Industries and Prosperity Flashcards
Examples of industries that did prosper
Car companies Electricity Chemicals and plastics Rubber, glass, and steel industries Home appliances: Toilets, Refrigerators, toasters,
Examples of industries that did not prosper
Coal
Textiles: Leather, Shoemaking,
Agriculture
Why did some industries not prosper?
One reason is modernization: Machines taking over that work that used to be done by humans. Leading to a decrease in wages for these people and eventually getting laid off.
Another reason is overproduction. Older industries started losing the demand for a product because they were producing way too much of it. There were not enough people to buy these products.
What is an example of an industry that did not prosper due to overproduction?
The biggest example of this is the coal industry. The market had been huge in the early 20th century; being a stable employer for thousands of workers. As competition with electricity and oil became increasingly popular, coal’s demand was waning but production was not. Mines went out of business and competed frantically with dropping prices to sell their products. Evidently, workers were being liberated more than ever. In 1922, 600,000 miners went on a 4-month strike for better working conditions which concluded to be unsuccessful.
