: 54,601 additional pages of the Morning Oregonian and The Sunday Oregonian have just been added to the Historic Oregon Newspapers keyword-searchable online database!

Content from the Morning Oregonian is now available from September 1878 through March 1914, and The Sunday Oregonian can now be searched from January 1895 through March 1914.

Happy searching, and stay tuned for more new historic content to be added soon!

As the November 2012 Presidential election draws near, American voters are faced with many issues to deliberate and decisions to be made. Precisely 100 years ago, only American men were allowed to cast their votes for the next president. While women across the country would have to wait until 1921 to be considered eligible voters in national elections, women in Oregon were granted equal suffrage in state elections in November 1912, making this year’s election the Oregon women’s suffrage centennial.

The campaign for women’s suffrage in Oregon began as early as 1870, and the issue was raised on the Oregon ballot six times (1884, 1900, 1906, 1908, 1910, and 1912), more than any other state (Jensen). The most prominent leader of the Oregon suffrage movement  was Abigail Scott Duniway (1834-1915), best known for her suffragist newspaper, The New Northwest, published in Portland, Oregon from 1871-1887.

Duniway was born in Illinois and came to Oregon via the Oregon Trail with her family in 1852. After the long journey, she and her husband settled on a farm in Albany where she opened a millinery shop. As a female business owner, Duniway was frustrated that she was required to pay taxes, yet she was not allowed to vote. Additionally, she heard stories of abuse and disenfranchisement from many other women, and she decided to start campaigning for equal suffrage. Duniway moved her family to Portland in 1871, where she began to publish The New Northwest, advocating for women’s rights, human and workers’ rights, and equal suffrage.

Duniway’s brother, Harvey Scott, was also in the newspaper industry, although he did no favors for his sister. Scott was the editor of the Portland Oregonian from 1866 to 1872, and he generally opposed Duniway’s stance on political, economic, and social issues. The siblings would argue back and forth through their respective newspapers, thus influencing their subscribers either for or against equal suffrage. If it had not been for Scott’s far-reaching editorials in the Oregonian, the issue of women’s suffrage in Oregon might have passed long before 1912.

After years of persistent lobbying and rallying support for equal suffrage across the state and all over the Pacific Northwest, Duniway finally saw her dream become reality. On November 5, 1912, the men of Oregon voted 52% in favor of granting Oregon women the right to vote. At the age of 78, Duniway authored and signed Oregon’s Equal Suffrage Proclamation on November 30, 1912, and she has since been known as “Oregon’s Mother of Equal Suffrage.”

As we cast our votes this year, let us remember that Duniway  and countless women in Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, and across the United States campaigned tirelessly to achieve the equal voting rights that we enjoy today.

Works cited:

Jensen, Kimberly. “Woman Suffrage in Oregon.” The Oregon Encyclopedia. Oregon History and Culture. Portland State University. 2008-2012.

As part of the Library of Congress’ and National Endowment for the Humanities’ National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), the ODNP is pleased to announce that Chronicling America, the NDNP’s online collection of searchable, historic newspapers from across the United States, has reached a total of 5 million newspaper pages! Chronicling America currently hosts content from 16 of Oregon’s historic newspaper titles, which can also be found on our Historic Oregon Newspapers website.

The following announcement from the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities was released yesterday:

October 22, 2012

Chronicling America Posts 5 Millionth Page

Popular Online Resource Provides Access to Nation’s Historic Newspapers

The Chronicling America website, chroniclingamerica.loc.gov, a free, searchable database of historic U.S. newspapers, has posted its 5 millionth page.

Launched by the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in 2007, Chronicling America provides enhanced and permanent access to historically significant newspapers published in the United States between 1836 and 1922. It is a part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), a joint effort between the two agencies and 32 state partners.

“This magnificent resource captures the warp and weft of life as it was lived in grassroots America,” said NEH Chairman Jim Leach. “Metropolitan newspapers were early targets for digitization, but Chronicling America allows the journalism of the smaller cities and the rural countryside to become accessible in all its variety—and sometimes, quirkiness.”

“Chronicling America is one of the great historical reference services on the web,” said Roberta Shaffer, associate librarian for Library Services at the Library of Congress. “It is a treasure trove of information about communities, personalities, key events and culture in the United States, and it is all free and available to the public.”

