US history - consumerism, entertainment, industrialisation and tensions - rose + William

Question 1

Due to growing industrialisation, (the assembly line) increased ______, decreasing the time to produce a car from ______

Industrialisation also _____ supply, decreasing the cost of production of____

In 1920 there were ____(no.) cars

In 1929 there were ____(no.) cars

Notably, some cars were purchased using ____

Also the manufacturing of the automobile was the ______ in the USA

The automobile industry employed _____ of all manufacturing employees by 1929

Answer 1

industrial efficiency.

12.5 hrs in 1913 to 1.5 hrs in 1920

increased

the Ford Model T from $850 in 1908, to $500 in 1914 to $290 by 1925 making car ownership a real possibility for a large share of the population. Soon, people could buy used Model Ts for as little as five dollars, allowing students and others with low incomes to enjoy the freedom and mobility of car ownership

8 million cars (1920)

23 million (1929)

credit

biggest

10%
_____________________________________________
Extra

1908 - Established the moving assembly line
Increased production: reduced manufacture of automobiles from 6 to 2hrs.

1919 - Less than 7 million cars
1929 - 23 million cars
Key car companies: Ford, General motors, Chrysler → mass production techniques with increasing returns to scale.

Question 2

How many Ford Model T’s were there in 1920?

Answer 2

1.25 million in 1920

Question 3

How did the growth of the automobile industry create tensions?

Answer 3

The automobile industry created tensions between regional and city travelers where poorer communities resided in cities unable to afford to move out and day trips for the middle class.

Question 4

How did the growth of the automobile influence the way products are sold?

Answer 4

The mass movement of individuals by automobiles shifted the marketing of industries who wanted to capitalise on the new movement of people in the form of billboards.

Question 5

How did the automobile establish markets dependent on its success?

Answer 5

The autombile established new industries to support the car or at the very least reinforced existing markets. This includes the petroleum, rubber and steel works companies.

The automobile industry consumed 90% of petroleum products (mostly gasoline), 80% of rubber, 20% of steel, 75% of plate glass and 25% of machince tools in America.

Therefore, the automobile fueled job growth in the automobile sector.

Question 6

How did mas consumerism influence markets?

Answer 6

High supply for the unprecedentedly high levels of demand (mass market) in the beginning of the 1920s.

Question 7

How much was sold on credit by 1929.

Answer 7

1929, almost $7 billion worth of goods were sold on credit – this included 70% of cars and 50% of major
household appliances.

$7 billion worth of goods, including half of all major appliances being sold using credit. –> reliance on credit contributed to banks going bankrupt during the 1929 financial crisis.

Question 8

products due to mass production?

Answer 8

Luxury goods became more common – in 1900, 12,000 pairs of silk stockings were sold; in 1930, 300 million. By 1930, soap as a grocery item was second only to bread.

Question 9

What were the new electrical goods in the 1920s and how many were there?

the expansion of industry?

Answer 9

New products included: vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, washing machines, refrigerators

160 million electrical appliances in 1929 up from 2.4 million in 1912

However it is to be noted that much of rural America was still without electricity in the 1920’s. In 1928, there were only 20 000 refrigerators in the whole country

_______________________________________________________
Extra
By 1925 - the moving assembly line was key to the expansion of industrial production of goods across a range of industries. Home appliances, telephones, radios, cigarettes, etc → gave rise to new industries and expanded existing ones, contributing to the national prosperity.

Social and technological changes
1920 → 35% homes with electric lighting
1934 → 50% homes with electric lighting

1910 → 1 telephone/14.5 people
1920 → 1 telephone/8.5 people

Question 10

The Ford Model T had dropped from its original price of _____ down to ____ by _____

Answer 10

$950 down to $290 by 1926.

Question 11

What was the impact of the industrialisation of automobile production on employment, consumer culture and the economy?

Answer 11

An ideology of mass consumption grew, eg. mass production and consumption of cars

1920 - 8 million cars in America
1930 - 23 million.

