Industrial/Military Technology

These are the 18 artifact categories at The Bakken. Items can belong to more than one category. We have roughly 2500 artifacts. An electrostatic kit from the 18th century would be listed as a generator, a storage case, electrodes, a Leyden jar -- whatever was in the box the kit lived in. Here on the Web, we'll list things by their most noticeable attribute. You can learn a lot about a collection by studying the categories it is sorted into.

Since the invention of the wheel, mechanical innovation has critically influenced the development of civilization and industry as well as public welfare, safety and comfort. Through its History and Heritage program, ASME encourages public understanding of mechanical engineering, fosters the preservation of this heritage, and helps engineers become more involved in all aspects of history.

The United States Coast Guard, one of the country's five armed services, is also one of the most unique agencies of the federal government. We trace our history back to 4 August 1790, when the first Congress authorized the construction of ten vessels to enforce tariff and trade laws, prevent smuggling, and protect the collection of the federal revenue. Known variously as the Revenue Marine and the Revenue Cutter Service, we expanded in size and responsibilities as the nation grew.

These added responsibilities included humanitarian duties such as aiding mariners in distress. Our law enforcement functions also continued to expand. Congress tasked us with enforcing laws against slavery, piracy, and enlarged our responsibilities to prevent smuggling. We were also given the responsibility to protect the marine environment, explore and police Alaska, and chart the growing nation's coastlines, all well before the turn of the twentieth century.

This archive combines a series of New York Times archival articles outlining the evolution of manufacturing with an overview of Peoplesoft's role in continuing progress in the manufacturing field.

As part of our effort to preserve our national heritage, we are seeking stories, memories or anecdotes about the wartime home front embodied by "Rosie."

The TMI partial meltdown, which was the worst accident at an American commercial nuclear power plant, both altered nuclear regulation policies in the United States and shook the public's confidence in nuclear technology.

Echo has developed an online survey, which invites people to share their thoughts about the TMI crisis. We aim to collect entries from a broad spectrum of people, ranging from residents who lived near the plant to people who lived in a different part of the country (or in another country) and followed the events through the media. Our aim is to build a free and public archive that serves as a resource for activists and scholars alike.

In 1999 the Vietnam Center initiated the Oral History Project. An element of the Vietnam Archive, the mission of the Oral History Project is to create and preserve a more complete record of the wars in Southeast Asia by preserving, through recorded interviews, the recollections and experiences of the men and women who participated in these wars, as well as those military and civilian personnel involved in activities surrounding the wars on the homefront. The Archive believes that the history of the wars in Southeast Asia is not complete without the inclusion of the voices of the men and women who were involved in the wars.

In October 2003, the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Oral History Project launched Phase One of its three-part study of the evolution of CIP in the United States. The first phase will document the history of critical infrastructure protection policy from its roots up to the unveiling of Presidential Decision Directive 63 (PDD 63) in 1998. The two subsequent phases will look at later CIP developments, including the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002. At the heart of all three phases of the project will be a series of face-to-face and telephone sessions with key CIP policymakers and those responsible for implementing and assessing critical infrastructure initiatives and programs. At the same time, we're eager to collect information and insights from visitors to our web site. We hope you'll take time to contribute to the historical record yourself by completing our online survey. The form is easy to fill out and will require only a few minutes of your time.

This site tells the story of the Washington Metro, a 103-mile rapid transit system serving Washington, D.C., and the surrounding areas of Maryland and Virginia. Planning for Metro began in the 1950s, construction began in 1969, and the first segment opened for operation in 1976. Metro is one of the largest public-works projects ever built, and it is the second-busiest rail transit system in the United States.

Metro is the creation of thousands of planners, engineers, architects, and builders, and hundreds of thousands of neighbors and riders. Whatever your role, we hope you will share your own experiences as part of the Echo: Collecting History Online project.

The Atomic Veterans History Project contains over 600 personal narratives about the military duties and memories of US Servicemen who witnessed these atomic and hydrogen weapons tests. Many veterans have sent photos, certificates and newspaper articles which we have added. There are over 500 photos from the recently declassified DOE atomic test films. Over 2500 files (stories, pictures and documents) are posted.

Atomic Veterans are invited to email their personal recollections. Information on researching your atomic military history is provided.