Consumer Culture In The 1920s Essay

The way Americans lived their lives was drastically changed between the years of 1920 and 1940. Many different events and advances in technology happened within the country during this time period. Events such as the stock market crash in 1929, the dust bowl of the 1930’s, and, due to an increase in urbanization, the uprising of major cities. Also advances in technology transpired, such as the invention of the radio and Henry Ford’s assembly line. These events and advances are all illustrated in great detail in the novel, Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1940 by David E. Kyvig. His thesis explains that during the two decades, the American life style was changed in such a

As a nation coming out of a devastating war, America faced many changes in the 1920s. It was a decade of growth and improvements. As immigrants fled from Europe, the economy improved, and new machines offered convenience and luxury from the kitchen to the streets. However, with all change comes opposition. The 1920s revealed a conflict between traditional America and the new attitude and lifestyle through the changing role of women, continued dominance of Christian values, and racism.

After World War One, the United States went through a decade full of industrial, economical, and social growth. This decade is known as the Roaring 20s. The 1920s was a time of important historical events and technological advancement. The development of consumer goods, such as fridges, typewriters, radios, and cars, created jobs and helped the American economy grow. However, not everyone was able to enjoy the advancement that the boom had assured. Although there were many wealthy people, there were still many people who could not afford to live luxurious lives. Many immigrants were not welcome into to United Stats. Prejudice and racism were spread throughout the country. In spite of the prosperity of the 1920s, the

Technology played a vital part in helping America become the great economic and cultural success that it was during the 1920s. New advancements, new discoveries, and new inventions improved American lives in every imaginable way but not without a few negative side-effects. As mentioned earlier, the automobile really came into play during the 1920s by making traveling a common thing for anyone who could afford a car (Trueman, 2000). Henry Ford started the Ford Motor Company, which began to mass produce affordable automobiles known as the Model-T. Ford's Model-T car became such an irresistible success that by the end of the decade, there was almost one car per family in the United States (Bruce, 1981). The automobile seemed to give people a type of new freedom, but the automobile also proved to be a dangerous item in the hands of many irresponsible people who loved to drink during the 1920s. The washing machine, telephone, and radio made their arrival during the twenties. People were discovering life to be far easier than the previous generations because of technology, but they were also slowly being driven into an industrial nation. People were lured

The 1920s was a major turning point in American history. Known as “the roaring twenties”, the citizens of the United States enjoyed the new found wealth from the economic turnaround. The United States’ wealth more than doubled as the nation turned into a consumer society. Not all Americans were fond of the changes in society, and not all of the changes were good.

The 1920s were a time of advancement and prosperity in America. The end of the first world war caused America’s economy to boom resulting in a large increase in industrial output and credit. In addition to this, the invention of the assembly line made the automobile much easier to produce making it possible for most middle class families in the United States to be able to afford one which changed the concept of transportation. Modern advertising caused Americans to desire stuff that they didn’t necessarily need. Working conditions at this time were still poor but there were major improvements from the way it was at the beginning of the century. Due to welfare capitalism workers were much less inclined to strike which also helped the booming

There was a great boom in consumer goods. Ordinary people were encouraged through advertising and could now afford to buy goods like cars, refrigerators, radios, and among other luxuries that became necessities. These new inventions made home life easier for women and more enjoyable for men. Also, there was this “mass production” method to produce many consumer goods. Assembly lines like, Henry Ford’s factory. Production costs fell quickly, wages rose slowly, and prices remained constant. For example, in 1908 the average cost of the car was $850, but by 1925 that cost had dropped to $290. Many people invested their money into businesses. Some, bought stocks sold on the stock market, when companies did well, so did

The new era economy reflected the industrialization that the country had just undergone. Although there was a recession from 1921-1922, after 1922 we enter a period of uninterrupted prosperity, and growth. As Americans incomes increase, and prices decrease, this allowed for more of a disposable income. Middle class families are now able to buy cosmetics, fridges, vacuums, and automobiles. Technology also greatly influenced the major economic growth that occurred. The automobile industry became the most important industry in the nation. It was very similar to a domino effect, once auto manufacturing increased and was successful, other industries such as, steel, rubber, glass, and oil companies also increased their production due to the purchases made by the auto manufacturers. Automobile manufacturing created jobs, and as the radius of cities was extended, the demand for more automobiles increased. Unfortunately, farming became a double-edged sword. In the 1920’s tractor usage quadrupled, but the problem was that the demand for agricultural goods was not increasing with increasing production. This created

When Korean veterans returned from the fighting, everyone was overjoyed to be reunited with their loved ones after two huge, deadly wars.

In the 1920s, the United States was in the middle of a revolution in the area of production. With a 64 percent increase in manufacturing; outputting per work hour around 40 percent. The most difficult to grasp was the sale of electricity and the consumption of fuel oil doubled. Americans were spread to their limits. Around 1922 and 1927, the economy grew by at least 7 percent a year.

The 1920’s was a great and important decade for the United States. After World War I, the United States went through events and changes that, overall, made the United States a much better place to live. New advances in technology and industry improved American life in more ways than just one. Americans had better wages during this time, more leisure time, and overall, had a better life than ever before. In addition, the 1920’s advocated social and cultural change as well. During this time period, the United States did not return to Normalcy, and instead developed attitudes that changed the life of the people of the United States forever thanks to social changes, cultural changes and changes in technology.

Mass production during the 1920s fed the mass consumerism that had emerged among the American

Summary and Definition: The rise of prosperity of the United States in 1920 led to the emergence of American Consumerism in the period in history known as the Roaring Twenties. Consumerism is the theory that it is economically attractive to encourage the attainment of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. American Consumerism increased during the Roaring Twenties due to technical advances and innovative ideas and inventions in the areas of communication, transportation and manufacturing. Americans moved from the traditional avoidance of debt to the concept by buying goods on credit installments. Mass advertising and marketing techniques via the 1920's newspapers and the radio saw a massive increase in sales

Ford Motor company not only revolutionized production with the assembly line, but also paid its workers well enough that they could afford to buy its cars too. This boom in car ownership encouraged other industries to grow as well, sectors such as road and bridge construction, glass and leather manufacturing, and naturally, oil production expanded also. Advertising built brand identification and created a consumer culture that equated patriotism, and piety with consumerism. For the first time, companies like Coca Cola, and General Electric sold hope and lifestyle, encouraging the creation of a consumer culture. Unfortunately this "roaring twenties" boom economy lead many to lean too heavily on credit, leading to an inevitable down cycle called the Great Depression.

During the 1950’s art took a major turn in history from traditional styles depicting people and scenes of everyday life to abstract thoughts and ideas that were transformed onto a canvas to express emotions and ideals in society. People, events, and society have always impacted several styles of art, but the consumer culture in the 1950’s impacted art in a new completely unique way. Post WWII society was more industrialized and more focused on developing and selling new products. The postwar generation had more disposable income to spend on the latest and greatest products and the market turned to advertisements in mass media to get their products out there to consumers. With televisions and films increasing in popularity the market flooded these forms of media with catchy flashy ads that showed favorable people like movie stars using products. With the increasing use of mass media, the culture shifted to consumerism which effectively shifted art as well. Art was directly impacted by the consumer culture because of society’s use of advertisements, photographs, and films which artists like Richard Hamilton and Andy Warhol used those elements in their own works to portray the change of societal standards in a new modern style of art called pop art.