How have inventions helped to bring about America's high standard of living?

The people who founded the United States knew that
innovation and invention would be a major key to economic growth.  It was for this
reason that they specified in the Constitution that inventors should be able to have
exclusive rights to their inventions for a period of
time.

Since then, the US economy (and thereby the standard
of living of its people) has been driven by innovation and invention.  For example, the
invention of the steamboat made much more commerce possible in the early US. 
Innovations in the railroad industry did likewise later on.  These innovations in the
railroad industry were made possible in part by the invention of the
telegraph.

Later on, more inventions and innovations helped
increase the American standard of living.  One can point to everything from Henry Ford's
use of the assembly line to the creation of the personal computer.  These inventions and
millions of others have contributed to give Americans a high standard of
living.