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First Ladies
- Dolley Madison’s Life before James Madison – Constitutional Conversations – VIDEO
- Dolley Madison’s Life before James Madison – Quiz
- Dolley Madison as First Lady – Constitutional Conversations – VIDEO
- Dolley Madison as First Lady – Quiz
- Dolley Madison and Slavery – Constitutional Conversations – VIDEO
- Dolley Madison and Slavery – Quiz
- Dolley Madison and Politics – Constitutional Conversations – VIDEO
- Dolley Madison and Politics – Quiz
- Dolley Madison and Constitutional Thinking – Constitutional Conversations – VIDEO
- Dolley Madison and Constitutional Thinking – Quiz
- Dolley Madison: A Model for Our Times – Constitutional Conversations – VIDEO
- Dolley Madison: A Model for Our Times – Quiz
- Eleanor Rosalynn Carter – Lesson
- Eleanor Rosalynn Carter – Quiz
- Abigail Adams – The Second First Lady – Lesson
- Abigail Adams – The Second First Lady – Quiz
- Dolley Madison – America’s First First Lady? – Lesson
- Dolley Madison – America’s First First Lady? – Quiz
- Elizabeth Monroe – the Fifth First Lady – Lesson
- Elizabeth Monroe – the Fifth First Lady – Quiz
- Louisa Adams: The First First Lady Born Outside the US – Lesson
- Louisa Adams: The First First Lady Born Outside the US – Quiz
- Anna Harrison – The First Lady Who Never Made It to the White House – Lesson
- Anna Harrison – The First Lady Who Never Made It to the White House – Quiz
- First Lady Julia Tyler – Started a Tradition Still in Use Today – Lesson
- First Lady Julia Tyler – Started a Tradition Still in Use Today – Quiz
- Sarah Polk – A Very Religious First Lady – Lesson
- Sarah Polk – A Very Religious First Lady – Quiz
- First Lady Rachel Jackson Never Made It to the White House – Lesson
- First Lady Rachel Jackson Never Made It to the White House – Quiz
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American Artists
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Veterans
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Founding Fathers
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Famous Women
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Poets
- Emily Dickinson – The Myth – Lesson
- Emily Dickinson – The Myth – Quiz
- Edgar Allan Poe – Inventor of Modern Detective Stories – Lesson
- Edgar Allan Poe – Inventor of Modern Detective Stories – Quiz
- Robert Frost – One of America’s Favorite Poets – Lesson
- Robert Frost – One of America’s Favorite Poets – Quiz
- T.S. Eliot – The Poet Who Gave Cats Secret Names – Lesson
- T.S. Eliot – The Poet Who Gave Cats Secret Names – Quiz
- Walt Whitman – America’s Poet of the People – Lesson
- Walt Whitman – America’s Poet of the People – Quiz
- E.E. Cummings – Making Poetry into Puzzles – Lesson
- E.E. Cummings – Making Poetry into Puzzles – Quiz
- John Keats and the Rise of Romantic Poetry – Lesson
- John Keats and the Rise of Romantic Poetry – Quiz
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – The Most Famous American of His Day – Lesson
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – The Most Famous American of His Day – Quiz
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Poetry
- Renaissance Poetry and History’s Most Famous Poet – Lesson
- Renaissance Poetry and History’s Most Famous Poet – Quiz
- Epic Poetry: The Earliest Literary Art Form – Lesson
- Epic Poetry: The Earliest Literary Art Form – Quiz
- Neoclassical Poetry Favored Ancient Greek and Roman Styles – Lesson
- Neoclassical Poetry Favored Ancient Greek and Roman Styles – Quiz
- Romanticism – An Emotional Era of Poetry – Lesson
- Romanticism – An Emotional Era of Poetry – Quiz
- Victorian Poetry – Lesson
- Victorian Poetry – Quiz
- Modernist Poetry and Ezra Pound – Lesson
- Modernist Poetry and Ezra Pound – Quiz
- Postmodernism – A New Era of Poetry – Lesson
- Postmodernism – A New Era of Poetry – Quiz
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Inventors
- Thomas Edison: A Prolific American Inventor – Lesson
- Thomas Edison: A Prolific American Inventor – Quiz
- Henry Ford and the Moving Assembly Line – Lesson
- Henry Ford and the Moving Assembly Line – Quiz
- Alexander Graham Bell: The Man Who Invented the Telephone – Lesson
- Alexander Graham Bell: The Man Who Invented the Telephone – Quiz
- The Wright Brothers – First in Flight – Lesson
- The Wright Brothers – First in Flight – Quiz
- Mary Anderson – The Woman Who Invented Windshield Wipers – Lesson
- Mary Anderson – The Woman Who Invented Windshield Wipers – Quiz
- Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin – Lesson
- Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin – Quiz
- The Many Inventions of Leonardo da Vinci – Lesson
- The Many Inventions of Leonardo da Vinci – Quiz
- Johannes Gutenberg and the Printing Press – Lesson
- Johannes Gutenberg and the Printing Press – Quiz
Johannes Gutenberg and the Printing Press – Lesson
The invention changed the world.
