In the 1920s, after the First World War ended, while most of the countries which took part in it were devastated, the United States of America was experiencing and economic boom. Its industries grew dramatically, and the country became richer than it already was. But was the motor car industry, as some historians say, an essential factor for this to happen?
The motor car industry was the most important industry by then. In 1913, Henry Ford revolutionized car production and in consequence, cars were made faster and cheaper. As a result, there were vast sales of cars which resulted in the prosperity of other industries, such as glass, petrol, and steel industries. Therefore, the motor-car industry created thousands of jobs directly and indirectly. What is more, with cars, people could have the possibility to buy houses in other places, a fact which lead to the expansion of cities, creating the suburbs, and increasing house production and introduced smaller businesses such as hot dog stands and advertising billboards.
But there were also other reasons why industries flourished. Since new methods of production were introduced, and the country was able to exploit its raw materials further, large amounts of steels, chemicals, glass and machinery were able to be used in order to create new efficient consumer goods. The “Industrial Efficiency Movement” proposed new techniques for industries which helped with the prosperity of these. The sales of these consumer goods outnumbered those of cars, thanks to its practical uses and sophisticated sales and marketing techniques.
Another important reason was USA government’s Laissez-Faire attitude, which allowed businessmen to do their jobs without the interference of the government. We also have the expensive import tariffs that protected their businesses against foreign competition. American exports during the First World War brought millions of dollars into the country, since the USA started to sell a lot of products and...