The American History in the Roaring 1920s - Essay Example

These consolidations led to more growth which benefitted most Americans including women. The American younger generation influenced the growing middle class to discard traditional values, especially those that discriminated against women. College students adopted a drinking habit and attended wild parties. Women enjoyed more freedom and would take part in advancing the national course. Sources of prosperity The sources of the 1920s prosperity consisted of four main factors which were: consolidation mergers; second industrial revolution; assembly line mass production, other growth areas and income misdistribution-sick industries.

To begin with, the first consolidation merger had happened during 1895-1904 and the second occurred during the 1920s. In the era of the 1920s people were becoming used to big business and they were no longer a threat to them. Big businesses offered their employees benefits which helped them with health insurance. One struggle that starter businesses faced is the problem of Oligopoly, which one industry controlled three businesses. These practices made the business world less competitive. Second Industrial Revolution involved mainly the Henry Ford Company (1903) which produced their most famous model which was called “Model T.

” The company made this model for over twenty years. Cars during this time were expensive to make and very little people could afford them. Car prices were about $850 during 1908, because Henry Ford wanted cars to be available for people. Through this mass production of cars there were three innovations: Assembly Line, raised wages, and credit. The assembly line for workers was a complete change in their work force it speeded up the process of making cars. Before the assembly line, it took twelve hours to build a “model T” but after the assembly line, it took one and a half hours to make a car.

By 1927 the price of a car dropped to $290, which was two months of your work wage if you were a worker at Ford. Secondly Henry Ford raised his workers wages to five dollars a day to keep his workers in the job. Credit, was the last innovation: people were buying everything with credit by the 1920 credit left everyone in debt. The credit allowed people to get what they want on loan. By 1929 in the United States 80% of all American families owned a car which was 1 in 4 people. With the General Motors Company also growing in size, people were able to purchase cars in different colors, which led to some social consequences.

Automobiles helped the rural people by breaking down rural isolation, gave country people access to towns and cities and even doctors. The coming of trackers helped increase food production. The consequences of automobiles is it made Americans mobile; it allowed people to find jobs that were further from their homes and people could go wherever they wanted to. Cars were a form of entertainment: they helped to change daily habits of most Americans, premarital pregnancies increased, and cars were being used by criminals.

Additionally, other growth areas consisted prosperity: It consisted of ancillary industries such as steel, oil and rubber, which were industries that were dependent on car industries. The multiplier effect was one job in the car industry would be equal to more jobs in steel, oil and rubber companies. Federal government invested in roads and highways and the second growth area was electricity which was first used