Henry Ford Presidential Contest Political Cartoon

Influence of Henry Ford

Influence of Henry Ford

This is an ad for the price of a Model T in the early 1920's.  Ford believed that in lowering the cost of the car that more people would buy them, and they did.  People could now travel farther distances which allowed them to live elsewhere and commute to the city for work. 

Henry Ford revolutionized the auto industry for his workers and for other industries.  The division of labor and assembly line went hand in hand.  Each worker had a specific part of the car they were responsible for making and putting on the car.  This allowed for more cars to be made due to the quickness of the conveyor belt speeding up the make of the car.  The more cars that were made the better the steel, oil,  and rubber industries benefited.  The cars were made of steel and rubber for parts and ran on oil. 

Ford's workers were among the highest paid industrial workers of the twenties.  His workers were paid $5.00 a day and their work days were shortened from nine hours to eight.  However, Ford expected a huge effort from his workers for what they were getting.

Ford was the first automotive company of the 1920's to allow disabled veterans from World War I work in the industry.  He adapted work areas to their specific disabilities.  Ford also had the most African American workers in the industry.


For a video of Henry Ford's assembly line go to:

http://www.history.com/videos/this-month-in-smart-history-the-assembly-line#this-month-in-smart-history-the-assembly-line

The Agricultural Problem and Labor Unrest

The Agricultural Problem and Labor Unrest

1. The Agricultural Problem

• Overproduction and machinery lead to decreased prices. Farmers had too much produce and had to lower prices to sell it.  This caused some to re-mortgage land to avoid bankruptcy and others filed bankruptcy.  The wheat prices dropped so low they turned to making whiskey out of wheat.  (Also known as moonshine)  When prohibition was introduced they were forced to lower the prices even more. 
• The south and west were affected the most due to agriculture being their main industry.  Many farmers were unable to buy the "affordable" goods from the urban areas because of the reduction of their prices and being unable to make a large enough income. 
  

  

This is a music cover that shows how the farmers had been introduced to new improvements and that it greatly affected their lives.  The machinery and urban inventions, such as the assembly line and mass production, caused their overproduction. 



2. Labor Unrest

•  During World War I the factories were making war materials and not focusing on goods the common population needed.  During peacetime the factories couldn't automatically switch which caused the prices of goods to rise.
• Women had to give up the jobs they had in factories for soldiers that were coming back from war. 
• American Plan: a policy that allowed a refusal to negotiate with unions, caused union numbers to greatly decrease

Prosperity and Innovation

• Production methods (like those in the auto industry) allowed prices for the average consumer to decrease while more goods were made available.

• Car ownership soared from 8 million to 23 million by the end of the 1920s.

• The synthetics industry took off which included the first plastic (bakelite), cellophane, and nylon.

• The entertainment industry made room for Hollywood and cinemas.

• Skyscrapers, highways, and urban development were all results of the huge boom in consumerism from the American public.

The Stock Exchange

Wall Street was over-heating at a rapid rate. The over-confidence from consumers was so great that they even invested in fake companies. Many were buying shares ‘at the margin’ (a person could get a loan of up to 90% to buy shares) expecting to make enough profit to repay the loan when the shares were resold - brokers’ loans almost trebled 1926-9.  Disaster was on the horizon. In 1929, the economy fell into a depression once again and the booming economy of the "Roaring Twenties" was no more.

 This is a crowd outside the New York Stock Exchange following the 1929 crash.

Prosperity and Innovation

Inventions of the 1920s Timeline:

1920

• The Band-Aid
• Tommy Gun

1921

• Lie detector

1922

• Insulin
• The first 3D Movie is released

1923

• Frozen food
• Self-winding watch
• The traffic signal

1924

• Spiral Notebooks
• Loudspeaker

1925

• The mechanical television (pre-television, television)

1926

• Liquid-fueled rocket

1927

• Crystal quartz watch
• PEZ
• Technicolor
• Electronic television
• Iron Lung

1928

• Discovery of penicillin
• Electric shaver
• Bubble gum

1929

• Car radio

Growth of Mass Production

The assembly line sparked mass production (less time and energy consuming).

When Warren G. Harding came into office in 1921, the nation was in a depression with an unemployment rate of about 20%. This led him to sign the Emergency Tariff of 1921 to ease the growing unrest amongst farmers at the time. In 1922, Harding also signed the Fordney-McCumber Tariff in order to protect the interests of farms and factories.

There was a mild recession in 1923 that subsided in 1924 and then the economy rapidly expanded.

REASONS FOR ECONOMIC BOOM

• European industries were left in shambles from WWI. This left the United States as the most stable economy.

• Technology!
• Assembly line (auto industry was the largest industry at the time)
•  Rubber, glass, and steel

•      Radio- by the end of the 1920s almost every household had a radio. The radio became the first mass broadcasting medium.

•      Commercial aviation was used to deliver mail

•      Telephones- 1 for every 6 people