The car industry contributed 13% of US manufacturing production and the jobs of over 4 million people depended on it.

When consumers could no longer consume and consumption of cars decreased, this had a knock on effect on the economy.

Question 12

How many chain stores were there in 1918 to 1929.

Answer 12

29,000 units in 1918

160,000 in 1929

Question 13

An increase of _____ to disposable income from _____ to ______

Answer 13

50%
1922 to 1928,

many Americans had the time, money and confidence to
acquire an array of new goods and services.

Question 14

mass consumerism encouraged companies and businesses to produce____

Consequently, companies___________

Answer 14

more goods and services

grew and began to place
shares of their business on the stock market, setting the stage for the financial collapse of 1929.

Question 15

One of the main products that became part of consumerism was the____ which _____

Answer 15

automobile

tripled in production in 1920s to 4.8 million per year

Question 16

By 1929 ____ of all American families owned a _____The consumption (purchase) of cars fueled ______

because the automobile industry consumed _______

Answer 16

half

car

a market that was dependent on car sales

90% petroleum products (mostly gasoline), 80% of rubber, 20% of steel, 75% of plate glass and 25% of machine tools in America.

Hence consumerism in relation to automobiles had significant impacts on American society, which led to increased movement and disparity betweeb demographics, as well as the establishment of new industries and labour forces that provided new job opportunities and became dependent on the success of the automobile.

Question 17

By the end of the 1920s, America was producing ___________________

Answer 17

85% of the world’s cars and 40% of its own manufactured goods

Question 18

Majority of Americans were working class:

In 1930, _____ of American homes didn’t have a washing machine and only _____ had a radio.

Answer 18

75%

40%

Question 19

Illustrate the significance of stocks in the American market

Answer 19

Consumerism in stocks → stock exchange → prosperity for a few
By 1920, 1.5 million Americans owned stock.

Question 20

Illustrate how the Ford Model T both led to trickle down economics as well as tensions within conservative religious circles

Answer 20

The popularity of Ford resulted in increases to corporate profits which was reciprocated down to employees. Ford introduced a new minimum wage of $5 per day
“The growth of the motor industry had major social and economic effects. Henry Ford, with his limited imagination, had seen the car as strengthening what he believed to be traditional American values. The family would bond together through outings, the breadwinners could go further afield to seek work, and so on. He did not foresee its use by courting couples nor did he realise family outings might take the place of church attendance”.

Question 21

Account for the number of annual road deaths by the late 1920s

Answer 21

20 000/year

Question 22

Increasing consumerism is evident in the increase of weekly attendance to the cinema

From _____to _____, weekly attendance had grown from ____, to _____individuals

This reveals the growing influence of films(consumerism and entertainment) on society

Answer 22

1922 to 1930,

40 million to 100 million

Question 23

The mass production of radio sets led to ________

Following the success of the first station, _______, in Pittsburgh, others followed.

By _____there were over _____________

By 1929, $______ million worth of radio sets were
sold, up from $60 million in 1922.

Give an opinion on the impact of influence of the radio in America

Answer 23

commercial broadcasting.

KDKA, in Pittsburgh, others followed

1924

500 radio stations.

$852 million

ans to last Q
Within a decade the radio and movies nationalised American popular culture, projecting the same performers and the same stereotypes in every section of the country

Question 24

During the 1920s,

Average family income rose by over _____ → people could buy consumer goods: ____, ______, ______, etc.

Skilled male workers received a _____ increase in income from 1923-1929

Unskilled male workers received a _____ increase in income from 1923-1929

Identify 2 quotes from Kurtz on the increase in wealth for Americans during the 1920s

Answer 24

Kurtz

10% → people could buy consumer goods: automobiles, refrigerators, radios, etc.

Industrial workers received a increase in income during the 1920s.

5.3% increase

8.7% between

“Corporate profits, stockholder dividends and industrial production increased substantially”

“Americans had more money to spend than ever before”