Chapter 17 Section 2: A Growing Economy

Chapter 17 Section 2: A Growing Economy

Consumer Products

• Higher wages and free time meant Americans had more money to spend and time to shop

• New role as consumers- wanted to buy new/more products 

• - Electric razors, facial tissues, frozen foods, and home hair color invented in the 1920s

• New appliances saved time and helped Americans with their concern for hygiene

• - Electric irons, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, refrigerators

Easy Consumer Credit

• Americans began buying many of their items on credit “buy now, pay later”

• Installment buying made purchasing new products easier

• People felt like they were getting items for free/cheaper than they really were

• Many people began buying items on credit - began to accumulate more debts

Multiple Select

Which of the following is TRUE about buying items on credit/installment buying?

• It makes the product seem cheaper than it really is so people will be more likely to buy it

• People bought many items on credit in the 1920s

• Consumers used credit responsibly and never bought too many things

• Using too much credit will lead to economic problems in the future

Mass Advertising

• To convince consumers to buy products that they might not think they needed, manufactures turned to advertising

• - Made consumers think they needed these items by associating them with progress, leisure, convenience, success, and style

• - Preyed on people’s weaknesses and fears (status, weight, health, appearance)

• Many advertisements especially targeted women in the 1920s

Open Ended

Identify and explain one way that advertisers convinced Americans to buy their products in the 1920s. Why was the effective?

The Rise of New Industries

• Automobile ownership became central to the American way of life

• Earnings increased in the 1920s while work hours decreased due to mass production

• - Large-scale manufacturing done with machinery

• - Produced more goods that could be sold at lower prices

Ford, the Assembly Line, and the Model T

• Henry Ford did not invent the automobile, but he did create an inexpensive, good-quality car most Americans could afford (Model T)

• Used the moving assembly line in his factories

• - workers had one simple task at which they could become experts

• - reduced the time to make a car from 12 hours to 90 minutes.

• Because more cars were being made, the priced went down even more

• Price of Model T

  1908 - $850

  1914 - $490

  1924 - $295

Multiple Select

How did the moving assembly line impact industry?

• Products were made faster

• Products were made slower

• Businesses charged less money for their products

• Businesses charged more money for their products

• The assembly line had no impact on industry

Ford, the Assembly Line, and the Model T

• Ford also doubled his workers’ pay to $5/day and reduced their work day to 8 hours - workers became loyal to him

• With their extra money and time off, many of the Ford employees bought Model Ts, increasing Ford’s sales

• Other companies (Chrysler, General Motors) implemented the assembly line in their factories to compete with Ford

• Increase in cars lead to growth of steel, petroleum, rubber, and glass industries

• Cars changed Americans’ lives

• People moved out the cities and began to commute to work, rural families became less isolated, and Americans began to travel in their cars

Open Ended

What impact did the car have on American society in the 1920s?

Birth of the Airline Industry

• Airline technology improved and made air travel more practical

• - 1918 – world’s first airmail

• 1927 – Charles Lindberg made the first solo transatlantic flight from Long Island, New York to Paris, France

• - The trip took 33 hours

• - He was greeted as a hero when he arrived in Paris

The Radio Industry

• Radio technology improved, and in 1920 the first broadcasts began

• - 1926 - National Broadcasting Company (NBC) was founded

• - 1928 - The Columbia Broadcasting Company (CBS) was founded

• Americans listened to music, news, comedy programs, sports, children’s programs, and politics on the radio

• By 1929, Americans owned 12 billion radios (40% of households owned a radio)

• - Advertising on radio became very important 

The Farm Crisis

• Farmers did not share in the prosperity of the 1920s

• Earned less than 1/3 of the income of other workers

• -Average worker - $3,269.40

  -Farm workers – less than $400

• During WWI, farmers bought new land and machinery to meet the increased demand for food

• - After the war, farms produced more food than there was a demand for → lower prices

• - Cost of farming supplies increased

• Agriculture experienced a recession in the 1920s

Multiple Select

Why did farmers not share in the economic prosperity of the 1920s?

• There was a massive drought and they couldn't grow any crops

• Price of farms goods fell drastically in the 1920s

• Farmers made less money than the average American worker

• The cost of farming supplies rose in the 1920s

• Farmers had a lot of debt