Yankee ingenuity is a self-made
stereotype of inventiveness, technical solutions to practical problems, "know-how",
self-reliance
"Self-Reliance" is an 1841 essay written by American transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. It contains the most thorough statement of one of Emerson's recurrent themes: the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false con ...
and individual enterprise associated with the
Yankees, who originated in
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
and developed much of the
industrial revolution in the United States after 1800. The stereotype first appeared in the 19th century. As Mitchell Wilson notes, "Yankee ingenuity and Yankee git-up-and-go did not exist in colonial days."
Yankee ingenuity characterizes an attitude of make-do with materials on hand. It is inventive improvisation, adaptation and overcoming of shortages of materials.
The term "Yankee ingenuity" originated from the construction of the
Erie Canal across rural
upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...
. Work began in 1817. The canal opened October 26, 1825.
The term was common worldwide in the wake of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, as American forces employed engineering solutions to military problems. Doug Stewart notes of the
jeep: "the spartan, cramped, and unstintingly functional jeep became the ubiquitous World War II four-wheeled personification of Yankee ingenuity and cocky, can-do determination." Today it refers broadly to a typically American pragmatic approach to problem solving instead of traditional methods.
[ Erie Canal]
An example of Yankee Ingenuity would be the use of a pole saw to cut brush in the absence of a more appropriate tool.
See also
*
MacGyverism a similar concept describing the resourceful use of materials to hand.
*
Massachusetts Route 128 also known as the "Yankee Division Highway" where many technology companies are located.
*
Number 8 wire
Number 8 wire is a gauge of wire on the British Standard Wire Gauge that has entered into the cultural lexicon of New Zealand.
Use for farm fencing
Early farm fences in New Zealand were generally used to protect crops, gardens, and orchards fr ...
a similar concept in New Zealand
References
{{Authority control
English phrases
Society of the United States
Erie Canal
Stereotypes