The site now features 5 million pages from more than 800 newspapers from 25 states. The site averaged more than 2.5 million page views per month last year and is being used by students, researchers, congressional staff, journalists and others for all kinds of projects, from daily podcasts to history contests. The news, narratives and entertainment encapsulated in the papers transport readers in time.

For instance, on this day, Oct. 22, 100 years ago, there was a lot of news about Theodore Roosevelt recovering from an assassination attempt several days earlier. A Washington Times headline said “Roosevelt Home Swinging His Hat with Happiness, Finishes Tedious Trip to Oyster Bay in Good Shape.” A crime story in the New York Tribune read, “Girl Runs Down Thief, Pajama-Clad Coed Races over Campus to Save Violin.” International news focused on the First Balkan War. “20,000 Turks Reported Taken by Bulgarians,” according to a story in The Washington Herald.

In 2003, the Library and NEH established a formal agreement that identified goals for the program, institutional responsibilities and overall support. In 2004, the NEH announced guidelines for grants, funded by NEH, awarded to cultural-heritage institutions wishing to join the program and select, digitize and deliver to the Library approximately 100,000 newspaper pages per award. Since 2005, the NEH has awarded more than $22 million to 32 state libraries, historical societies and universities representing states in the national program.

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about NEH and its grant programs is available at www.neh.gov.

The Library of Congress, the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution, is the world’s preeminent reservoir of knowledge, providing unparalleled collections and integrated resources to Congress and the American people. Many of the Library’s rich resources and treasures may also be accessed through the Library’s website, www.loc.gov.

Fall is officially here, and what better way to celebrate than by checking out the Fall 2012 issue of the OLA Quarterly, themed “Libraries, Museums, and Oregon’s Cultural History.” As a program fully geared toward preserving, providing access to, and educating people about Oregon’s cultural history, the ODNP is featured on page 14 with an article by ODNP Project Coordinator S.J. Rabun, titled “Oregon Digital Newspaper Program: Preserving History While Shaping the Future.”

The article outlines the goals and accomplishments of the ODNP, the process that brings newspapers from printed page to computer screen, and highlights from some of the unique newspaper titles that our Historic Oregon Newspapers searchable online database includes. Happy fall, and happy reading!

Over 40,000 pages of new content have just been added to the Historic Oregon Newspapers online database!

New titles include:

• Eugene, Oregon: Broad-axe/Broad-axe Tribune, 1894-1900
• Eugene, Oregon: The State Republican, 1862-1863
• Roseburg, Oregon: The Plaindealer, 1895-1905
• Tillamook, Oregon: Tillamook Herald, 1913-1922

As well as additional content from:

