SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE

On April 6, 1917 the United States went to war. During the Great War Americans would be called on to give their sons and daughters to the cause, to conserve food and to donate money among other things.  Total war would demand a total commitment to fight that war. (Pifer, 2017) Food conservation was necessary for several reasons.  In the US there had been a problem with poor grain harvests in the years leading up to the war.  The fighting forces would need food as they were mustered and trained in the US and sent overseas to fight.  The Allies were starving after suffering through years of war and food needed to be sent to them.  In order to meet these demands food conservation became the responsibility of every American.  In order to meet this responsibility every woman was asked to sign a Food Pledge.   Pifer (2017) explains the elements of the Food Pledge.  Americans were to eat one wheatless meal per day, eat beef, mutton and pork only onc...

Thomas Edison invented a light bulb that was reliable and long-lasting in 1879.  In 1882, with the help of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of New York, Thomas Edison installed electric lights in parts of Manhattan.  Most homes continued to use gas and candle light for many years after this. By 1925 about 50% of all American homes had installed electric lights.   While indexing the 1919 Janesville Daily Gazette I find interesting articles.  Sometimes they pertain to family but not always.  This article does not pertain to family but it certainly illustrates how dangerous electricity was in the early days of its use.   The article reads: The city council has awarded damages to the extent of $5,000 to Edward Draeger for the death of his wife, due to electric shocks when she attempted to turn on one of the city's incandescent lights a few weeks ago.  After a search, I was not able to locate any more information about this accident. ...