From the automobile and the airplane to antibiotics and air conditioning, countless inventions have improved life around the world. Yet few have had an impact as profound as Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press.
Gutenberg’s Printing Press
In the 15th century, while struggling to make ends meet selling metal mirrors, Gutenberg began developing a machine capable of printing entire pages of text at a speed never before seen in history.
At first, Gutenberg created a method of printing using a reusable, mobile set of type – and within a decade, the inventor had assembled a working prototype of his printing press. By 1454, Gutenberg was using his press for commercial purposes, producing printed pieces for the Catholic Church. In 1456, he printed the historic Gutenberg Bible, the first full book printed on a moveable press in the West.
According to the McDonald Collection at Oregon State University Libraries, Gutenberg used multiple inventions and discoveries in his printing press. “The printing press was built around the traditional screw press, a precursor to today’s drill press, with an added matrix on which individually-cast letters and symbols could be arranged to form the desired text,” the McDonald Collection explained.
In addition to the actual press, Gutenberg developed a “unique oil-based ink which transferred from his metal type to the printing substrate much more effectively than the water-based inks that other printers of the era used.”
To produce a printed page, Gutenberg arranged the letters on the matrix in the proper order and covered them in his one-of-a-kind ink. Then he “mounted on the contact end of the modified screw press and lowered until it struck the paper underneath.” Printing was difficult, but Gutenberg could reproduce written works at a much faster rate than writing them by hand.
“Johannes Gutenberg’s moveable type press marked the beginning of the Printing Revolution in the western world, a colossal moment in the history of information and learning,” the McDonald Collection said. “With access to printing presses, scientists, philosophers, politicians, and religious officials could replicate their ideas quickly and make them available to large audiences.”
Gutenberg’s Life
Not much is known about Gutenberg’s life, but historians agree he was born in the 15th century in Mainz, Germany, to an upper-class family. As a young man, Gutenberg became a skilled metalworker. He was eventually exiled from Mainz due to a “bitter struggle” between socioeconomic classes, according to Britannica, and moved to Strassburg – which is now Strasbourg, France. Gutenberg learned a variety of crafts, including gem cutting, and worked as a teacher.
While the details of the inventor’s life remain somewhat of a mystery, the impact of his printing press is undeniable. Gutenberg is believed to have been a devout Catholic, and as such, his vision for the invention was greater than just producing average books:
“It is a press, certainly, but a press from which shall flow in inexhaustible streams through it, God will spread His Word. A spring of truth shall flow from it: like a new star it shall scatter the darkness of ignorance, and cause a light heretofore unknown to shine amongst men.”
- Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press.
- The first full book produced by the Gutenberg printing press was the Bible.
- Little is known about the inventor’s life, but historians agree he was born in the 15th century to upper-class parents.