“The US Economic Boom of the 1920’s was primary due to the Motor Manufacturing Industry.” How far do you agree with this statement?
Post the First World War the US experienced a massive economic boom. Being the only power, after the war, with a stable economy, Government and infrastructure, people saw the US as an investment. However, the economic boon was not only due to the First World War. The motor industry experienced rapid development, alongside the economy, in the 1920’s to keep up with the demand of the changing American population. But to what extent was the motor industry responsible for the economic boom?
A critical factor in the motor manufacturing industry was the vast number of vehicles which were manufactured and sold, with the Ford Motor Company being the catalyst for this. Henry Ford Established the Ford Motor Company in the early 20th century and quickly started selling his famous Model-T motor car. Alongside Frederick Taylor, Ford perfected the assembly line and made mass production a reality. A Model-T could be produced in 90 minutes and as a result the price for one dropped from $825 to $575 in four years. Fundamentally, this meant that anyone could afford a car, including the working class, with a few months’ wages. This supported the economic system and kept it rising well into the late 20’s. Another supporting factor was that other US companies were able to copy Fords production technique and therefore increasing the revenue of the companies. This shows the massive economic growth caused by the development of mass production.
A combination of the efficiency of the production, and the high number of car sales, Fold was able to increase the wage of factory workers from $2 a day to $5. This had a number of positive consequences. First, the increase of salary hugely increased the number of workers who wanted to work for Ford, which led to Ford acquiring a huge workforce. For example the River Rouge Plant in Detroit, had at its peak, over 100 000 workers. As a result, workers had a more disposable income and therefore supported the economy by living a higher quality of
A critical factor in the motor manufacturing industry was the vast number of vehicles which were manufactured and sold, with the Ford Motor Company being the catalyst for this. Henry Ford Established the Ford Motor Company in the early 20th century and quickly started selling his famous Model-T motor car. Alongside Frederick Taylor, Ford perfected the assembly line and made mass production a reality. A Model-T could be produced in 90 minutes and as a result the price for one dropped from $825 to $575 in four years. Fundamentally, this meant that anyone could afford a car, including the working class, with a few months’ wages. This supported the economic system and kept it rising well into the late 20’s. Another supporting factor was that other US companies were able to copy Fords production technique and therefore increasing the revenue of the companies. This shows the massive economic growth caused by the development of mass production.
A combination of the efficiency of the production, and the high number of car sales, Fold was able to increase the wage of factory workers from $2 a day to $5. This had a number of positive consequences. First, the increase of salary hugely increased the number of workers who wanted to work for Ford, which led to Ford acquiring a huge workforce. For example the River Rouge Plant in Detroit, had at its peak, over 100 000 workers. As a result, workers had a more disposable income and therefore supported the economy by living a higher quality of