The Automobile Has Changed American Society

In the early 1900’s Henry Ford developed the idea of “a wagon that will run without a horse”.1 This idea and Ford’s success changed America and its people forever. The development of the automobile played a tremendous role in the economy, labor unions and society. Generally, when most people think of Henry Ford they reflect upon his wealth and contributions to the transportation industry as an infinitely positive phenomenon. It is thought that aside from just allowing consumers to purchase and use his inventions, he provided thousands of people with jobs and the promise of prosperity. The tale of Henry Ford’s legendary business and remarkably effective assembly line is unparalleled in

Imagine how life would be if our society did not have cars. Today, our society is dependent on cars for our daily routines. From transporting our food, clothes, and technology to just going to the store across the street, cars are a very important part of our society. In the 19th century, only the wealthy and upper middle class had access to automobiles, and they only used cars for fancy transportation and to show off their money. This was due to the extreme prices of cars in the 19th century. With these high prices not many people could afford them, especially not the working class. Henry Ford revolutionized the automotive industry in the

The automobile has had a profound impact on the United States. It has brought us

When Americans get into their vehicles every day to go to work or school, they do not normally think about how much transportation has evolved over the years. People started out walking and then later moved to horse and buggies. During the early 1800’s, railroads were being built from east to west in this country and trains began to take over. As cities grew, people looked for ways to travel more efficiently. The work of Henry Ford made a lasting impact on America in regards to both transportation and manufacturing.

The automobile began as a rich man’s toy, and in today’s society almost every single person owns one of these miraculous inventions. After the automobile became more popular, society has evolved around it, creating highways and fast food chains. The automobile has revised from a bare invention, such as the horseless carriage, to now technologically advanced motor vehicles with bluetooth and wireless internet. Since the beginning age of the automobile in 1885, the invention has advanced, prospered, and changed society throughout the world.

The document “The Social Influence of the Automobile” was written in June of 1922 by Allen D. Albert. In this article Albert is saying that since the creation of automobiles the life has shifted for the better. “…almost without a pause in our thinking have we adjusted our lives to these factors new since yesterday”1 while automobiles brought a drastic change in life as it was, people adjusted to it quickly. In 1920’s cars were available to the general public at an affordable price, therefor offering the public a better, faster way of getting from place to place. Most importantly according to the document cars brought a change in the social aspects of life. With the help of a car travel times were decreased. Cities were now in reaching distance.

One thing can be certain: For better or for worse, the automobile changed the face of America forever. The Automobile had profound economic impact. Americans could now commute to work from outside the cities, allowing for a greater number of Americans to work (Document 1). Those who commuted to work would also have better living

With the introductions of the Model T, the assembly line and the method of mass production created many new jobs. The Model T 's low price allowed everyone that was making a good salary to buy a car. It helped out society by giving people jobs especially at around this time when there was a lot of immigration in the United States and people needed jobs. "This vast production stimulated many other businesses: The steel, rubber, and glass industries flourished. Construction companies boomed as highways and garages were built. Oil companies, rapidly losing their kerosene business to the spread of electricity, more than made up for it with increased gasoline sales."(Gordon) As a whole it changed the economy at the time but in the long run it changed what society is today. It created mass production which is now our way of production and it changed all of working America with the numerous amounts of jobs it created. "As more Americans owned cars, urbanization patterns changed. The United States saw the growth of suburbia, the creation of a national highway system, and a population entranced with the possibility of going anywhere anytime." (http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blford.htm)

Henry Ford, whose name arouses recognition to this day, was one of the most well known figures in the automobile industry. He had created the assembly line to use within manufacturing in order to increase productivity, and consequently, reduce the prices of automobiles. With these famously low prices, it wasn’t uncommon to see cars, such as the 1920 ReVere Touring Car, parked around cities (Doc D). Finally, most American persons would be able to afford a personal vehicle. Due to the growth in this particular industry, employment opportunities had opened up for the common man, with the demand for car factory laborers. It seems, that with this advancement, America was better

Mass production was a big part of the change in society. It caused automobiles to be produced faster, which made them cost less money. After the introduction of the Model T by Henry Ford the cost of cars went from cost $850 in 1908 to $290 in 1927. This caused more people to buy cars, the number of families that had cars went to 10% in 1919 to 56% in 1927 and that increase caused suburbs to develop. The production of automobiles increased the production of many other products (doc. 1). For example, glass, asphalt, gas, and steel production to increased in the 1920s. Mass production also lead to the consumer revolution, the bull market, and installment buying. The price of shares in the stock market increased from $8 in 1921 to $29 in 1929. The stock market entered a “new era” in 1929 which contributed to the change in

According to Foner, “By 1960, 80 percent of American families owned at least one car, and 14 percent had two or more, nearly all manufactured in the United States”(). Many families owned automobiles, for it enabled long-distance vacationing and commuting to work, malls, etc. The ability for people to travel farther distances through means other than trains and trolleys stimulated a population shift from cities to suburbs. Approximately one third of Southern California, a mainly suburban area, was “paved over with roads and parking lots,” hence showing a transformation in American landscape. Infrastructure had to accommodate for cars as they became central to American life. Not only did the automobile alter the American landscape with a web of roads and freeways, but it also led to “the construction of motels, drive-in movie theaters, and roadside eating establishments”(). The automobile revolutionized America, as it allowed for individual mobility and private choice-a symbol of

Threats of substitutes: In U.S., an automobile was considered as necessity so for every adult there was car on roads. Even for inter-city travel more than 70% time cars were used. Buses, trains and other means didn’t have much impact. The growing array of higher priced imported models had negative effect.

Many Americans spent their new disposable income on the automobile, which was one of the most significant innovations of the decade. It helped further stimulate the American economy while also improving transportation. Whereas only the wealthy and elite owned automobile prior to this decade, the advent of mass production made the automobile accessible to everyone. Mass production made it much easier and faster to make automobiles,

Without the automobile trucks would be unable to bring food and other important items to the cities. Another reason the automobile has changed society for the better is that it has created many jobs that revenue millions of dollars yearly due to the different types of jobs such as building highways, truckers delivering items from state to state and busses that people for daily. There are many ways that the automobile has changed the history of it, rather having it become a necessity into every day life. It has become a personal admiration toward some groups of people collect them.

The automobile has had a tremendous impact on society and the environment since its development in the beginning of the 20th century. Today, there are over 500 million motor vehicles on the earth. The automobile's efficiency, style, and performance have changed over the years, but there is one thing that has not - the pollution the automobile generates. Because of the pollution, people find themselves asking whether this technology has helped our society or hurt it. Should the consequences of the automobile be cause to eliminate it? Or should science develop technology to eliminate the pollution caused by the car?