Chapter 14 Section 1
Boom Times
The economy was soaring in the early 1920’s. Ford produced
the Model A and the pro-business policies were having the
desired effects:
•The Gross National Product (GNP) climbed from 70 billion in 1922 to
100 billion in early 1929
•Tax cuts led to huge investments- factories, machinery etc
•Between 1914 and 1928 the average purchasing power increased by
32%
•Electrification expanded rapidly- especially in cities- 2/3’s by 1930
•New electric devices were being bought in huge numbers: mixers,
grinders, sewing machines, radio and phonographs
Mass Production
Businesses continued to find ways to mass produce.
This supplied more goods at a cheaper price.
• Scientific Management- Also known as time and motion
studies. One of the key developers was Frederick W. Taylor
who believed that every job could be broken down into a
series of smaller tasks
• Henry Ford- Adopting SM with the assembly line he continued
to increase production and lower the cost of his Model T (Tin
Lizzie)- a very sturdy car introduced in 1914.
• In the 1920’s the automobile industry was the largest in the
nation
Changes in Work
The use of assembly lines and SM greatly increase productivity
• Factory work was very repetitive and their was a high rate of
turnover
• Unskilled workers had very little chance of promotion
• Increase need for upper level positions- clerical, managers
and sales people
• Discrimination shut out many African Americans
• Ford: doubled pay and shortened hours, also tried to
regulate the morality and personal behavior of his workers
• He instructed workers to move out of ethnic neighborhoods
and had a required Ford English School
The Impact of New Products
• Some jobs were eliminated- an example is
domestic servants: why/how?
• Laundry
• Vacuuming
• Errands- car
A Land of Automobiles
• By 1930 autos had almost replaced horse-drawn vehicles
• Massive road building
• Billboards and related services- drive- ins, motels, filling
stations
• Depopulation of the inner-cities
• City and rural residents could visit each other
• Auto-Touring- people camped, sightseeing with no restrictions
• Family Life: autos had a huge impact, unsupervised dating,
less church attendance, youth freedom
• Critics: reduced the sense of community, family togetherness,
pollution, traffic jams, parking and accidents
$ Creating Consumers $
Alfred P. Sloan- GM head who designed more expensive carsluxury, power, style to tap into a new market
Sloan also offered an Installment Plan, buy now- pay later for the
new expensive cars. This philosophy spread to just about
everything
Planned Obsolescence: Started by GM but used by many- the
idea is that you design products to become out of date and
resell them new and improved designs- trade-ins for “old”
models, clothes styles
Advertising: Became a huge industry and primarily targeted
women. Jingles, slogans, trademarks
Chain-style groceries began because people could get more
variety- replaced the mom and pop stores