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The Invention Of The Bicycle Essay

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When I started my freshman year at Trinity College, I was immediately struck by how many people in and around the Hartford area either took public transportation or rode their bicycles as a way to get around the city. This observation made me realize how important the invention of the bicycle has been in our society, since it became popular in Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts during the 1860’s. The introduction of the bicycle clearly changed lives as it sparked social changes, helped advance women’s rights, and offered more accessible transportation to individuals, allowing them more opportunities and greater freedom. With the invention of the bicycle, cycling became a popular and highly sought after social activity. Many people became members of cycling clubs and associations that both promoted cycling and encouraged camaraderie among its members. Once cycling became popular with men, the trend spread to white, upperclass women and ignited a change in the freedom these women had, both in seemingly simple ways, such as their dress, to more unimaginable ways like their ability to travel freely and unchaperoned. The creation of the bicycle was not only significant because it became a popular and valuable mode of transportation, but the popularization provoked many more pivotal changes, becoming a tool that, to this day, still improves women’s social lives and offers them the sense of freedom they had not experienced before its existence. Bicycles have a very varied

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