Consumerism In America During The Early Twentieth Century

luence of Culture and a Strong Sense of Nationalism in the Early Twentieth Century Developments that occurred in the early 20th century deeply impacted the formation of the United States. A strong sense of national identity and unity emerged over this time period. Advancements in technology dramatically improved the American lifestyle. The melting pot in the country blossomed through the influx of immigrants especially in the 1900’s. However, the economy suffered a significant downfall that devastated the lives of countless people.

However, this is when American businesses started their biggest incline. Advertisement had came into the ball game in America when businesses came out with new methods to attract consumers such as they money back guarantee formed by John Wanamaker. Also, the American people started living more “fancier.” Sanitation improved

Roaring Twenties In America, the 1920’s was remembered as a decade of great social and political change. The prosperity of the twenties seemed to temporarily fix the nation’s problems, but by the end of this flourishing time period the nation hit an emotion of pessimism as a crash of the economy took place. The “Roaring Twenties” consisted of a change fashion, social and political life, the fight for and against prohibition, and the rise and collapse of the economy. There were also many influential people who helped shape the everyday lives of those now in urban areas. A dramatic transition from moral standards to rebellious behavior took place in the 1920’s as modern ideas gained social acceptance; this age is referred to as the “Roaring Twenties” or the “Jazz Age”

In the early twentieth century the United States went through a emense growth due to the amount of jobs that were avalibale for people through industralization like railroads, coal mining, and steel. Industralization pushed farming aside and independent agriculture and instead focused on factory production as the new way for the economy and draw more people towards a new working class. Industralization influenced many Americans because they were “ Drawn to factories by the promise of employement, a new working class emerged in these years, between 1870 and 1920, almost 11 million Americans moved from farm to city, and another 25 million immgrants arrived from overseas”(Foner, 2017). Industralization was a huge part of peoples everyday lives and was essential that people work so that products can be made and be carried out by city to city. Americans were influenced by the new series of technological innovations that were

Emmanuel Cisneros Mr. Perkowski AP Lang Period 2 The Great Gatsby Themes The Great Gatsby composed by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a famous exemplification of the progressive era of the 1920’s, with its portrayal of the economic boom. Citizens began to expand their personal wealth ways not seen by the common man. The consumer market increased with new home appliances, and people had chances to live with luxury. Americans couldn’t be happier. Despite all the economical improvements, people still couldn’t achieve their aspirations, and suffered heavily attempting to obtain what they desired.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the United States was booming with new industrial innovations because of new technologies, and it was becoming one of the leading economies in the world. This economic boom came to a sharp halt as events such as the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl hit, causing millions of Americans to face economic struggles. “The Strenuous Life,” a speech given by Theodore Roosevelt, displays the ideas of American work ethics that led to economic growth in the early 1900s. These ideals of work ethic not only prompted the cause of the Dust Bowl, but were continued on into the lives of the affected farmers as Americans displaced and in poverty from this event continued to participate in migrant work with awful living

After the Civil War, the United States as a nation was ready to leave the conflicts of the past behind. The country moved forward quickly into a new age of invention, consumerism, and ingenuity. After years of slavery and fighting, Americans began to shape modern life as it is known today. New inventions - the telephone, the lightbulb, the assembly line - revolutionized the American way of life. However, the Gilded Age is called so for a reason - underneath the shiny gold exterior was a dull, hard existence for those who were not at the top.

His use of repetition is present throughout his speech, but most used in the excerpt, “If this rise in the cost of steel is imitated by the rest of the industry, instead of rescinded, it would increase the cost of homes, autos, appliances, and most other items for every American family. It would increase the cost of machinery and tools to every American businessman and farmer. It would seriously handicap our efforts to prevent an inflationary spiral from eating up the pensions of our older citizens, and our new gains in purchasing power. It would add, Secretary McNamara informed me this morning, an estimated one billion dollars to the cost of our defenses, at a time when every dollar is needed for national security and other purposes. It would make it more difficult for American goods to compete in foreign markets, more difficult to withstand competition from foreign imports, and thus more difficult to improve our balance of payments position, and stem the flow of gold.” The phrase “it would” is used many times by Kennedy to emphasize his complaints, each time highlighting how an aspect of American society is negatively affected by the price increase.

The Clock’s Impact The invention of the clock helped to bring a massive change not only in America but other countries around the world. However, it was not until the Industrial Revolution that they began to receive popularity due to its efficiency in being able to tell when the steam train would arrive. In class, we talked about the influence trains had on time and how it impacted people to direct their schedule according to the change in time rather than looking up to the sun. Trains were a major improvement in reducing the time needed to reach a certain point or destination, and helped to bring a new type of transportation that was not only fast but efficient as well. The clock helped people to adapt to the new change and ease them in the process of getting comfortable with work from that point on.

The 1800’s was the commencement of the Industrial Revolution; a marked time in our history when the inventions of many new machines helped to make people’s lives easier. Many machines invented and built during this time period helped businesses produce their products much more quickly and with less employees. However good this may have been it also caused many people to lose their jobs to machinery, making the rich richer and the working class poorer. Charles Dickens presented the Industrial Revolution in multiple scenes, but one of the most notable to me is during the Christmas Eve church service. The rich and the poor stood on opposite sides of the church which physically showed the gap between them.

The Great Gatsby, by a F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel that goes way back to the roaring twenties in New York right before The Great Depression. The roaring twenties was a time of much excitement and much fun as America was leaning toward becoming even greater. Those days were so much different compared to today because of what was going on and how people were able to live. The concept of “The American Dream” has always been around as citizens who were born on U.S. soil and immigrants from other nations coming to the U.S. looking for a fresh start and a better life with more opportunities. Everybody wanted “The American Dream” so that his or her families would be able to pass it on to future generations.

Advertisement and Media had significantly enhanced modernity and promoted consumerism, which evoked culture conflict in the 1920s. The nation after the great war turns into a celebratory party for the entire decade. Cities grow larger and technologies improved significantly. Lives and beliefs of those living in the cities and those from rural areas completely differ from each other. Conflicts between the new and the old had rose in the decade of prosperity.The new technology of mass production and advertisement encouraged consumerism in the time period.

In the 1920’s, America was most definitely the place to be. Resources were abundant and the economy was booming. The creation of in-home refrigeration and the radio created an achievable goal amongst the citizens. The American Dream presented a hopeful and achievable future for any American. To live the American Dream, one simply had to create a better version of their society and their personality.

Throughout history, people have been inventing things to make their lives easier. That drive has produced huge changes in the American life several times over. In the 1700’s, life in America was very difficult. Transportation infrastructure was lacking, which pushed the delivery of goods to be almost exclusively down rivers. Military technology was roughly unchanged since America began, leaving the country open to attack from other nations.

During the period of 1870 to 1900 large corporations, such as the railway company, grew significantly in size, number, and influence. The cause of this was the need for a new way of transportation, the demand was great so the railways expanded all over the United States so that they could meet these demands. These large corporations affected the economy by making it easier to pay for everyday chores, politics in the way that it gave politicians too much power but in doing so gave normal limited power. The corporations had great power and influence which made them a huge impact to society. The economy was consistent in the United States during the 1870’s but as the years went on large businesses were able to lower the cost of food prices, fuel and lighting