Technology In The 1920s Essay

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Impact Technology Had On Social and Economic Lives In The 1920s As Henry Ford once said, “coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success” (“Henry Ford quotes,” n.d.). What is meant by this quote is that, by the success and increase in technology during the 1920s, the people of the United States were able to come together and be successful in the expansion, socially and economically. Radios, appliances, railroads and cars were some of the biggest inventions and technologies that helped the United States grow. With those technologies the United States was able to have a significant increase in the economy. As well, the technologies in the 1920s were able to make people's day to day life substantially …show more content…

Radios first became popular because people wanted entertainment in their own homes. People were able to listen to “baseball games and boxing matches” (“Radio Fever,” n.d.) while being in the comfort of their own home. Radios expanded the United States socially because people from many different states were able to listen simultaneously (“Radio Fever,” n.d.). This led to greater connectivity between towns, states, and regions. Just like with appliances, radios were in high demand in many households. With the demand being higher than the supply, more jobs were created to meet this need. Also leading to economical …show more content…

Items like cars, radios, and railroads were able to contribute to the expansion of the United States economically. Cars sustained the economy during the 1920s because after World War I, the economy witnessed some concerns (Shindo, 2015, p. 1). The Model T’s, popularity led to “a high standard of living for many Americans” (Shindo, 2015, p. 1). According to Shindo (2015, p. 1), the car industry boom led there to being an “industrial production, for the first time, that outpaced consumer demand.” Since cars require many resources to be made and to run, “the automobile industry, in turn, fueled growth in related industries such as construction, glass, rubber, oil and tourism” (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