• Pendleton, Oregon: East Oregonian: E.O., 1888-1904
• Portland, Oregon: Morning Oregonian, 1878-1908
• Portland, Oregon: The Sunday Oregonian, 1895-1908
• Portland, Oregon: The New Northwest, 1871-1881
• Salem, Oregon: Daily Capital Journal, 1903-1915

~~~

Stay tuned for future announcements and highlights, and happy searching!

 

 

As most of us likely already know, the U.S. once grappled with the question of whether or not to ban the production, distribution, and sale of alcohol. In fact, a federal ban was instituted for about thirteen years, from 1920 to 1933, known as the “prohibition of alcohol,” or commonly known just as “prohibition.” We’ve likely seen period films that make some reference to the prohibition, or have a general idea of what the whole issue was about, but we probably don’t think much about it since the issue has long since been resolved (although, there are still some “dry” counties in Texas and other states). However, when we do think about prohibition, we might not realize that it was stooped in political debates and propaganda like any other political issue, and just like today’s political debates, everyone and their grandmother had an opinion.

The archives here at the Oregon Digital Newspaper Program are filled with editorials, advertisements, and the opinions of various individuals of alleged authority weighing in on the matter. Historic newspapers give us an idea of the political debate surrounding the issue within the state of Oregon at the time, as well as what types of arguments were made for or against it. It’s striking to see how little political debates have changed over time in terms of the ways in which they are framed and spoken about.

The following piece in The Bend Bulletin from 1910 is a nice example. It’s a call to the men of Oregon to vote against prohibition and, by doing so, retain their “local option” to have alcohol in their own homes and communities (women didn’t gain the right to vote until 1912, hence why the advertisement is directed only at men):

The rhetoric used in this piece is similar to what we see today in that it uses scare tactics, appeal to emotion, the language of government intrusion into the home, alleged threats to the family and personal privacy, and claims that one will be robbed of his or her freedoms and rights if the measure in question were to pass. The idea is to get the reader emotionally worked up and in doing so, side-step or ignore the validity of the argument, or lack thereof. The truthfulness of the claim is not what matters here, or even whether or not the reader agrees with the proposed measure. Rather, the point is to incite outrage and anger over potential consequences, and to encourage the reader to vote a certain way out of fear of those consequences. As we approach the upcoming election this year, regardless of which way you intend to vote, be aware of this tactic, as it’s still heavily used today.

Another ad in the Medford Mail Tribune from 1910 warns businessmen that they can’t afford to allow prohibition to pass, because it would adversely affect them financially through a decrease in property values, stagnation of business, and a “halt in progress.”

Again, similar arguments can be seen today in a wide variety of issues, ranging from same-sex marriage and gun control laws, to measures involving road construction and changes to public transportation. Political issues in the early 1900s, as today, were often framed as being of primary concern to business owners. This is unsurprising considering that business owners tend to have greater financial and social capital, and unfortunately, as a result, tend to also have greater political influence than the average citizen.

However, business owners weren’t the only ones concerned with prohibition. In this clip from The Coos Bay Times, from 1908, clergy from all over the east coast weighed in, strongly opposing prohibition. Regardless of the political or social issue in question, we often turn to religious leaders, and perhaps more commonly today, celebrities, as sources of authority.

Another tactic that can be found in almost any political debate is the use of statistics to argue for or against an issue, illustrated in this next clip from the same edition and page of The Coos Bay Times. The argument made here is that statistics show greater lawlessness and more arrests when Lane County was “dry” (alcohol was prohibited), than when it was “wet” (alcohol was not prohibited).

Lastly, what political debate would be complete without a mix-up in terminology and a looming threat of increased taxes? *gasp* These two clips from the October 29^th and October 15^th, 1914 editions of the Eagle Valley News illustrate these examples, respectively:

There seems to be little argument for prohibition in much of Oregon’s news print of the time. The majority of what was written appears to be in opposition to prohibition. However, this piece in The Coos Bay Times, written by Rev. F. W. Jones on May 11^th, 1908, urged voters to vote for prohibition:

However, when your article is printed next to an advertisement for a sausage company and is framed as a desperate “plea,” it’s likely that you’re not being taken all that seriously. Anyone who has read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair knows that the meat packing industry of the era wasn’t exactly something to be lauded and was probably not the type of advertisement you’d want your op-ed piece to be associated with.

