The writer Mark Twain once said that while history doesn't always repeat itself, it usually rhymes. Twain's comment could easily apply to technological innovations like the ones you examined in this lesson. For instance, while the railroad and the Internet are very different in some ways, they both represent emerging technologies that fundamentally changed life in the United States.

In the nineteenth century, the U.S. economy was completely transformed by the development of a new transportation system—railroads. In the twenty-first century, the development of another system or "network," the internet, has also transformed the nation's economy so that it barely resembles what it was twenty years ago.

Spend some time thinking about similarities and differences between the impact of railroads on the U.S. economy and its culture and the impact of the internet. Consider these questions as you compare and contrast the two phenomena.

Use the worksheet below to organize your ideas about the similarities and differences between railroad and Internet technologies. (You will need to do additional research to answer the questions above and in the worksheet.)

When you feel that you understand the impact of each new technology, find a way to present your ideas. You can write them in an essay or another written form (such as a set of poems or very short stories), or you can create a more visual representation, such as a detailed drawing or a multimedia presentation.

Regardless of the form you choose, your work on the assignment will be graded using the rubric below.