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Affect of automobiles on society
Impact of the automobile in america
Impact of the automobile in america
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The nineteen twenties was a prosperous time for the residents of the United States. Stocks were at record highs, jobs everywhere, and the world seemed to be changing for the better (“Roaring Twenties”; Wikipedia). According to Wikipedia this decade had a few different names consisting of: ‘The Roaring Twenties’, ‘The Jazz Age’, in addition to ‘The Golden Age Twenties’ in some European countries. However there was another major event that happened at the end of the Greatest Generation (“Generation Timelines Starting with the 1920’s”; poetic_lala), the Automobile Revolution. The ‘Automobile Revolution’ massively impacted the United States, from environmental issues all the way to how people lived their everyday lives. (“1920’s”; Wikipedia)
During the twenties a major technological revolution had come forth into the spotlight, Henry Ford’s assembly line. The widely acclaimed assembly line allowed for manufacturing companies to create much more product to sell, one of these products was your everyday automobiles. With these companies being able to make increasing numbers of vehicles they were able to supply the skyrocketing demand that the public wanted. Prosperity during this time allowed for the residence to afford these worldly purchases they so greatly desired. From there on out the world would change greatly to adapt to the steady increase of these pragmatic automobiles that originated in this exuberant decade. (“1920’s Automobiles; Scott Roberts)
Cars can cause many different impacts of the environment like pollution to using up our natural resources. Up until the nineteen twenties oil was used in a rather moderate amount, this however would drastically change in those short ten years. With a progressive number of cars finding...
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Ushistory.org. "The Age of the Automobile." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2014.
Fifth Paragraph http://www.ushistory.org/us/46a.asp Ushistory.org. "The Age of the Automobile." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2014. http://www.observationsblog.com/3/post/2013/07/car-accidents-in-the-1920s.html "Car Accidents in the 1920's... - Observations." Observations. Ovservationblog.com, 02 July 2013. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/graph/20901/road-toll-1921-2007 Nancy Swarbrick. 'Road accidents - Growth in road injuries and deaths', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 10-Jul-13
Sixth Paragraph http://thegreatgatsbysandm.blogspot.com/2011/05/cars-motif.html "The Great Gatsby; Symbols and Motifs." : Cars (Motif). Blogspot.com, May 2011. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
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“Motor Age Geography” describes land use practices and new transportation policies, which in turn helped reshape roads. These key aspects helped centralized rural America, while urban areas in America were decentralized. Specific landscapes from then to now required that people of America would have to own a motor vehicle to function effectively on a day to day basis. “Fueling the Broom” goes into detail about oil wells, pipelines, service stations, and so forth. This term explains how taxes on gas became a significant source of funding for road building. “The Paths Out of Town” examines mass production and how it increased the demand for the iron ore, wood, rubber, and many other raw materials. As the need for automobiles steadily increased, American construction workers built one mile of road per square mile of land. When Americans built highways, soil erosion came into the picture along with the natural habitat for wildlife. At this time planners focused on creating a “car friendly nature” (Wells). The book informs the reader on the historical period from 1940-1960 where the government granted housing to the suburban area and highways
Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler surfaced as the “Big Three” auto companies heading into the 1920’s. The invention of the automobile revolutionized transportation; by the 1920’s cars made places easier to access to people. Many of the traditionalists did approve of the automobiles, but some of them just favored the old way of walking places. The traditionalists were fearful of car accidents with the upbringing of the automobile. During the 1920’s a driver’s license was not needed in most states, and there weren’t really any “rules of the road” quite yet. No signs, signals, or traffic guards, and the roads were not ready for automobiles or pedestrians yet. Some traditionalists were not for these life risking ways of automobiles, but they were accepted among most for an increase in transportation and their easy access to even those who were not rich. The modernists at this time were known to want the exciting new changes and risks, so they were all for the automobiles. This rebellious group knew the advancement of technology with automobiles meant transportation to explore, and not be stuck in the same places within walking distance. The 1920’s
In the July 1997 issue of Commentary, James Q. Wilson challenges the consensus among academia’s finest regarding the automobile in his bold article, Cars and Their Enemies. Directed towards the general public, his article discredits many of the supposed negatives of the automobile raised by experts, proves that the personal car is thriving and will continue to thrive because it meets individual preference over other means of transportation, as well as presents solutions to the social costs of cars. Wilson emphasizes that no matter what is said and done in eliminating the social costs of the automobile, experts are not going to stop campaigning against it.
A brief summary of the changes from the 1920’s is provided in this source. The article discusses the birth of mass culture and how an economy of automobiles is born. The site also discusses social and political changes along with the economic growth seen during this era.
Flink’s Three stages of American automobile consciousness fully express the progress of the whole automobile industry. From the first model T to the automatic production, it gives me an intuitive feeling of the automobile history from a big picture. On the other hand, Kline and Pinch focus more on a certain group of people--farmers or people who live in the rural area, they use it as an entry point to talk about automobile, alone with the role and duty transition between male and
The Roaring Twenties was a time of transformation, transition, and change in all aspect of life from the previous era. Everyday life for many people was changed. Products became cheaper and buying on credit became available. Although these transitions were made, not everybody was able to benefit from them.
In the twentieth century, the introduction of the motor vehicle in the United States became not only noteworthy, but also vital in the development of modern American civilization. This technologically complex machine led citizens to vast future dependence on the invention. While mobility was suddenly not limited to alternative, more convoluted options such as railroad stations or bicycles, yet copiously amplified to aid convenience and expanded leisure opportunities. From auto-racing to redesigning infrastructure, motor vehicles allowed progression, digression, and essentially uttermost change to the lifestyles of the American people. This radical idea of the automobile permeated throughout America with most, if not all, credit renowned to Henry Ford.
