Chapter 14 The Jazz Age

1. Chapter 14The Jazz Age Section 1 Boom Times

2. Prosperity and Productivity • After the period of demobilization, the economy soared under Republican leadership. • {By 1930 more than 2/3 of all Americans had electricity}. Due to the availability of electricity and increased income, industry came up with new electric appliances and sales boomed • Industry kept trying to come up with ways to keep up with growing demand • {Businesses began experimenting with new ways of increasing productivity. One of these approaches was Scientific management} • {Frederick W. Taylor explained scientific management was the idea that every kind of work could be broken down into smaller units}

4. The Growth of the Automobile Industry • Scientific management practices lowered the price of automobiles • {Henry Ford, car manufacturer and creator of the Model T, ran his factory on the assembly line production method} • {The assembly line increased productivity} time in half. Since the factories were saving money with machines and time, the savings went to the consumer as well. The price of a Ford automobile dropped from $850 in 1909 to $290 in 1924. • The number of people who owned automobiles rose from 8 million to 26 million- an average of 1 car to every 5 citizens • {The auto industry was the nations biggest business in the 1920’s}

5. Tin Lizzie & Henry Ford

6. Changes in Work • The assembly line was repetitive and made work dull, increasing turn over rates • Henry Ford, concerned over the turn over rate, shortened the work day to 8 hours and doubled the workers salary to $5 a day • But, to earn the full $5 a day, workers were required to meet company standards at work as well as home. Ford’s personnel dept. kept a close eye on his employees • {Henry Ford said “It will cost a man his job to have the odor of beer, wine or liquor on his breath or have any of these intoxicants in his home.”

7. A Land of Automobiles • By 1930 cars, trucks and busses had almost totally replaced horse-drawn vehicles • To accommodate the increased traffic more than 400,00mi. Of new roads were built • Many new structures- billboards, drive-ins restaurants, inns & filling stations appeared along the highways. • Thousands of middle-class families moved to the suburbs which were more accessible with the automobile

9. Auto-tourism & Family life • Seeking the fresh air of the country side {auto-tourism, a new vacation craze, swept the country} allowing Americans to see the country easier • With the arrival of the automobile teenagers had a different way to spend their free time • Some claimed that cars were destroying family values because nobody stayed at home on weekends • {Cars had begun to cause pollution, traffic jams, parking problems and a rising accident rate}

10. Unlike Ford, GM owner Alfred P. Sloan, began to manufacture more expensive “luxury” cars To allow the average person to be able to purchase his cars he offered an {installment plan. By 1925 about 75% of cars were bought using this method of payment} This practice eventually spread to cover the purchase of many other items (appliances etc) Manufacturers also discovered that planned obsolescence- specifically designing a product to go out of style, then coming out with a new line- produced enormous profits This is when auto makers developed the trade-in policy Many single working women went into debt trying to keep up with the latest styles Marketing

11. Alfred P. Sloan’s “luxury” car

12. Advertising • Advertising became big business in the 1920’s • {the advertising industry grew from a $500 million industry before WWI to a $3 billion industry by 1929} • {Most advertisements targeted women} and used psychology to play on the consumers hopes and fears • Companies used jingles, slogans and celebrity testimonials to sell products • Chain markets began to slowly replace the traditional corner markets. They used quick freezing techniques and cellophane to help preserve foods longer

14. Then and now

17. Review Questions • By 1930 more than 2/3 of all Americans had this • This is the idea that every kind of work could be broken down into smaller units • Henry Ford, ran his factory on this production method • The above method increased this • What was the nations biggest business in the 1920’s • By 1925 about 75% of cars were bought using this method of payment