Economic Growth Of The 1920's

460 Words2 Pages
The 1920’s was a period of great growth. Taxes were down after the war and military men were returning home. It had been a long time since these men had seen their wives, and the reunions led to a great baby boom. Economic growth surrounds a baby boom. Lots of schools were being built and people started to move out to the suburbs. The 1920 census shows for the first time that more people were living in cities than on farms. The 1920’s was a consumer decade. Business consolidation was a key theme in this era. A handful of managers stood at the center of American economic life. Rarely did any single corporation monopolize an entire industry; rather, an oligopoly of a few major producers dominated the market and controlled prices. The two hundred largest corporations controlled almost half the nonbanking corporate wealth in the U.S. The largest number of mergers occurred in rapidly growing industries such as chemicals (Dupont), electric appliances and machinery (Westinghouse and General Electric), and automobiles (General Motors). The 1920’s saw the rise of supermarkets. Supermarkets now account for half of all food receipts in the country. At this time, women were primarily working in the home, having their goods delivered. Once the supermarkets arrive, not only is it more expensive to have food and good delivered, but many local delivery businesses were going out of business. Women would need to start driving. The automobile became an important part of the housework. The new automobile consumer market sparked economic growth. By 1927, Ford was producing a car every 24 seconds. The expansion of the auto industry stimulated other industries and directly or indirectly provided jobs for millions. The price competition for cars ended because new cars were coming out yearly and cosmetics of the car was now a factor. The credit system was also invented in the 1920’s.
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