The 1920's were a time where North America became modernized. Whether it was the music, the culture or the growth in technology, this time era is known to most people as the point where America advanced itself to become a world renowned country. An advancement that will be focused on is the Ford Model T. During this time owning a car was a symbol of wealth. Henry Ford, the creator of the Model T, made a system that revolutionized the automobile industry as we know it today. Henry Ford made it possible for people with an average income to own a motor vehicle by creating the assembly line and the theory of mass production. "The horse, which had been the chief means of land transportation for 3,500 years, had given way to the automobile, and the country's largest industry had been born." (Gordon)
Factories and places of work were changed by welfare capitalism the provided workers with shorter hours, paid vacations, and sick days. The workplace also changed due to the invention of new products. One product that was developed in the 1920s was the automobile. The automobile was already invented at the time, but it was made much cheaper and more accessible to the general public. Henry Ford was the founder of the Ford motor company who “built the famous Model T car that was affordable to the middle class due in part to the efficiency of his signature assembly-line manufacturing technique”(Riggs). Not only did Ford make a model of car that was affordable to people in the middle class, he also developed techniques for manufacturing, like the assembly line, that we still use today. He was able to find a way to modernize the model and price of the cars and also the workplace that they were made in. The development of cars also made it possible for suburbs to develop. Judith Baughman says that the suburbs were developed due to the ability to get there with automobiles (Baughman). Cars made is possible for people to easily get in and out of the city, and since more people were able to afford them, the suburbs were able to expand even more. The advancement of automobiles was a step in modernizing the country because of the new methods of transportation and the new techniques used in
In the 1920s, American Industries flourished under President Calvin Coolidge. Both Coolidge Herbert Hoover preferred governmental policies that kept taxes low and business profits high. They fit the pro-business essence of the 1920s perfectly. High tariffs helped American manufacturers, government management in business was decreasing, and wages were increasing. The automobile was the main support of the American economy from 1920-1970. It greatly transformed the American countryside and civilization. Some of the various changes included: Paved roads, traffic lights, motels, billboards, home design, gas stations, repair shops, shopping centers, freedom for rural families, independence for women and young people, and growing cities. By 1920, 80% of world’s vehicles were being driven in the U.S. This lead to Urban Sprawl- when cities spread in all directions. The American airline industry started carrying mail and eventual...
The 1920s in American history had been a decade of drastic changes. It was the time when the traditional culture translated into the more modern practices.United States experienced super changes after the Great War had ended. During this decade, more people are moving to big cities and away from the suburbs to work in industrialized factories. Cars such as Ford were mass produced. Advertisement was first created in the age of consumerism. The 1920s, often known in America as the “Roaring Twenties”, is considered as the first modern era in which many advancements and improvements have been made.
In the 1920's, corporations started to take better care of their workers than they had in the past. Workers were paid higher wages and worked shorter hours. With more time and money on their hands, workers turned into consumers, which caused an increase in the production of consumer goods. One of the most popular consumer goods is the automobile. To keep up with the high demand, the automobile industry had to create a way to make a lot of cars in a short amount of time, at a low price.
After World War I, economy shot up causing historians to call the 1920s the second industrial revolution.' The economy of the 1920's was a key change as it brought about new mass production, mass consumption, and set the stage for the ever-looming Great Depression. The 1920's saw a great boom in mass production which allowed for cheaper prices of technology products. This decade was marked by an enormous expansion of consumer credit, where Americans were used to finance purchases of new products such as the growing popularity of cars and radios, which were created by the mass production. The automobile, movie, radio, and chemical industries skyrocketed during this decade-one of the most important was the automobile industry. As mass-produced automobiles were churned in by Henry Ford, about 1.9 million cars had been sold by the end of 1929. The economy of the automobile society had a great impact on not only business, but also society. Henry Ford, who had revolutionized the new workers day and the concept of mass-production, had indirectly affected how Americans lived and behaved. Cars promoted other markets to grow, such as steel, rubber, glass, and petroleum. It also promoted urban and suburban growth, where a new class of Americans was rising. Now, citizens could drive to new places, meet new people, act differently etc The speed with which the products of mass production diffused through America was astonishing: not just automobiles but also washing machines, refrigerators, electric irons, electric and gas stoves--a whole host of inventions and technologies that greatly transformed that part of economic life that takes place within the household. However, this changing and rising American economy cause called one major consequence. For one of the major consequences of mass production was the building-up of the stock of capital goods for within-the-home production. And this of course, was the biggest key change because it seemed like the rising stock market and industry of the 1920s would stay forever. This rising stock market led to the Great Depression a downward spiral of economic depression.
The first alluring aspect of the Roaring Twenties is that it was when cars were first introduced to the public on a large scale. When Henry Ford’s “Model T” rose to popularity in the 1920’s, people could get in an automobile and go wherever they pleased for a reasonable price. In 1914, a Model T cost about $490. By 1921, Ford had lowered the price to only $310. Through this, cars transformed from a privilege to a commodity. As cars gained popularity, common people were freed from the limitations of their location. The automobile created mobility on a scale like never before in human history, and the resulting effect on living habits and social customs is endless. If I lived in the 1920’s, I would enjoy the new freedom that comes along with this revolutionary feat.
Wachs, Martin. "The Automobile and Gender: an Historical Perspective." University of Califonia Journal. Proquest. Richter Library, Miami.