HIST 2057 Lecture : History Section 3 Lecture 1
Lecture 1: Prosperity Decade, the 1920’s
• In the 1920s America reached their highest standard of living
• People are making more money and working less time
• They’re able to have leisure time and buy things like cars
• From the turn of the century to 1920s, output of goods
Americans are making increased by 300%
o Two of the biggest industries of the time were construction
and automobiles
I. Industrial and Economic Growth
• Automobiles
o Before this time, automobiles existed, but were only
available for wealthy people (pre-assembly line)
▪ Every car was custom made and crafted. Then Henry
Ford came along
o Henry Ford
▪ Developed new processes that enabled him to mass
produce automobiles
▪ created machines to put the cars together
▪ They were all the same size and quality etc.
• it made the process a lot faster.
• You have to hire more people but you pay
them less.
• They also don’t have to have the skill of
creating cars, just know how to run the
machine
▪ Now more people can afford automobiles
▪ He starts initiation new techniques
• He introduces the conveyer belt
• It moves the car along to the workers rather
than the workers going to the cars
o saves the workers’ energy and time
o workers do the same thing over and over
again
o More profit for the company
o Boring for the workers, but the pay
makes it worth it
▪ He’s able to cut the work week down
• Introduces the 5 day work week instead of 6.
▪ Beginning of 1920s is able to produce a car in 14
hours. In raw pieces to an assembled car only took
14 hours. Over time he studied the process and
made it better and later it only took them 90
minutes to create a car. Every 10 seconds there was
a new car coming off the conveyer belt.
Document Summary
Americans are making increased by 300: two of the biggest industries of the time were construction and automobiles. Industrial and economic growth: automobiles, before this time, automobiles existed, but were only available for wealthy people (pre-assembly line, every car was custom made and crafted. Introduces the 5 day work week instead of 6: beginning of 1920s is able to produce a car in 14 hours. In raw pieces to an assembled car only took. Over time he studied the process and made it better and later it only took them 90 minutes to create a car. The factory was as big as a city: construction, people have cars- need a destination and means to travel, people move outside of cities and commute (suburbs) In general these were only places that the only very wealthy upper-class can afford: for example: beverly hills, urban sprawl increases roadways and increases construction job.