In the end, prohibition came and went, and little thought is given to it today. We have since turned our attention to other issues, many of which are arguably as much of a non-issue as the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcohol, at least in this blogger’s opinion. However, much of the ways in which political debates are conducted, and many of the tactics that are used, have remained the same. We’re still bombarded with statistics ad nauseum from even more media sources than during the prohibition era. We’re still given arguments based on logical fallacies, and we still turn to religious leaders and celebrities as sources of authority, even when their claims to such authority are questionable. It is important to remember, especially as we approach the upcoming presidential election, to be critical of the information we’re given, the source of that information, and what biases may be present.

Our historic newspapers would suggest that Oregon was never really all that interested in supporting prohibition. Perhaps it should be no surprise to us, then, that Oregon has come to produce some of the best organic beers and wine in the country, and Portland, specifically, is now known for having a unique brand of beer snobbery, possibly as a result. However, whether you drink alcohol or not, Oregon is likely to remain a “wet” state for the foreseeable future, or at least until we decide to engage in collective amnesia, and as a state or nation, feel compelled to revisit a social and political issue that has long since been settled. If we do, though, the Oregon Digital Newspaper Program will be around to provide us with valuable insight into the past.

It’s officially summertime, and here at the ODNP, one of our favorite things about this glorious season in the Pacific Northwest is visiting Crater Lake without the hindrance of snow. Not only do the lake and surrounding landscapes provide breathtaking views and recreational enjoyment; historic newspaper communications played a significant role in advocating for the preservation of the lake and the creation of Crater Lake National Park.

High along the crest of the Cascade Mountain Range in southern Oregon, the magnificent blue lake sparkles as a symbol of both geological and cultural change. The Native American nations of the region, including the Takelma, Upper Umpqua, Molala, and the Klamath people, descendents of the Makalak Nation, have many stories about the formation and existence of the lake, all of which portray the site as a venerable place of great and often dangerous power.

Crater Lake was created by an ancient volcano, now known as Mount Mazama, that once reached a soaring height of 12,000 feet, slightly taller than Mount Hood (11,240 feet) but not quite as tall as Mount Shasta (14,179 feet). Approximately 7700 years ago, Mt. Mazama erupted violently, spreading volcanic debris all over Oregon and leaving a huge caldera where the mountain once stood. Over about 750 years, the crater filled with rainwater and snowmelt to form the deepest lake in the United States – 1943 feet deep – at about five by six miles wide. Legends indicate that Native Americans witnessed the eruption of Mt. Mazama and have known about the lake ever since, but early European explorers and traders were never told about the lake because it was believed to be sacred.

No rivers flow into or out of Crater Lake; it is completely contained, and evaporation and precipitation continually refresh the lake’s water supply, making it the cleanest water in the world. Later volcanic eruptions formed Wizard Island, the signature landmark that rests in the west side of the lake.

Europeans first set eyes on the brilliant blue water in 1853, but excitement about the “discovery” took a backseat to the urgency of the gold rush at the time. The first published account of the lake didn’t appear until about ten years later, when Chauncy Nye, leader of an exploratory expedition that stumbled upon the lake in the Cascades, submitted a descriptive article to Jacksonville’s Oregon Sentinel on November 8, 1862:

Dissemination of information about the lake’s location and striking appearance via Oregon’s early newspapers soon led others to explore the area, and word quickly spread about the lake’s intense beauty. In 1869, editor of the Sentinel, James M. Sutton, led another expedition to the lake and wrote an article for the Jacksonville newspaper in which he referred to the lake for the first time as “Crater Lake”:

In 1870, William Gladstone Steel , a young boy living in Kansas at the time, happened to see an article about Crater Lake in the newspaper page that had been used to wrap his lunch. The description fascinated him, and he promised himself that he would visit the lake someday. Steel and his family soon moved to Portland, Oregon, and he was finally able to visit Crater Lake 15 years after he first set eyes on the newspaper article. After viewing the lake for himself, his mind was made up to do whatever it took to preserve the lake as a public park. Steel was included in the first expedition to create a map of the lake in 1886, and he spent the next 16 years lobbying and rallying support for the preservation of Crater Lake.

In 1893, the lake was included in the Cascade Range Forest Reserve, which offered some protection from mining and lumber interests, but Steel was not satisfied until Crater Lake was officially made into a National Park on May 22, 1902.

Discussions of building a road to Crater Lake began soon after, in order to improve accessibility to the natural wonder for all people to see.  Controversy surrounding the Crater Lake road system can be traced through Oregon’s historic newspapers, with discussions of the pros and cons of building the roads and especially concerns about the monetary cost of the project:

The road construction effort proved essential to a greater scientific understanding of the lake, allowing geographers, botanists, and other researchers to visit and study the area:

Geological and ecological researchers continue to visit Crater Lake today, and thanks to the ease of access provided by roads, people from all over the world can enjoy the wonderful sights, hike the trails, swim in the lake, and go camping:

