The Role of New Automobile Industry in the Prosperity of the 1920s Economy
'Without the new automobile industry the prosperity of the 1920s would scarcely have been possible? Do you agree?'
In the 1920s, the America's economy was booming. People felt that they had a right to prosperity and many had aims of owning a nice house and car.
I believe that the automobile industry was an extremely important factor in the economic boom. In the 1890s cars were only made by skilled blacksmiths, and were therefore very expensive. As little as 4000 cars were produced each year. However, Henry Ford changed all this, by creating the first real 'production line'. This involved workers doing one or two jobs on the car as it passed them whereas before they had many jobs and moved towards the cars themselves. Now, a skeleton of a car went in and after each worker had done their bit a ready car came out. This was extremely efficient and significantly lowered the price of cars. Not only this, but it created a vast amount of employment! In 1929 4.8 million cars were produced. The automobile industry not only created much employment in its own industry, but created large employment in other industries too. For example; the cars required steel and rubber and due to the vast amounts of cars being produced much steel and rubber was needed.
At one point, Henry Ford’s 'T-model' car was coming off the production line at about one every 10 seconds! As many people were buying cars, more roads had to be made. This created large employment and resulted in the road construction industry being the USA’s largest employer at one point, boosting the economy. Many people bought cars on credit, again stimulating the economy. The automobile industry did indeed have a major role to play in the prosperity of the 1920s.
However, there were many other new industries that also played an important part in the prosperity of the 1920s. The USA had the latest technology and many new consumer goods were being produced. Every American household was full of the latest consumer
In the 1920s, the America's economy was booming. People felt that they had a right to prosperity and many had aims of owning a nice house and car.
I believe that the automobile industry was an extremely important factor in the economic boom. In the 1890s cars were only made by skilled blacksmiths, and were therefore very expensive. As little as 4000 cars were produced each year. However, Henry Ford changed all this, by creating the first real 'production line'. This involved workers doing one or two jobs on the car as it passed them whereas before they had many jobs and moved towards the cars themselves. Now, a skeleton of a car went in and after each worker had done their bit a ready car came out. This was extremely efficient and significantly lowered the price of cars. Not only this, but it created a vast amount of employment! In 1929 4.8 million cars were produced. The automobile industry not only created much employment in its own industry, but created large employment in other industries too. For example; the cars required steel and rubber and due to the vast amounts of cars being produced much steel and rubber was needed.
At one point, Henry Ford’s 'T-model' car was coming off the production line at about one every 10 seconds! As many people were buying cars, more roads had to be made. This created large employment and resulted in the road construction industry being the USA’s largest employer at one point, boosting the economy. Many people bought cars on credit, again stimulating the economy. The automobile industry did indeed have a major role to play in the prosperity of the 1920s.
However, there were many other new industries that also played an important part in the prosperity of the 1920s. The USA had the latest technology and many new consumer goods were being produced. Every American household was full of the latest consumer