The Practical Engineers' Rebellion: Evans Patent Safety Guard and the Failure of Scientific Technology in the Steam Boat Inspection Service, 1830-1862

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dc.contributor.advisorFriedel, Roberten_US
dc.contributor.authorBernhardt III, John A.en_US
dc.contributor.departmentHistoryen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2009-01-24T06:30:17Z
dc.date.available2009-01-24T06:30:17Z
dc.date.issued2008-07-31en_US
dc.description.abstractThe U.S. Congress's initiative to solve the problem of steamboat boiler explosions in the mid-nineteenth century resulted in the Steamboat Act of 1852. The Act brought radical changes to the western rivers, including reform of the engineering cadre, introduction of new safety devices and procedures, and the creation of a new bureaucracy (the Steam Boat Inspection Service). One of the new safety devices introduced by the Treasury Department was the controversial Evans Patent Safety Guard. This is the story of the safety guard as a central actor in framing the expertise of scientists, inventors, and practical engineers in attempting to make technology safe. The safety guard helps us to understand where expertise came from, how it was defined and justified by government officials, and why the notion of technological expertise depends on a complex mix of technical, institutional, and socioeconomic factors.en_US
dc.format.extent7252444 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/8724
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledHistory of Scienceen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledHistory, United Statesen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledEngineering, Metallurgyen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledEvansen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledCadwalladeren_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledEvans Safety Guarden_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledSteamboat Inspection Serviceen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledantebellum engineering expertiseen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledsafe technologyen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledFranklin Instituteen_US
dc.titleThe Practical Engineers' Rebellion: Evans Patent Safety Guard and the Failure of Scientific Technology in the Steam Boat Inspection Service, 1830-1862en_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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