Introduction:
In modern America, the TV is nothing special, yet during the 20th century it was one of the most influential pieces of technology. The late 19th century photography was becoming an extremely important and profitable industry, which in turn led to the creation of film. It was with the emergence of fil as a massive industry that people began to look for a device in which film could be brought into the houses of people. This came in 1927 when the first truly electrical television received its first image during a test. With this the world saw a new medium and industry open leading to the development of new types of televisions that allowed for a better image and sound leading to color, digital, and now smart TVs. It was in the United States that people really saw the importance and use of such a technology leading to a plethora of developments and changes to the original television in efforts to make it better as well as cheaper for the average family to afford. It was this development that led to the decline of the radio and the evolution of one of Americans most profitable industries that in turn led to the creation of massive film industries in California that would develop into multi-billion dollar companies. At the same time the television allowed for the government to reach all areas of society pulling together the country in times of extreme duress such as through the broadcasting of president’s speeches and so on. Overall the television became a staple technology of America and its people, eventually becoming a tool that would time and again unify the country as well as open up new areas of business and wealth.

Development of the television:
Starting in the mid-1900’s people had already started to think of a wat in which images could be broadcasted from one place to another and more importantly if moving-images could be broadcasted. This desire led to several inventors working tirelessly to create such a device. Unfortunately, the technology was not there yet leading to several failed attempts at such a device. Yet “ultimately, the early efforts of these inventors would lead to the world’s first electrical television a few years later.” [4] So although they could not figure it out their work would eventually help to create a true television. This was created by Philo Farnsworth who’s machine “On September 7, 1927, transmitted its first image, a simple straight line, at his laboratory at 202 Green Street in San Francisco By September 3, 1928, Farnsworth had developed the system sufficiently to hold a demonstration for the press. This is widely regarded as the first electronic television demonstration.”[3] Soon after that RCA an American radio company began to invest millions in the development of a stable commercial television, this was developed and on the market by 1939.[3] The basic TV for most of the technologies history was that of the CRT TV which was a Cathode-Ray Tube TV. This system relies on the cathode-ray tube that allows for images to be displayed. Firstly the TV receives the signal from the satellite located somewhere near which is itself receiving a transmission from a TV tower. This signal enters the TV and from there to the electron-gun circuit which separates it into red blue and green signals. These signals are then fired into the Cathode-Ray Tube, which then goes through the ring of electromagnets. This ring guides the electrons across the screen at a constant pace. They pass through a mask which puts each signal in a designated spot and produce an image. [9] The process described above can be seen illustrated in the first illustration seen below. So above we have discussed the development and actual workings of the original technology, yet at the time I really don’t think many people knew exactly how important and powerful this technology would become for most people and societies throughout the world especially the United States.

Illustration 1: illustration of the the process in which television is made possible using a cathode ray tube. 

Impact of the television on the United States:
Following the development of the TV, companies began to see that this was a new medium through which information could be transmitted through. By the late 1930’s companies understood that the TV would allow them access to more people in shorter amounts of time as seen I the fact that “NBC officially began regularly scheduled television broadcasts in New York on April 30, 1939, with a broadcast of the opening of the 1939 New York World’s Fair.”[3] So immediately we see the first change to American life which is the fact that given they had the resources Americans living in let’s say California could witness an important event taking place well over 2000 miles away. In addition, it was at the world’s fair where” in 1939, RCA televised the opening of the New York World’s Fair, including a speech by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was the first president to appear on television.” [7] Again this was a massive impact on the political and social landscape of the United States firstly no longer did Americans just have the voice of the president in their homes now we could literally have his image within our private residence. This initiated the start of the TV president and linked Americans to their leadership like never. Hearing a voice is one thing but to see your presidents face often gave many Americans a sense of hope as seen specifically during World War 2 which was just around the corner. In addition, it also opened a new arena for political campaigns, now for government positions those running could use the Television as a point to advertise themselves to the people which allowed for faster and easier campaigns. People could watch debates “the election of a young and vital president in 1960, John F. Kennedy, seemed to provide evidence of how profoundly television would change politics. Commentators pointed to the first televised debate that fall between Kennedy, the Democratic candidate for president, and Vice-President Richard M. Nixon, the Republican’s nominee. A survey of those who listened to the debate on radio indicated that Nixon had won; however, those who watched on television, and were able to contrast Nixon’s poor posture and poorly shaven face with Kennedy’s poise and grace, were more likely to think Kennedy had won the debate.”[7] So again TV was changing everything even the way people saw candidates, which in turn meant that if one wanted to become president how the appeared on TV was much more important then what they said over a radio. This is still prevalent even today as the political conventions and debates are some of the most popular programs when showed and have a massive effect on the American people. At the same time the creation of TV had a massive effect on the advertising business, with “The first official, paid advertising to appear on American commercial television occurred on the afternoon of July 1, 1941, over New York station WNBT (now WNBC) before a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgders and Philadelphia Phillies. The announcement for Bulova watches.” [3] Although there are several new types of media according to several studies TV is still one of the most effective forms of advertisement and offers many business an affordable area in which to spread news on new products. One example comes from a study by Marketshare which found that “In a study using data from a luxury automaker, TV was the only medium to maintain its effectiveness (a 1.5 percent decrease in five years) while the other advertising media—both online and offline—declined more than 10 percent.”[2] The TV is a technology that in many ways changed the face of the United States and made its ways into all aspects of society yet with this Americans were themselves causing an impact on the TV.

