Economical Boom in U.S.A. in the 1920s

Economical booms are periods of time when a countries wealth increases dramatically over a short period of time. During the 1920s this occurred in the United States of America for several key reasons. The two most prominent factors were World War I and development of assembly line technology.

World War One had a significant impact on the wealth of Americans in the 1920s. Men returning from the war had lots of money to spend and Americas distance from the war meant it didn’t have any war debts to pay. Also, during the war, America had supplied Europeans with war goods. In order to produce these, fabrication technologies had to advance. Post war, producers jumped on the new technologies available and customised them for the production of consumer goods which were ever-popular at the time.

Assembly line technology, first employed by Henry Ford in the 1910s, revolutionised the way goods were made. Before, everything had to be pain-stakingly put together piece-by-piece by one person, but now, anything from a car to a radio could be assembled in under a minute. Because luxuries such as radios, cars, refrigerators and telephones could be made so quickly, the prices fell dramatically. Low prices meant the items, once only affordable by the rich, could be purchased by everyone. This caused a massive injection in the economy, which ultimately led to the 1920s boom in the United States. The introduction of credit and hire purchase meant that even if families could not afford the goods, they could still buy them and pay later.

But electronics were not the only thing Americans were spending their money on. Americans had a lot of free time on their hands. In 1919, the first tabloid newspaper, the Daily Newspaper was printed for the first time. Many more followed and by 1922, ten magazines could claim circulation of over 2.5 million readers. As Hollywood technology progressed, it became more of an enjoyable experience to visit the cinema to see Charlie Chaplin or Al Jolson. People also visited sporting events like baseball and boxing. Once again there was an overload of money being poured