Automobile Dbq

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There were many reasons for economic affluence during this era. One of the main reasons was the utilization of Henry Ford’s assembly line. With the adoption of the assembly line in companies, products were made in a more productive and efficient manner. Therefore, products such as automobiles were now very affordable due to the method of mass producing. Due to automobiles now being affordable to the public, the everyday lives of Americans was now completely different. By 1930, there was an average of nearly one car per family in America. Not only this, but “the production of automobiles replaced the railroad industry as the key promoter of economic growth” according to John J. Newman and John M. Schmalbach. This shows how much the production …show more content…

Correspondingly, because of the mass consumption, the machinery in factories improved, leading to a higher production rate and higher wages for workers. This led to even more demand for consumer goods which circulates back to mass production. Since factories were making so much money, they were able to pay more workers more money. Furthermore, the widespread use of oil and electricity caused even more economic growth. Oil was used to power the many factories being used and to provide gasoline for the rising amounts of automobiles on the road. The normality of automobiles led to Americans constantly using them for shopping, traveling, commuting, leisure activities, and much more. Needless to say, Americans were doing much more shopping now that they had easy access to stores. As a matter of fact, this couples with the increased use of electricity. Some of the most popular items bought at the time were refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, stoves, washing machines, and radios. By having electricity in their homes, these products were a very large demand. As Newman and Schmalbach stated, “Advertising expanded as businesses found that consumers’ demand for new products could be manipulated by appealing to their desires for status and popularity.” This highlights how businesses were able to use the high level of consumer demands to

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