Peoples Impact on the Television:

As mentioned earlier the first commercial TV hit the market in the late 1930’s and immediately were a success yet as with most technology these early renditions were expensive and really not useful to many portions of American society. As seen below the initial TV was completely different from what we consider TV’s today, for one it was in black in white and as seen the screen was very small. Although popular these TV’s were even then very expensive this model was “a Daven, sold for $75 (the equivalent of $1,009.74 in 2012 dollars).” [1] So with high prices the television took time to truly become popular with all parts of society. The next development came in the 1940’s with the development of the color television.

Illustration 2: One of the earliest renditions of the TV a black and white version, notice the overall design and size of the screen very foreign to the designs of today. 

Although all TV was presented in black and white by the late 1930’s several movies such as the famous Wizard of Oz had been filmed in color and many desired a device that could bring colored tv into the household. So “by 1946, the Second World War was history, and people in America wanted to make up for all the time lost to the war. Black and white television was thought of as old and it was time to do something new. This is when color television systems first began to be considered seriously.” [6] So with this desire both CBS and RCA the giants of TV entered the race.[6] Yet “the first color TV sets went into mass production in 1954, for a cost of around $1,295—or $11,083.13 in today’s dollars.” So much like the original TV this new tech also cost a large amount of money and was therefore not immediately accessible yet over time became increasingly accessible. [1]

Illustration 3: The above is one of the earlier color TV’s developed in the early 1900’s. 
With the introduction of the color TV Americans were content and no developments took place until the 1980’s with the development of the Digital TV. Much like those before “Initially the adoption rate was low, as the first digital tuner-equipped TVs were costly. But soon, as the price of digital-capable TVs dropped, more and more households were converting to digital televisions.” [5] This development of the digital TV has been witnessed in recent years and the dominant form of technology yet recently we see the development and spread of smart TV’s. This “is a television set with integrated Internet and Web 2.0 features, and is an example of technological convergence between computers and television sets and set-top boxes.” [5]

Illustration 4: 24″ Class H4500 LED Smart 

So overall from its very induction onto the American markets, Americans of every generation have had an impact on the technology changing its abilities and looks as the years progressed.
Conclusion:
From its very conception till the present day the television as we know it has been a daily hallmark of American life. From its initial development, it has gone through near a century of development into something almost completely different then what it initially was. Yet this development came about due to Americans desires such as wanting to advertise their goods or wanting to see what was occurring on the other side of the country almost instantly. Yet this development that stemmed from such desires had an immediate impact launching the television into a basic commodity. With the explosion of television into the American public new ways of advertisement, political campaigning and an assortment of other things were developed forever changing the country. Overall the Television has followed the development of America into the superpower it is today and will continue to develop and follow the development of the United States and its people.

Reference Page

[1] Boxee. “12 Important Steps In The History Of Television.” BuzzFeed. Accessed April 05, 2017. https://www.buzzfeed.com/boxee/important-steps-in-the-history-of-television.
[2] Jason, lynch. “Why TV Is Still the Most Effective Advertising Medium.” – Adweek. Accessed April 05, 2017. http://www.adweek.com/tv-video/why-tv-still-most-effective-advertising-medium-165247/
[3] “History of television.” Wikipedia. April 04, 2017. Accessed April 05, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_television#United_States.
[4] Hur, Johnson. “History of the Television.” From The 1800s To Current Time. October 24, 2015. Accessed April 05, 2017. http://bebusinessed.com/history/history-of-the-television/.
[5] “Television.” Wikipedia. April 03, 2017. Accessed April 05, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television
[6] “The History Of Color Television.” The History Of Television. Accessed April 05, 2017. http://www.thehistoryoftelevision.com/color_tv.html.
[7] . Stephens, Mitchell. “History of Television – Mitchell Stephens.” History of Television – Mitchell Stephens. Accessed April 05, 2017. https://www.nyu.edu/classes/stephens/History%20of%20Television%20page.htm.
[8] “Why Is TV Important?” TVProviderscom. Accessed April 05, 2017. http://www.tvproviders.com/tv-101/why-is-tv-important.html.
[9] Woodford, Chris. “How does television (TV) work?” Explain that Stuff. N.p., 04 June 2016. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.