America loves innovation and the can-do spirit that made this country
what it is--a world leader in self-government, industry, technology, and
pop culture. Everything about America has been an experiment and a leap
of faith. And one such experiment--upon which all others depend for
success--is the U.S. Patent System.
Why Has America Stopped Inventing? takes a close look at why this
experiment appears to be failing, and why America has all but stopped
inventing.
Our belief that we are the most innovative people on earth is mistaken.
Statistics show that today we invent less than half of what our
counterparts did a century and a half ago. Look around: Where are the
groundbreaking inventions comparable to those from the Industrial
Revolution? It's unforgivable that we've been using the same mode of
transportation for over a century. Why are we giving trillions of
dollars every year to hostile foreign nations for imported oil when we
have the inventive talent in America to solve the nation's energy
crisis?
We don't have these desperately needed technologies because regular
Americans have given up on inventing. Why Has America Stopped Inventing?
compares some of America's most successful 19th century inventors with
those of today, showing Jefferson refusing to waste any more weekends
examining patent applications, Whitney being robbed of his fortune while
the South's wealth exploded, the patent models that kept British
soldiers from burning Washington's last-standing federal building, the
formation of Lincoln's cabinet, and Selden crippling the entire U.S.
Auto Industry. It also tells the largely unforgotten stories of the
Wright brother's airplane monopoly, the Colt revolver's role in the
Mexican American War, the Sewing Machine wars, the last six months of
Daniel Webster's life, and the controversy surrounding the first
telephone patents.
