In the late nineteenth and twentieth century there was a departure from the traditional art forms. Rather than represent what is real, artists were presenting abstractions. Technological innovations influenced the arts. Artists represented electric light in paintings with images of light in buildings. With the development of the camera, photography became a fine art.
Industrialism
During the early years of the twentieth century, America went through a period of social and economic change. The railroad network enabled the transport of raw goods to factories, and the mass production of goods was then transported to the population. These factories were operated by unskilled workers which came from the immigration population. These people lived in these urban areas. Andrew Carnegie helped build the American steel industry. He was on eof the richest entrepreneurs of his age. He advocated for the rights of laborers to unionize, but his workers still worked long hours for low wages. In his later years he became a philanthropist and donated monies to over 2,500 public libraries and schools.
Diderot
Denis Diderot was famous for editing the Encyclopedie. He was another Enlightenment thinker and great writer. The Encyclopedie was a compilation of valuable knowledge of the times. Some of the subjects covered were politics, cultural history, and articles on other civilizations. These articles were written by anonymous writers such as Voltaire, Montesquieu, Turgot, Condiallac and Rousseau. The philosophies of the books represented the enlightened reason, and were viewed as critical of religious and political institutions. The state censors banned it from publication, but in the end it was only delayed. The illustrations showed the details of how printing, metal work, and other fabrications of the period were achieved. The Encyclopedie enabled sharing knowledge of the techniques of the trades for all people.
The Revolutions After the Seven Years
References: Fiero, G. K. (2007). The humanistic tradition. (5th. ed. Combo), Books 3, 4, 5, & 6. New York: McGraw Hill. Adapted from A Guide to the Study of Literature: A Companion Text for Core Studies 6, Landmarks of Literature, ©English Department, Brooklyn College. http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/rom.html Uzgalis, William, "John Locke", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2007 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2007/entries/locke/>. David J. Adams, Manchester University. "Denis Diderot." The Literary Encyclopedia. 1 May 2003. The Literary Dictionary Company, 13 November 2007. <http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1261> Copyright © 2006, Steven G. Estrella, All Rights Reserved, Dr. Estrella 's Incredibly Abridged Dictionary of Composers <http://www.stevenestrella.com/composers/index.html>