ConsumerismThe 1920s were a decade of increasing conveniences. New products made household chores easier and led to more leisure time. Products that had been too expensive became affordable. New forms of financing allowed every family to spend beyond their current means. Advertisers made a great deal of money. During the 1920s, the United States prospered. Mass production, new products, and better advertising changed the way Americans used their money. A new idea called consumerism soon took off in America. Consumerism is the belief that it is good for the economy when people spend a lot of money on goods and services. How It BeganImage Source: 1914 Ford Highland Park Plant Assembly Line It all started during World War I. To meet the needs of the nation and the soldiers fighting abroad, new manufacturing methods were created. The assembly line, using division of labor and standardized parts, was combined with the use of machinery to increase the amount that could be produced in a shorter amount of time. After the war, Americans continued to use these methods of production for all consumer goods. This method was called mass-production. Electricity also played a major part in making production more efficient. It provided light to industries. Light allowed industries to produce goods even at night so more goods could be produced. It also powered machines. Electrical power helped to produce more goods more quickly. By the 1920’s, electricity not only powered and lit industries, but most homes as well. Changing HouseworkWoman using a rug beater to clean a carpet.Before the 1920’s, housewives spent all day doing many tedious chores. She moved all the furniture off the carpets, rolled them up, and dragged them outside to beat out the week's dirt and dust. She replaced the ice in the icebox and changed out the water pan that lay beneath. She scrubbed the clothes in a washing tub on a washboard. She heated the iron on the stove to smooth out the wrinkles in the family clothing. She spent the summer months canning food for the long winter. She made the family clothes using patterns. She made bread daily from scratch. Buying on CreditGeneral Motors Ad for Buying a Car on Credit “Buy now, Pay Later” became the motto of many middle class Americans of the Roaring Twenties. For most middle class families, all these new conveniences were impossible to afford at once. But retailers wanted to sell their products and customers wanted everything all at once! Department stores started providing customers with lines of credit for those who could not pay up front but could prove they would be able to pay in the future. Installment plans were offered to buyers who could not afford to pay for the item all at once, but could afford twelve monthly payments over a year. Over half of the nation's automobiles were sold on credit by the end of the decade. America's consumers could indeed have it all, if they had an iron stomach for debt. Consumer debt more than doubled between 1920 and 1930. Advertising1920s Listerine Ad using the pop psychology idea of “scientific words make us take things more seriously.” New techniques in advertising fueled customers’ demand for new products. Advertising was not a new business, but as the marketplace became crowded with competitors, manufacturers looked for advertising companies that could make their product look like the best product on the market. One major trend of the decade was to use pop psychology methods to convince Americans that the product was needed. The classic example was the campaign for Listerine. They used a seldom heard term for bad breath called halitosis in their advertising. By doing this, Listerine persuaded thousands of Americans to buy their product. Consumers might not have known what halitosis was, but they surely knew they did not want it.Advertisers were no longer simply responding to demand; they were creating demand. Radio became an important new means of communicating a business message. Testimonials from Hollywood film stars sold products in record numbers. The advertising business created demand for the gadgets and appliances being manufactured by American factories and Americans were swept into the idea of consumerism before they even knew what hit them. Questions1. How did consumerism begin? Consumerism began when… 2. What new inventions made life more convenient? 3. What is credit? In what ways did Americans use credit to purchase goods in the 1920s?4. What is debt? Why did buying on credit put many Americans in debt?5. How did advertising companies play a part in consumerism? 6. How did consumerism change the way in which Americans used their money?7. Describe how consumerism led to conflict amongst economically underprivileged Americans.

Question

ConsumerismThe 1920s were a decade of increasing conveniences. New products made household chores easier and led to more leisure time. Products that had been too expensive became affordable. New forms of financing allowed every family to spend beyond their current means.  Advertisers made a great deal of money. During the 1920s, the United States prospered.  Mass production, new products, and better advertising changed the way Americans used their money.  A new idea called consumerism soon took off in America.  Consumerism is the belief that it is good for the economy when people spend a lot of money on goods and services.  How It BeganImage Source: 1914 Ford Highland Park Plant Assembly Line It all started during World War I.  To meet the needs of the nation and the soldiers fighting abroad, new manufacturing methods were created.  The assembly line, using division of labor and standardized parts, was combined with the use of  machinery to increase the amount that could be produced in a shorter amount of time.  After the war, Americans continued to use these methods of production for all consumer goods.  This method was called mass-production. Electricity also played a major part in making production more efficient.  It provided light to industries.  Light allowed industries to produce goods even at night so more goods could be produced.  It also powered machines.  Electrical power helped to produce more goods more quickly.  By the 1920’s, electricity not only powered and lit industries, but most homes as well. Changing HouseworkWoman using a rug beater to clean a carpet.Before the 1920’s, housewives spent all day doing many tedious chores.  She moved all the furniture off the carpets, rolled them up, and dragged them outside to beat out the week's dirt and dust. She replaced the ice in the icebox and changed out the water pan that lay beneath. She scrubbed the clothes in a washing tub on a washboard.  She heated the iron on the stove to smooth out the wrinkles in the family clothing.  She spent the summer months canning food for the long winter. She made the family clothes using patterns.   She made bread daily from scratch.  Buying on CreditGeneral Motors Ad for Buying a Car on Credit  “Buy now, Pay Later” became the motto of many middle class Americans of the Roaring Twenties.  For most middle class families, all these new conveniences were impossible to afford at once. But retailers wanted to sell their products and customers wanted everything all at once!  Department stores started providing customers with lines of credit for those who could not pay up front but could prove they would be able to pay in the future. Installment plans were offered to buyers who could not afford to pay for the item all at once, but could afford twelve monthly payments over a year.   Over half of the nation's automobiles were sold on credit by the end of the decade.   America's  consumers could indeed have it all, if they had an iron stomach for debt. Consumer debt more than doubled between 1920 and 1930. Advertising1920s Listerine Ad using the pop psychology idea of “scientific words make us take things more seriously.” New techniques in advertising fueled customers’ demand for new products. Advertising was not a new business, but as the marketplace became crowded with competitors, manufacturers looked for advertising companies that could make their product look like the best product on the market.  One major trend of the decade was to use pop psychology methods to convince Americans that  the product was needed.  The classic example was the campaign for Listerine. They used a seldom heard term for bad breath called halitosis in their advertising.  By doing this, Listerine persuaded thousands of Americans to buy their product.  Consumers might not have known what halitosis was, but they surely knew they did not want it.Advertisers were no longer simply responding to demand; they were creating demand. Radio became an important new means of communicating a business message. Testimonials from Hollywood film stars sold products in record numbers.  The advertising business created demand for the gadgets and  appliances being manufactured by American factories and Americans were swept into the idea of consumerism before they even knew what hit them.  Questions1. How did consumerism begin? Consumerism began when… 2. What new inventions made life more convenient? 3. What is credit? In what ways did Americans use credit to purchase goods in the 1920s?4. What is debt? Why did buying on credit put many Americans in debt?5. How did advertising companies play a part in consumerism?  6. How did consumerism change the way in which Americans used their money?7. Describe how consumerism led to conflict amongst economically underprivileged Americans.

Accepted Answer

Historians study consumerism in different time periods. Consumerism refers to the act of gaining…