The Roaring Twenties
The decade of the 1920's was a time of tremendous economic change. The end of the First World War signaled and the beginning of a new era, and a decade that came to be known as "roaring". The retreat from progressivism during this time was evident in how the business world gained top priority over social issues. Government policy was intended encourage growth in business and promote the American economy. New methods, procedures, and technology improved efficiency and output in industry. Paramount in the progress of industry and the economy, as well as society and culture, was the automobile. On the opposite end of the spectrum however, not all groups shared in the prosperity of the twenties. Laborers, and unions, did not share the same amount of success proportionally that corporations did. Farmers also did not succeed the same way that businesses did. During this time, business boomed, real wages rose, and unemployment declined. The sum of all of these factors is that for some the twenties were an economic dirge, but more than anything else were a business person's paradise.One of the most important factors in the success of industry was government policy. Warren G. Harding's presidential inaugural address and Calvin
Union membership fell in the face of new competition from employers' policies. The American economy was stronger than ever and it seemed to people at the time that the boom would never end. These general improvements in efficiency and technology made American businesses more profitable than everThe automobile was singularly the most important factor in the post war economic boom. The effect was so profound that by 1929 more than two thirds of American homes were powered by electricity, as opposed to less than one of every ten in 1907. These techniques increased efficiency and made each laborer more productive by specializing and directing his tasks more closely. The hands off, laissez-faire attitude of the government was a stark contrast to the previous decades where business became hampered by regulations and standards. Laborers, and unions, did not share the same amount of success proportionally that corporations did. Many farmers lost both their land and their farm equipment because of this postwar recession. The rise of the electricity industry helped create jobs and increased productivity in American industries. The man behind all of this driving change at the beginning was Henry Ford. Farmers also did not succeed the same way that businesses did. It also increased employment with the creation of jobs at filling stations, roadside stands, and other businesses that catered to the motorized public. Industrial output during this decade almost doubled without a substantial increase in the labor force. The twenties were a time of tremendous economic change. In response to the international demands and the rising prices of crops, many farmers invested in more land and farm equipment during the war.
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