As the summer sun melts the accumulation of snow along the ridge of the Cascades, the temperature warms up and conditions for enjoying the outdoors at Crater Lake are ideal. Summer brings many opportunities, but a visit to Crater Lake is one of the most unique experiences that Oregon has to offer in the summer months. In the words of William Gladstone Steel, “father” of Crater Lake National Park:

Sources and additional information:

Crater Lake: History. National Park Service and U.S. Dept. of the Interior; Crater Lake National Park, 2010. Web. 29 June, 2012. < http://www.nps.gov/crla/planyourvisit/upload/2010-history.pdf >

Crater Lake Institute. Web. 3, July, 2012. < http://www.craterlakeinstitute.com/ >

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. National Park Service and U.S. Department of the Interior, 2012. Web. June, 2012. < http://www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm >

Crater Lake Reflections: Visitor’s Guide. National Park Service and U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Summer/Fall 2012. Web. 29 June, 2012. < http://www.nps.gov/crla/parknews/upload/Crater-Lake-Reflections-Summer-Fall-2012-Low-Res.pdf >

Oregon Secretary of State. “Oregon Focus: Native American Legends: Crater Lake.”  Oregon Blue Book. 2012. Web. 29 June, 2012. < http://www.bluebook.state.or.us/kids/focus/crater.htm >

Have you ever wondered what your future holds? Will you find success? True love? Is it possible that the alignment of the planets and stars, your first name, or the lines on the palm of your hand could provide the keys to predicting and planning for your future? Oregon’s historic newspapers reveal that fortune telling and divination were often newsworthy topics of interest in the early 20th century, touching on notions that continue to fascinate people and spark discussions of belief today.

Many contemporary newspapers have continued to uphold the practice of publishing daily or weekly horoscopes based on the astrological signs of the zodiac, a tradition that stems from the forecasts of almanac publications. Almanacs generally predict astronomical events, weather patterns, tides, and any other natural events related to the movement of the earth, sun, and solar system. Humans have historically relied on these movements for navigation, as well as to measure time and determine when to plant and harvest crops. Centuries of observation have revealed celestial patterns and allowed for predictions of cosmic events, such as eclipses and the appearance of constellations. The Peruna Almanac, a yearly publication produced by the Peruna Drug Manufacturing Company around the turn of the century, is described briefly in this advertisement:

Almanac forecasts have not always proven to be correct, and horoscope predictions are not always accurate either. Take, for example, the questionable assertions in this Scorpio horoscope from 1908:

The stars may or may not have the power to determine a person’s personality and fate, but what about names? According to this segment in The Springfield News, a person’s name can determine their lucky days, lucky numbers, and talismanic stones:

For example, Dorothy:

Lucretia:

Sadie:

Thanks to publications such as newspapers, we have a good idea of what has taken place in the past. We also know what is happening in the present, since we are currently living in it. The future, however, will always continue to pose one of the greatest mysteries of all, unless some sort of science can be developed to travel forward in time or otherwise accurately predict the future…

The earliest Latin manuscript that describes divination based on appearance of the hands was written in the 12th century by a Christian monk. However, palmistry, otherwise known as chiromancy, has been practiced by people all over the world since the dawn of civilization. This simple diagram gives some indication of where to look and what to look for if you are interested in trying your hand at palm reading:

However, the meaning of these lines and markings is very much open to interpretation, so you might want to seek professional help for all of your palm reading needs. In the early 1900s, people with questions about their lives and futures could always go to a professional palmist and fortune teller like Madam Rosa:

From personal relationships to business endeavors, it’s comforting when a fortune teller confirms your highest hopes:

While there are a plethora of ways to predict the future, it is possible that no one will ever know for sure what the future holds. Ideas of time, the past, present and future all depend on perspective. For example, what was considered to be “the future” by the people who actually read these historic newspapers in print on the day of publication, is in fact the present time that we are living in now. Therefore, could we technically say that we are living in “the future” now?  Could any fortune teller have predicted that in the year 2012, early 20th century newspapers would be made available for searching and browsing online via the internet?

Just in case your mind is not already boggled with thoughts about time, the cosmos, and fortune telling, here are a few more questions that should keep you pondering throughout the day: If we could time travel, would we still worry and wonder about the future? Would you really want to know everything that was going to happen to you in your life, before it happened? Is the future ruled by destiny and fate, or do we ultimately determine what happens in our own lives with the decisions that we make? Whatever conclusions you come to, just remember to enjoy the present as much as possible, because it will soon be part of the past!

Oregon’s history is not only accessible for searching and browsing through Oregon’s historic newspapers. Several newspapers from other states, available for keyword-searching online through the Library of Congress and National Endowment for the Humanities’ Chronicling America website, can yield a wealth of articles about Oregon. Below you’ll find a few examples of topics and articles that are available, with links arranged by newspaper “sections.”

