The Jazz AgeA Growing EconomyChapter 17 Section 21920 - 1929

The Rise of New IndustriesBy the 1920s the automobile was

an accepted part of American lifeAmerica’s wages increased,

working hours decreasedMass production – large scale

manufacturing done with machinery increased supply and reduced costs

The Rise of New IndustriesThe Assembly Line and the Model

T◦Assembly Line – divided operations into simple tasks and cut unnecessary motion to a minimum Workers were able to build a car in 93

minutes before the task had taken 12 hours

◦Model T Henry Ford’s first assembly line

product In 1908 the first Model T sold for $850

dollars In 1914 the price dropped to $490

The Rise of New Industries High Wages for Workers

◦Ford also increased worker’s wages to $5 a day and he reduced the workday to 8 hour shifts

◦Ford created a Sociological Department Renting space in one’s home to nonfamily

members was strictly forbidden

The Social Impact of the Automobile ◦Eased the isolation of rural life and

enabled people to live farther from work

◦The idea of the Commuter appeared

The Rise of New Industries Consumer Goods

◦Electric Razors, facial tissues, frozen foods, home hair color

◦Indoor plumbing became common and as a result Americans became concerned with hygiene

◦Electric Irons, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, and refrigerators

◦Mouthwash, deodorants, cosmetics, and perfumes

The Rise of New Industries Birth of the Airline Industry

◦Orville and Wilbur Wright created the first successful airplane flight

◦Aviation industry received a boost when Congress passed the Kelly Act Authorized private airplane operators to

carry mail

◦Charles Lindbergh – made a transatlantic solo flight in 1927

The Consumer SocietyEasy Consumer Credit

◦Attitudes towards debt started changing as people began believing in their ability to pay their debts over time

◦“Buy now and pay in easy installments”

Mass Advertising◦Advertisers preyed on consumers’ fears and anxieties

The Consumer Society The Managerial Revolution

◦Companies were split into divisions◦Managers were needed to run the new divisions

Welfare Capitalism ◦Companies allowed workers to buy stock, participate in profit sharing and receiving medical care and pensions

The Consumer Society

The Decline of Unions◦Benefit programs made unions seem

unnecessary to many workers◦Open Shop – workplace where workers are not required to join a union

Uneven Prosperity ◦Thousands of African Americans were not

enjoying the boom of the 1920s◦Native Americans did not enjoy the boom

either ◦Farmers in the South did not fare well in the

1920s

The Farm Crisis On average farmers earned less

than one-third of the income of workers in the rest of the economy

Technology allowed farmers to produce more but prices went down

The Farm CrisisChanging Market Conditions

◦During the war farmers were urged to produce more to meet the need for food supplies in Europe

◦Fordney-McCumber Act in 1922 – raised tariffs dramatically in an effort to protect American Industry from foreign competition

◦Farmers could no longer sell as much of their crops overseas

The Farm CrisisHelping Farmers

◦Senator Charles McNary of Oregon and Representative Gilbert Haugen of Iowa proposed a bill McNary-Haugen Bill – plan in which the

government would boost farm prices by buying up surpluses and selling them at a loss overseas

Congress passed the bill twice but Coolidge vetoed it both times

American farmers remained in a recession throughout the 1920s