Background
Smith, Merritt Roe was born on November 14, 1940 in Waverly, New York, United States. Son of Wilson Niles and Mary Eleanor (Fitzgerald) Smith.
(W. W. Norton presents Inventing America, a balanced new s...)
W. W. Norton presents Inventing America, a balanced new survey of American history by four outstanding historians. The text uses the theme of innovation—the impulse in American history to "make it new"—to integrate the political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions of the American story. From the creation of a new nation and the invention of the corporation in the eighteenth century, through the vast changes wrought by early industry and the rise of cities in the nineteenth century, to the culture of jazz and the new nation-state of the twentieth century, the text draws together the many ways in which innovation—and its limits—have marked American history.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393926745/?tag=2022091-20
(Focusing on the day-to-day operations of the U.S. armory ...)
Focusing on the day-to-day operations of the U.S. armory at Harpers Ferry from 1798 to 1861, this book shows what the "new technology" of mechanized production meant in terms of organization, management, and worker morale. A local study of much more than local significance, it highlights the major problems of technological innovation and social adaptation in antebellum America.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0801409845/?tag=2022091-20
(W. W. Norton presents Inventing America, a balanced new s...)
W. W. Norton presents Inventing America, a balanced new survey of American history by four outstanding historians. The text uses the theme of innovation—the impulse in American history to "make it new"—to integrate the political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions of the American story. From the creation of a new nation and the invention of the corporation in the eighteenth century, through the vast changes wrought by early industry and the rise of cities in the nineteenth century, to the culture of jazz and the new nation-state of the twentieth century, the text draws together the many ways in which innovation—and its limits—have marked American history.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393926753/?tag=2022091-20
( Adopted at over 250 colleges and universities in its Fi...)
Adopted at over 250 colleges and universities in its First Edition, Inventing America broke new ground by integrating the cultural, social, and political dimensions of the American story around the unifying theme of innovation―the pragmatic forward-looking direction of American history, the willingness of Americans to find new solutions in the face of challenge and change. For the Second Edition, the authors have expanded and strengthened the innovation theme and pared some supporting detail to create a more concise and effective teaching text.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393168166/?tag=2022091-20
( Focusing on the day-to-day operations of the U.S. armor...)
Focusing on the day-to-day operations of the U.S. armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, from 1798 to 1861, this book shows what the "new technology" of mechanized production meant in terms of organization, management, and worker morale. A local study of much more than local significance, it highlights the major problems of technical innovation and social adaptation in antebellum America. Merritt Roe Smith describes how positions of authority at the armory were tied to a larger network of political and economic influence in the community; how these relationships, in turn, affected managerial behavior; and how local social conditions reinforced the reactions of decision makers. He also demonstrates how craft traditions and variant attitudes toward work vis-à-vis New England created an atmosphere in which the machine was held suspect and inventive activity was hampered. Of central importance is the author's analysis of the drastic differences between Harpers Ferry and its counterpart, the national armory at Springfield, Massachusetts, which played a pivotal role in the emergence of the new technology. The flow of technical information between the two armories, he shows, moved in one direction only― north to south. "In the end," Smith concludes, "the stamina of local culture is paramount in explaining why the Harpers Ferry armory never really flourished as a center of technological innovation." Pointing up the complexities of industrial change, this account of the Harpers Ferry experience challenges the commonly held view that Americans have always been eagerly receptive to new technological advances.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0801491819/?tag=2022091-20
Smith, Merritt Roe was born on November 14, 1940 in Waverly, New York, United States. Son of Wilson Niles and Mary Eleanor (Fitzgerald) Smith.
AB, Georgetown University, 1963. Master of Arts, Pennsylvania State University, 1965. Doctor of Philosophy, Pennsylvania State University, 1971.
Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1997.
Assistant professor of history, Ohio State University, Columbus, 1970-1974; associate professor, Ohio State University, Columbus, 1974-1978; visiting professor of history and sociology of science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1976; professor of history technical program in science, technical and society, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, since 1978; Metcalfe professor engineering and liberal arts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 1989-1992; director progam in science, technical and society, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 1992-1996; Leverett and William King Cutten professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, since 1993.
( Adopted at over 250 colleges and universities in its Fi...)
(Focusing on the day-to-day operations of the U.S. armory ...)
( Focusing on the day-to-day operations of the U.S. armor...)
(W. W. Norton presents Inventing America, a balanced new s...)
(W. W. Norton presents Inventing America, a balanced new s...)
Member Massachusetts History Society. Trustee Hagley Museum and Library., Museum American Textile History, Charles Babbage Institute. Board advisors Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museum.
Member Anne S.K. Brown military collection committee Brown U. Member American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Academy Arts and Sciences, Society History Technology (member executive council, Dexter Prize committee, Da Vinci medal 1994, music committee, vice president, president 1989-1991), Organisation American Historians (Frederick Jackson Turner award 1977), Business History Conference, American Antiquarian Society, Newcomen Society N. American, Society Industrial Archeology, History Science Society (Pfizer award 1978), Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Alpha Theta.
Married Bronwyn M. Mellquist, August 24, 1974.