Civics:

“How We Got Oregon” – A reporter from the Salt Lake Herald (UT) visits the Umatilla Indian Reservation in 1903, and is told a story from pioneer days

“Lewis & Clark Centennial” – Account of the 1905 Exposition in Portland, from the San Francisco Call (CA)

Politics:

“Women’s Battle For The Ballot” – Story about the narrow defeat of Oregon’s proposed 1906 equal suffrage amendment, from the Washington Times (DC)

“Political Depravity In Oregon” – The Washington Herald (DC) details a land fraud scandal that was sullying Oregon politics in 1906

Business:

“Home Again From The Willamette” – 1893 account of business opportunities in Oregon, from the San Francisco Morning Call (CA)

“Dairy Production In The Pacific Northwest” – 1915 article from the Pullman Herald (WA) with in-depth analysis of agricultural economics in our region

Weather:

“Oregon’s Two Climates” – From 1905, the Washington Times (DC) explains our prevailing weather patterns

Leisure & Lifestyles:

“Pendleton’s First Round-Up” – A long-running Oregon tradition begins in 1910, with the San Francisco Call (CA) reporting

 Sports:

“N.W. Conference To Remain” – 1915 item from the Pullman Herald (WA) recounts the beginning of the Pac-10 athletic conference

“Best Eleven Won” – The University of Oregon plays in its first Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day of 1917, as reported by the Evening Ledger of Philadelphia (PA)

Hot water, lights, refrigerators, computers and cell phones are just a few examples of everyday necessities that are reliant on some sort of power source, and it’s often difficult not to take these things for granted. A look through the pages of historic newspapers reminds us that while basic forms of power and energy have been utilized by humans for hundreds of years, perspectives on old ideas are continually refreshed over time.

The question is, will any invention ever be “perfect,” or will there always be room for improvement? It has taken several centuries and the hard work and dedication of countless individuals and groups to fine-tune the forms of power that we use today. The development and use of electricity is a perfect example, as one of the most commonly promoted power sources in early 20^th century newspaper articles and advertisements.

In about 600 B.C., Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus observed that by creating friction with a piece of amber, it could attract lightweight objects, like feathers, with what we know today to be static electricity (1). About 1000 years later, English scientist William Gilbert coined the term “electricity” from the Greek word for amber, ηλεκτρον, or elektron (2). Over the next several centuries, numerous experiments were conducted to find out more about the properties of electricity, one of the most famous being Benjamin Franklin’s kite and key lightning rod test in 1752 (3). The 19th century brought the invention and development of the electric battery (4), the electric motor (5), and industrial use of electricity. In the late 1800s, electric light bulbs were introduced, and electric companies and power stations began to operate in the United States, although only half of homes in the U.S. had electric power by 1925 (6).

In the early 1900s, electricity was portrayed as an optimal commodity, with an emphasis on the benefits of electric lighting as comparable to the luxuries of “sewers,” “cement walks,” and “filtered water,” as seen in this ad to attract residents to the city of Gold Hill, Oregon:

Electric lights were encouraged to increase profits for businesses:

As well as to ensure home security:

A century later, advertisements like these are seldom seen. In the United States at least, electric lights are prevalent and expected in all places, indoors and out. However, use of electricity still comes at a price. While lightning and static are forms of electricity that can be found in nature, it is difficult to harness these energies, and electricity itself is not readily available for use; it must be generated from natural resources with the help of human intervention. We have become so accustomed to flicking light switches and plugging in appliances that we often don’t think twice about the true sources of our electrical power.

In short, electricity is created when electrons are manipulated to flow along a circuit path, which typically involves the use of pressurized steam to turn turbines that then rotate a coiled wire surrounded by a giant magnet, which converts mechanical energy into electrical energy through electromagnetic induction (7). The burning of fossil fuels, such as natural gas, coal, and oil, is often the method by which water is heated to create the necessary steam. However, we now know that harvesting these resources can be dangerous, and combustion of these materials produces pollutants that are harmful to humans and the environment. Plus, fossil fuels are available only in limited supplies, so if we continue to use them, we will eventually run out. With the current controversies surrounding oil drilling and fracking for natural gas, it is questionable as to whether some of today’s fuel suppliers are more interested in providing sustainable power sources for society, or if they simply just want to make a quick profit. This clip from 1902 reveals that production and marketing concerns were just as prevalent back then as they are today:

Aside from fossil fuels, electricity can be derived from nuclear fission, water, wind and solar energy.  Nuclear power was unheard of in the early 1900s; nuclear reactors, fueled by uranium, are a more modern source of electricity. However, uranium is extremely radioactive, making it dangerous to mine and use, and nuclear power plant disasters have littered the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Rushing water is capable of turning turbines without causing pollution, but massive amounts of water must be available, typically provided by the construction of dams. Hydroelectric power has prevailed in the Pacific Northwest, thanks to the abundance of rivers that flow through the region. In fact, in 1889, the Willamette Falls power station in Oregon City became the first AC (alternating current) hydroelectric generator and the first plant to transmit electricity over long distances in the United States (10).

