After the first world war, the country had taken some definite hits to the economy, but business grew exponentially and America became the center for finance as the leading creditor and banking nation. One of the largest and most prosperous industries was automobile manufacturing. The automobile industry quickly became the strongest and most affluent industry in the nation that approximately one in four people were directly or indirectly working for; from this industry outpoured numerous new industries relating to automobiles. The aftermath of this automobile revolution was more urban communities popping up, while rural towns died off, and the expansive new approach to mass production. Mass production became the most popular way to manufacture items in factories and was used to “improve efficiency… by reduc[ing] assembly-line work to the simplest, most repetitive tasks” (Roark, pp.598). These new business practices eventually led to programs for workers to promote loyalty and welfare for workers through cleaner workplaces, vacations, and pensions; this was known as welfare capitalism. This discouraged any union activity, and further indicated the separation from the prewar era to the “new era”. …show more content…
The culture of America shifted to one where life became about buying things and social status. No longer were the days of saving money, reusing what you had, or taking an active role in debates about the economy. The state of the country was left to the “experts”, and citizens succumbed to the indoctrinating advertisements that linked spirituality and emotions to passively consuming; or as Henry Ford expressed it, “mass production requires mass consumption” (Roark, pp.599). More people who had a small amount of money to begin with, were spending it on things they could not afford and putting themselves into