There were many factors that cause to change the American society. In 1920s the American economy began to become strong and the automobile introduced a new way of life to America and pushed America forward. In addition, the American people enjoyed the highest standard of living and they were able to afford luxury items. The motor car industry was the new form industry and it used the method of mass production and assembly line. Henry Ford was a pioneer who produced a car for ordinary family and manufactured the first Model T and reduced the prices by mass production.
The groups of people that were most changed by these new innovations were factory workers, middle-class urban residents, and midwestern farmers. There were many effects that these creations had on these groups of people. These innovations allowed travelling and the transporting of goods to be easily accomplished, made communication between others simpler and more efficient, and allowed for better and safer ways of lighting to be established. Automobiles allowed for travelling and the transporting of goods to be easily accomplished. The creation of the automobile was extremely beneficial for midwestern farmers, middle-class urban residents, and factory workers.
One of the industries most impacted by this was the automobile industry. As cars became cheaper to make, they also became much more accessible to the public. Between 1908 and 1924, the cost of a Ford Model T dropped by nearly $600. Cars gave people the freedom to travel and see more of their town and the country. People were able to expand their knowledge of the world around them.
The consumer revolution that occurred in the 1920s gave Americans prosperous hope for the future of the United States of America. The people became comfortable on how they were living their lives. After the stock market crashes in 1929, people were left jobless and hungry. For those who do not know exactly what happened in the Great Depression and just figure it was a time of famine and unemployment and wasn 't thought of as a big deal, but it sure was. In the text book it talks about the specific effects the Great Depression had on all types of people.
The 1920s was a time to try new things. There were many new things being made in production, such as Henry Ford’s T-Model car, four-way tri-colored traffic lights, and the vacuum cleaner. These are some of the new inventions that happened in the 1920s, which led to mass production. This allowed all of these new inventions to be made at a faster pace than ever before. Mass production helps consumers
Lizabeth Cohen is a professor at Harvard University who teaches social and political topics such as popular material culture and also urban, gender, and working-class history. She is also the Dean of Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. In addition to Cohen being a professor and a dean she is also an American author, best known from one of her well-known book A Consumers’ Republic the Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America, in which she discusses how mass consumption sets the tone for the social life, cultural, and political structures following World War II. She analyzes how mass consumption must undergo specific systems such as transportations, productions, advertising, and many more with the hidden cultural and social development that feed the political policies that promoted this mass consumption. Cohen argues that because
1 - Consumerism developed in America during the early twentieth century in large part due to the boom in industry created by Europe 's inability to create goods after World War I. Combined this with American inventions such as Henry Ford’s assembly line and Americans had money to spend (Schultz, 2013). With the advent of an electrical distribution system, Americans had electricity in their homes for the first time, which led to the desire for all types of electrical appliances to make life easier. All these new products meant that companies had to get the word out about their products which ignited the advertising industry, which led to even more consumerism. Mix into this recipe, the growing credit industry, and you had consumerism like
(Shindo, 2015, p. 1). Furthermore, Henry Ford started paying workers five dollars a day, hoping that the increase in workers salaries, would be used to purchase a new car (“The Age of the Automobile,” n.d.). Families were making anywhere between one thousand to over ten thousand dollars in income (“The American Economy During,” n.d.). In 1919 there was only 6.7 million cars on the road, but by the end of 1929 there was 27 million (“The American Economy During,” n.d.). Cars were not the only technology to increase the economy, radios and railroads did as
During the 1920s, the United States experienced a period of economic prosperity characterized by an economic boom and increased consumerism. This era, often referred to as the "Roaring Twenties," saw significant advancements in technology, communication, and industrial production. The economic boom was fueled by factors such as the growth of industries like automobiles, radio, and aviation, leading to increased employment opportunities and rising wages for many Americans. As a result, consumerism flourished, with people purchasing a wide range of goods and services, from household appliances to new forms of entertainment. One key concept that gained prominence during this time was installment buying.
The Model T was one of the first cars to put drivers on the left side and it was not that expensive,so it was available to more people. The assembly line was mainly used by Ford in depth and it 1913 it took about ten hours less than what it took in 1908(12hrs to make Model I).This was big because if you can make more quantity within less time,it means you will make much more quality cars and earn more money than most people. Between 1920-1929 the annual income was on the rise and the United States could claim 40% of the world’s income. In the topic called,”Standard of Living Rises”, it states,”50% of gold was in the US...more cars in Kansas than in France”(The Business of America).This shows how much power the United States gained from all of this car business and how much people have actually benefited from this. There was the idea that wealth only appeared great,but in reality it was not and this was known as “Superficial Prosperity”.
The Rise of the Automobile in 1920s in The Great Gatsby Perhaps no invention affected American everyday life in the 20th century more than the automobile. The invention and improvement of the automobile not only changed the America society, but also the whole world. The rapidly growing automobile industry led by Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company produced new and better models every year to supply the insatiable public demand. Increased wages and lower cost vehicles made possible through mass production meant that cars became increasingly affordable, although 3 out of 4 cars were bought on installment plans.
However, automobiles like the Chevrolet, the Rambler and the Hudson Hornet were huge successes when it came to consumerism in the economy. Manufacturers in the automobile industry, would make small changes to every year’s model. These changes would persuade consumers to buy the new model and that they needed to update their cars every couple of years and ultimately expanded purchasing growth in the 50’s society.
America during the 1920s can be considered a cultural battleground as Americans were deeply divided over a number of different issues, including race, immigration, alcohol consumption, and interpretation of the bible. However, the differences between rural and urban lifestyles, specifically over alcohol consumption, is arguably the most divisive of these issues. In general, those that lived in rural area,especially in the South, tended to be more conservative and follow traditional beliefs. They believed in fundamentalism, which was the literal interpretation of the bible, and discouraged the teaching of evolution in schools. Those in rural areas also tended to support prohibition, which was a ban on the manufacturing and sale of alcohol, because they believed that alcohol consumption led to sinful
A truly unique American mass culture saw its creation in the 1920’s where radio shows and movies could be shared all over the country and more Americans were living in cities than ever before. The creation of mass culture in America could be seen as a side effect of all of these new technologies and societal differences that took place in the 20s. Time space compression also had a large effect on mass culture as well. In the 20s because of the creation of new technologies. people could now communicate throughout the country and develop their own similar culture.
In 1920s the boom of two key behaviors shaped the society of that decade. Mass-production and mass-consumption were the steering wheels of the everyday life for the American nation. As one of the most desired products on the market, automobiles were at a high demand after Hendy Ford’s brilliant strategy to use assembly lines in the production of new automobiles. That followed a huge-volume in production lowering the cost of the assembly of each model and therefor the cost of the final product. By the end of 1930 Ford was producing over two million cars a year.
