High Point Regional High School - Obelisk Yearbook (Sussex, NJ)

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Without realizing it, England instilled in the colonists the individual purpose and ingenuity that necessity breeds. With trade goods cut to a minimum, determined young leaders of the time set out to find ways of surviv- ing without support from the Mother Country. Agricultural methods and machines and labor saving devices were designed by our forefathers. As frontiers opened, Yankee genius had to conquer natural barriers in the wild new country, so suspension bridges were invented and methods of transportation were perfected for the purpose of opening the untamed areas. Later, they sought to section off the land with the revolution- ary and controversial invention - barbed wire. Cooper's 1-horsepower Tom Thumb train in 1830 and later, automobiles like the first Model T, and the 4-horsepower airplane , became American modes of travel from city to city and coast to coast. Americans knew that the fertile lands of this nation would produce unequalled harvests if machines were designed to take over for man. They knew also that trade routes were difficult to travel and manufacturing would have to be done close to home. The cotton gin, textile looms, drill presses and a reaper which could cut six times as much grain as a hand scythe were some of the tools invented. Protection for themselves and for their young country prodded inventors like Eli Whitney to perfect firearms and others to work on plans for the first submarine. Young inventors like Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison tcalled the nation's most valuable citi- zenj visualized machines that would light the country and open up communication with those inthe far cor- ners of the nation. The telephone, telegraph, phono- graph and the first light bulb were discovered in the late 1800's and early twentieth century. This American way of doing for oneself inspired many to become inventors in their own right. Some sought to save labor and mass- produce for profit while others envisioned not only riches, but excitement and adventure as they discovered ways to defy nature. Throughout the past 2.00 years the American mind has been unleashed to take whatever paths necessary to ful- fill the needs. In the last half-century, the pace of dis- covery has been overwhelming and inventions for the taming of the universe lie in thergrasp of America while the habit of finding a way is ingrained in its people. The seeds of industrial America were sown by these inventors resulting in today's mechanized society.

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THEY MADE THEIR MARK Men and women who helped shape America's history THOMAS PAINE, a bankrupt Quaker corsetmaker, some- time teacher, preacher and grocer wrote the most bril- liant pamphlet of the American Revolution, His words in Common Sense reflected longings and aspirations that have remained part of American culture to this day. Chief lustice IOHN MARSHALL established fundamental principles of American constitutional law. He is noted for his precedental declaration of a Congressional act as unconstitutional. He served through five administra- tions, from 1801-1835. l l i l ABRAHAM LINCOLN epitomized the American dream of a humble young man ascending to the highest olfice of the land, He was superbly skilled at analyzing complex is- sues and translating them into meaningful words forthe public. He was devoted to the preservation of the Union. DANIEL WEBSTER chose law as a career and went on to become well-known inthe courts and in politics. He was twice Secretary of State with an eye always to the Presi- dency which eluded him. I t t l Born a slave in Maryland, FREDERICK DOUGLASS taught himself to read and write secretly and,at 21, escaped to freedom. He was an ardent abolitionist campaigning successfully for Negro suffrage and civil rights. HARRIET BEECHER STUWE wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin in an effort to make the whole nation realize the inhumani- ty of slavery. Her book resulted in one of the most popu- lar and controversial plays on the American stage. The Civil War was kindled by this work. i N DOROTHEA DIX worked her entire adult life for reform of the existing penal and mental institutions in the mid- 18ll0's. The first state hospital in the nation at Trenton, New Jersey was a direct result of her efforts. The New Colossus, a sonnet composed by EMMA LAZ- ARUS in 1883 is inscribed on a bronze tablet at the base of the Statue of Liberty. She organized relief for lews and helped fugitives from the Czar's ghettos to establish ho mes in America. i t The creator of the Cherokee alphabet, SEQUUVAH, was an artist, writer and silversmith. He used asimple 1821 English primer to compose the characters. The famous redwood trees of the Pacific coast bear his name. t N N J AMELIA IENKS BLOOMER, best known for a mode of dress she adopted during her campaign for equal rights for women. Though ridiculed until she gave up the cos- tume, the term bloomer came to symbolize woman's bid for individual freedom. HORACE GREELEWS admonition to Go West young man was a rallying cry of the pioneers of America. He was founder and editor of the New Vork Tribune. He was best known for his philosophy of social reform and his unsuccessful hid for the Presidency in 1872. IOSEPH PULITZER was the first journalist to reach a tru- ly massive audience. His New Vork World newspaper was the symbol of yellow journalism with its sensational- ism aimed at the common man.