A single factory might hire thousands of workers. These jobs brought people to the cities. Third, the factory system allowed ordinary Americans to own all kinds of things. There were more goods to buy, and they became cheaper as methods of manufacturing continued to improve. For example, the first cars were so expensive that only rich people could afford to buy them but cars became cheaper when Ford invented the moving assembly line and the work went faster.
Henry Ford was very famous for promoting this wonderful commodity that represented a new kind of freedom. It was a symbol of the American Dream, and everyone was striving to have the new product. “The automobile was the backbone of economic growth.” The first real automobile appeared in Middletown in 1900; however, it wasn’t until Henry Ford came around and created a mass production of automobiles that the machine that would provide easy travel would become popular. Although the automobile created such a wonderful freedom, many adults thought that it was tearing families apart. Teenagers were spending more time with their friends driving around instead of staying at home with their family.
When he was younger he planned on creating something for the rich as well for common man that would involve engines. He created the Ford Model T, which was affordable for the poor, and continued to create Model A and other modeled cars (Joans 2010). By the end of World War I half of Americans owned the model T car. The affordable cars like those Ford produced transformed America (Roak et al., 2011). Ford created the automobile industry, which employed thousands of workers and inspired new industries as well (Heritage, 2010).The new industries included but were not limited to: gas stations, mechanics, fast food restaurants drive-ins (pig stands) and motels (A&E, 2006).
Highlights of the boom included; Consumer boom – growth of personal possessions (Woolworths, hire purchase, commercial travellers). Because goods could be produced in greater numbers and at much lower prices, more people were able to afford them. This led to huge increases in the sales of products such as cars, refrigerators, radios and cookers. Innovation in production methods, especially in the motor industry (by 1925 Ford were producing a car every
The nations out put had risen 60% percent due to the aftermath of the civil war. Everyone had begun buying products because they wanted them it was not a necessity. Women began buying things such as make up and clothes while the Men bought cars. By the end of the decades more than 30 million cars were on the road. Things like this also led to the developments in aviation, where they created pressurized
Apart from the social injustices, the progression and good far outweighed the bad. It was two steps forward and one step back while the economic effects were one huge leap forward and a just as big step back. There were more than a handful of inventions and discoveries that revolutionized American society, led to urban sprawl, made tasks exponentially easier, and were the centerpiece for recreation. Cars were mass produced and people decided to live outside the cities and take vacations more frequently. They produced many new jobs with the need for new roads since the American landscape was drastically expanding.
America began on small businesses and America has to continue to have small businesses to have a good economy. Wal-Mart endangers businesses all over the country because small businesses cannot compete with the superpower on account of Wal-Mart getting goods from places like China. Most people live within thirty minutes of a Wal-Mart and with their lower prices people will continue to shop there without realizing what they are doing to their own economy. Most people don’t realize that saving a few dollars by shopping at Wal-Mart is crippling all the local businesses around their area. Wal-Mart does not care about the American economy because they are thriving the way the economy is now, so American citizens have to stand up for their communities.
This booming period of economic expansion was often referred to as the “Roaring Twenties”. Society found new freedoms changing social attitudes. New technologies bought about the new economy. Economic growth was high due to growth in the automobile industry, new technology, and mass production. “Machinery “proclaimed Henry Ford, is the new Messiah.
In the latter years of production, the Model T was available for as little as $260.00. Inflation adjusted for today, the price of a Model T was approximately $3,400.00. This allowed much of the population of the United States to buy a brand new car that they could depend on for thousands of miles. In addition to making the Model T affordable to the majority of Americans, Ford also increased the means of his workers to buy the car that they built. Henry Ford instituted a forty-hour workweek, with the minimum salary being five dollars per day.
Henry Ford put Winslow’s ideas to good use, creating the assembly line to mass produce his Model T car. Since production costs decreased, Ford was able to pay his workers enough so that they could afford their own Model T. Ford’s workers were the first to be paid a sufficient amount (Danzer 333). America, the land of opportunities, quickly became a melting pot of cultures due to its many prospects. People from all countries “melted” together in one big community. Immigrants, especially Jews, gathered in the United