Notes 3: Labor Unions, Assembly Line, and The Rise of the American

ConsumerSociety

Unit 1: The 1920’s

Modern US History

February 7, 2011

Labor Unions

• During World War One, the government did not allow unions to strike for better working conditions – this was done to preserve the war effort. The labor unions at the time agreed to this, but once the war ended they wanted to continue their efforts for better conditions.

Labor Unions• In 1919 there were over

3,000 strikes with 4 million workers struggling for higher pay. The factories had grown accustomed to the wages that they paid during the war and the lack of unions. In an effort to put down the strikes, employers labeled the workers as Communists. Newspapers followed this lead and a few major strikes led the public to believe this as well:

The Boston Police Strike• The police in Boston

had not been given a raise since the beginning of the war and they were not allowed to unionize. Police representatives asked the city for a raise, but were fired. When this happened, the rest of the police decided to strike.

The Boston Police Strike

• Governor Coolidge called the National Guard in to replace the policemen saying that people can not protest at the risk of public safety. The policemen called off the strike, but were not allowed to return to work, new policemen were hired instead. The country felt that Coolidge had saved the city and the nation from Communism.

The Steel Mill Strike

• Some strikes did raise public awareness about poor working conditions such as the steel mill strike in 1919. The steelworkers wanted the right to unionize, higher pay, and shorter working hours. The U.S. Steel Corporation refused to negotiate with them and in September 300,000 workers went on strike and walked out of the mills.

The Steel Mill Strike

• U.S. Steel hired strikebreakers and used violence against the workers. The President pleaded with the two sides to make a deal. The strike ended in January 1920. Finally in 1923, a shocking report was released on the harsh working conditions in the mills. U.S. Steel agreed to an eight hour day, but the workers remained without a union.

The Steel Mill Strike

Reasons for Labor’s Decline

• Even with their limited gains, the 1920’s saw a downward spiral in union membership and power. Membership decreased from 5 to 3.5 million over the course of the decade. The following reasons led to their troubles:– A great deal of the workforce consisted of

immigrants that were willing to work in poor conditions, plus many of them spoke little English which made it difficult for union leaders to organize them.

Reasons for Labor’s Decline cont.

– Many farmers were moving to the city to become workers and they were used to self reliance.

– Most unions excluded African Americans

– Companies used America’s fear of Communism as a way to turn public support away from Unions that they branded Communist

Assembly Lines

• Invented in 1799, the Assembly Line revolutionized how products were made. The assembly line was put to use in America during the 1880’s. The idea behind the assembly line is that workers would create one piece of a product and send it down the line for other workers to add their own pieces to.

Assembly Lines

• At the end of the line, a finished product would emerge. This increased efficiency in mass-producing items.

Assembly Lines

• The assembly line was perfected by Henry Ford who changed it to a “moving” assembly line to further increase production of his Model T Ford.

Assembly Lines

• Ford used the assembly line to cheaply produce the Model T, which quickly became the car owned by half of all car owners in America at the time.

1923 Model T Roadster

Assembly Lines

• A consumer culture was born as America began mass-producing goods at cheaper prices for the consumers. Workers no longer needed to be skilled in their ability to create certain goods since they just worked on their part of the assembly line.

Assembly Lines

• There were some problems with the assembly line though. Marxist theory states that the assembly line caused a disconnect between the worker and the item they were producing since each worker repetitively made the same part but was never connected with the finished product. Under Marxist theory, this would lead to depressed workers.

Assembly Lines

• Also, the repetitive nature of the work often caused workers to lose concentration, which led to an increased rate of injury.

The Rise of the American Consumer Society

• The growing use of assembly lines allowed America to produce more and more goods at cheaper prices. At the same time, the invention of new products caused the variety of appliances and goods on the market to rise.

New Consumer Products• The increasing popularity of

the automobile combined with Ford’s ability to produce them at a low cost completely changed the American landscape. Highways were built, gas stations popped up in every town, and the Holland Tunnel opened in 1927 to connect New York City with New Jersey.

New Consumer Products• The automobile also

changed the look of the American city. Instead of everyone having to live in the city if they wanted to work in the city, now people could move to neighborhoods outside of the city and drive to work. These neighborhoods surrounding the cities were known as suburbs.

New Consumer Products

• By the 1920’s airplanes were also growing as a means of transportation. Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart made transatlantic flights that promoted cargo transport on planes.

New Consumer Products

• The production and popularity of planes grew, and by 1927, Pan American Airways inaugurated the first transatlantic passenger flights.

New Consumer Products• During the 1920’s the

number of households with electricity also grew. Most of these electrified homes were closer to urban areas, and the wealthier ones began to purchase electric appliances. These included: electric irons, refrigerators, cooking ranges, and toasters.

Modern Advertising

• As consumer products became more prevalent in the early 1900’s, advertising agencies worked to inform consumers about the products. This information alone was usually enough to sell what was being produced in the early part of the century, but as the 1920’s produced so many new products, the nature of advertising changed.

Modern Advertising

• Modern advertising, which began in the 1920’s, hired psychologists to study how to appeal to people’s desires. Usually these desires were for youthfulness, beauty, health and wealth. These studies led to new advertising campaigns that greatly increased sales. The simple phrase “Say it with flowers” doubled florists’ business between 1912-1924. New advertising methods made people want to buy more and more.

Modern Advertising

Buying on Credit

• The combination of new products, smoother advertising, and growing incomes caused consumers to purchase many more products than ever before. Some of these products were quite expensive and their prices were preventing consumers from buying them. To solve this problem, many industries began to offer the option of “buying on credit”.

Buying on Credit

• By using the installment plan, another word for buying on credit, a consumer could buy goods over an extended period of time without having to put much money down at the time of purchase. Banks also participated in this by offering low interest rates.

Buying on Credit

• Advertising campaigns, such as “you furnish the girl, we’ll furnish the home” and “enjoy while you pay” helped people choose this new method of payment.

Problems

• This continually increasing cycle of production and consumption could not go on forever. Some economists feared that buying everything on credit was a sign of the country’s financial weakness.

Problems

• Others pointed out that industries could not continue to produce at the rate they were going because the people could not consume that much. Most people in the 1920’s did not worry about these things and continued to focus on enjoying their new lifestyles.

Questions on 1920’s Advertising

• Which ad did you choose? What product is it trying to sell?

• Who is the target audience for this advertisement?

• What promises is this advertisement making to the person reading it?

• What insecurities in the target audience is this advertisement using to sell its product?