While hydroelectric power was seen as a great idea at the time and a way to decrease the use of exhaustible fossil fuels throughout the 20th century, the dams that are required to sustain power generation have proven to be harmful to salmon and other fish populations, as well as natural river ecosystems as a whole, and dams have been known to fail and break over time, causing destruction to surrounding areas. By the end of the 20th century, the Pacific Northwest hosted at least 58 hydroelectric dams that provided 63% of the region’s electricity (8, 9). The U.S. government has already begun to remove dams that have been identified as particularly threatening (11).

Wind is another energy source that has been around for a long time; as early as 5000 B.C., wind was utilized to move boats up and down the Nile River (12). Windmills also have a long history, taking many shapes over the centuries, and this clip from 1920 illustrates innovations on the ancient concept:

Wind turbines were used to generate electricity in Denmark as early as 1890, but it wasn’t until 1980 that the first official wind farm opened in the U.S. Like all forms of energy, there are positive and negative aspects of utilizing the power of the wind, but today’s futuristic-looking windmills seem to be working rather well to generate electricity in windy places (12).

Solar power, seemingly a recent concept, is actually another idea that has been toyed with for centuries (13). In the late 1800s and early 1900s, in sunny places like California, Arizona and Hawaii, water pipes were sometimes installed on the rooftops of houses, allowing the sun to heat household water:

The only drawback to this apparatus was that water stored in tanks would cool down overnight, so hot water was not always readily available. Today, special mirrors are used to focus heat from the sun to boil water for the steam needed to generate electricity, and photovoltaic cells made of silicon are capable of conducting electricity that can be stored in batteries.

Developments in solar power have historically taken a back seat to the cheaper and more readily available fossil fuels, but as we move forward in time, new developments will become old news, and perhaps some day every house and building will have solar panels or electricity-generating windmills that will be a regular part of daily life. Just as we find it hard to imagine using candles, kerosine lamps and iceboxes today, future generations might eventually be baffled at the idea of burning fossil fuels to generate electricity. In 100 years it is likely that people will have made innovations in power sources that we haven’t even imagined yet; only time will tell. Until then, let us use our energy wisely and appreciate the true sources of our electricity.

Sources and additional information:

1) “electromagnetism.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 10 May, 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/183324/electromagnetism>

2) “William Gilbert (1544-1603).” History – Historic Figures. BBC, 2012. Web. 10 May, 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/gilbert_william.shtml>

3) “Ben Franklin’s Lightning Rod.” Ben Franklin. The Franklin Institute, 2012. Web. 11 May, 2012. <http://www.fi.edu/learn/sci-tech/lightning-rod/lightning-rod.php?cts=benfranklin-weather-electricity>

4) Decker, Franco (Dept. of Chemistry, Univ. of Rome). “Volta and the ‘Pile.’” Electrochemestry Encyclopedia. Ed. Zoltan Nagy, Dept. of Chemistry, Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Case Western Reserve Univ. Chemical Engineering Dept. and Ernest B. Yeager Center for Electrochemical Sciences., 2005. Web. 11 May, 2012. <http://electrochem.cwru.edu/encycl/art-v01-volta.htm>

5) “Faraday Motor.” Museum of Electricity and Magnetism. Magnet Lab: National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. Florida State Univ., Los Alamos National Laboratory, Univ. of Florida, National Science Foundation, and the State of Florida, 1995-2012. Web. 11 May, 2012. <http://www.magnet.fsu.edu/education/tutorials/museum/faraday_motor.html>

6) “The Electric Light System.” Thomas Edison: National Historical Park, New Jersey. National Park Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 2012. Web. 11 May, 2012. <http://www.nps.gov/edis/forkids/the-electric-light-system-phonograph-motion-pictures.htm>

7) “The Energy Story.” Energy Quest. California Energy Commission, 1994-2012. Web. 11 May, 2012. <http://energyquest.ca.gov/story/index.html>

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9) “Hydropower: Licensed to Protect the Environment.” Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Communications and External Relations, 2008. Web. 11 May, 2012. <http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/rev26-34/text/hydmain.html>

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11) Draut, Amy. “Studying the Elwha River, Washington, in Preparation for Dam Removal.” Sound Waves Monthly Newsletter: Coastal and Marine Research News from across the USGS. (Nov./Dec. 2006) U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 2011. Web. 11 May, 2012. <http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2006/11/fieldwork3.html>

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13) “The History of Solar.” U.S. Dept. of Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Web. 14 May, 2012. <https://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pdfs/solar_timeline.pdf>