The Roaring Twenties: America Fuels Up
During the times span between 1920 and 1929, the United states experienced a dramatic change in society on an environmental, industrial, and cultural level. The availability of automobiles to the common citizen molded the American landscape, industry, and national identity. As a result, the financial and cultural gap between the upper class wealth and the lower class laborers shrank and the first semi-modern middle class was born. Henry Ford helped fuel the revolution of the American Dream by providing jobs that offered financial stability and transportation which offered a freedom many people had never experienced before. The “horseless wagon” improved street conditions and overall living conditions. People now had the ability to travel quickly and inexpensively in and out of cities. People who lived in the rural isolation of their farms were also able to transport their goods less expensively and easily to new markets. However, many argued that not all aspects associated with the automobile were viewed as positive. Cars became a speedy way to avoid the police and facilitated crime, especially involving alcohol.
Henry Ford originally intended the Model T to be the “farmer’s car.” But in order to make a car that was financially available to the common man, Ford needed an industrial revolution that would allow him to produce numerous automobiles at an inexpensive price. He succeeded in doing so by implementing his innovative assembly line and specialized labor for the production of the Ford Model T. By the 1920s, car manufacturing exploded due to Ford’s cheap and simplistic methods of production causing prices to drop significantly and allowing the Model T to fit within the average ...
... middle of paper ...
...een as any worse of a problem than the horse feces and coal smog and there was no scientific evidence that it would damage our environment at the time. (12)
During the Roaring 20’s, Henry Ford’s assembly line cut the cost of automobiles by 60% enabling the average American in the working class to buy one. He also provided many workers with unusually high wages of six dollars a day. This set the example for the majority of American manufacturers and many more products became available to Americans. As the financial and cultural gap between the upper class wealth and the lower class laborers shrank, the first urban middle class emerged. Automobiles for the most part were not a hazard to the environment, but instead improved urban environment and living conditions. Farmers gained the ability to transport their produce cheaply to new markets without need for trains.
In contrast to this small town were the advancing views of America. The twenties continued to roar towards modernism. “Breakthroughs in technology, the increase in material wealth, and the beginning of an empire seemingly heralded the upward march of civilization, with America on the forefront” (Dumenil 6). In all directions, it was clear that America was moving forward. Transportation was a prime example of this advancement. Innovator Henry Ford introduced his “ Ford Miracle” to the public (Dumenil 6). Economies and the social values also began to advance. “Dubious get-rich-quick schemes and fads…contributed to a tone of feverish frivolity” (Dumenil 7). People began to lead fast paced lives with the desire to become rich, quickly.
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.
The 1920s was a time of conservatism and it was a time of great social change. From the world of fashion to the world of politics, forces clashed to produce the most explosive decade of the century. It was the age of prohibition, it was the age of prosperity, and it was the age of downfall.
From 1865 to 1900, technology transformed the United States during the period known as the Gilded Age. During this time, the lives of the American people ultimately changed, for many Americans, including farmers, were able to share better food, yield more land, and help contribute to the overall standard of living. However, in order to attain a profit, farmers had the precarious responsibility of gathering the essential tools and crops to meet the nation’s demands. As a result, more raw materials, such as wood were being consumed in factories. In order to uphold the continuum of the vast growing nation, there was a demand for faster and easier means of transportation.
As well as, family began to take long vacations which didn't happen before the automobile. This led to Americans being able to see different areas of the country they lived in first hand. The automobile also helped the development of an educated population from an early age because student could access school multiple grade levels and went to school longer. To conclude, Shannon believed that manufacturing changed the 1920’s not social rebellion by
The 1920s was a decade known as the roaring twenties. This is due to the fact that the economy and social life was booming. However, the roaring twenties was additionally encountered with several challenges in the themes social/cultural, political and economic. As a result of the rise of these challenges Canada was encountered with several advancements. It will be discussed what these challenges and advancements ere as well as their significance.
The bureaucratization of business in the 1920’s meant that more people could be employed in higher paying white-collar jobs than before, including, for the first time, housewives. This new income combined with the reduced prices for goods that resulted from mechanized production, assembly lines and a general decrease in the cost of technology created a thriving consumerist middle class that went on to fuel the economy in all sectors, especially the upper classes. Likewise, during World War II Americans saved up around 150 billion dollars, and this sum combined with the income of the GI Bill allowed normal people to buy expensive things, from houses to cars to electronics to education at a rapid rate, fueling the trademark prosperity of the 1950’s. The new automobile culture of the 50’s spawned new businesses that catered to mobile Americans, such as nicer and more standardized hotels like Holiday Inn, and drive-up restaurants like McDonalds. Just as the culture of the 1920’s was transformed by modernist ideas, the world of the 1950’s was reinvigorated by the introduction of the automobile to the middle class....
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)
disappointment. It was a decade classified as the "roaring twenties." Men returning from World War I had to deal with unemployment, wheat farmers and oil companies were striking it rich, new modern conveniences were being thought up, and fashion was a major issue among the rich.
The 1920s exploded with fast paced and lively creativity and culture that influence the world, yet no invention affected American everyday life in the 20th century more than the automobile. The rapidly growing automobile industry led by Henry Ford and the Ford Motor 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. Company produced new and better models every year to supply the insatiable public demand( http://www.1920-30.com). With, automobiles it made it easier for people to go place to place, it also was affordable for the people to buy. The automobiles were easy to make because of the assembly line in that
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.
But as years gone by, automobiles became increasingly possible among the overall population because of the freedom it provided. “By the early 1920s, more than 5 million Model T’s had been produced” (Ford 4). As a result of the automobiles becoming popular, it became cheaper and more assessable to the middle class. “From the beginning, Ford decided to manufacture automobiles that could be bought by the average citizen, as cheaply as possible. This was a radical departure in the early automobile industry because most cars were priced higher and aimed at a more well-heeled customer” (Ford 2). Making automobiles more assessable to the middle class was easier to make happen thanks to two important things that Henry Ford did. First, he managed to price his car to be as affordable as possible and second, he paid his workers enough to be able to purchase their own cars (The 4). Henry Ford usually paid his workers around five dollars, which was never done before, in hopes that it would increase their productivity. Luckily by doing this, it helped push sales
In the end of the nineteenth century, beginning of the twente , the way of living changed immensely from the previous years. This was because of the Machine Age. The Machine Age gave Americans a whole different standard of living during this time. Everything was changing, and Americans had mixed feelings for these changes. People were used to the way they lived, and they were unsure about these changes. They never seen anything like this before, and they did not want to give up their original standard of living. Due to these machines, the economy boomed more than ever. Unemployment went down due to the push of the automobile. The way society was viewed as a whole changed. The Machine Age consisted of the innovations of the telephone, automobile,
In the 1920s, ideas were sprouting and inventors were creating machines and materials to make living life more suitable in the city. People, commonly immigrants and the lower class, gravitated towards factories within cities looking for jobs, but the rich were also drawn in because of the production of materials. “Automobiles were relatively new technology,” and so they were booming among