Causes of the Economic Boom of the 1920's

1. Electricity

1.1. Light extended to both work, entertainment, and house life.

1.1.1. House life- 68% of American households had electricity in their homes by 1929 and allowed for household appliances to save time and space.

1.1.2. Work Life- Production and manufacturing were safer, reliable, and more efficient.

1.1.3. Entertainment- Cinemas, Speakeasies, and radios allowed for an increase in new consumers that now wanted to spend on the entertainment industry.

1.2. Transportation and communication increased and became faster.

1.2.1. Industries in radio and cars surged because of this.

2. New Business and Manufacturing Methods

2.1. Car industry

2.1.1. The Car industry benefited from electricity that made production safer and more efficient.

2.1.2. Henry Ford was one main manufacturer of cars, he made production more efficient by perfecting the assembly line.

2.1.3. Cars created new jobs, more traveling and consumer spending in industries that benefited from the car industry boom such as gas, car service, and roadside industries.

2.2. Cinema and Radio

2.2.1. Also benefited from electricity.

2.2.2. Spread news and advertisements to the American people, making them more likely to spend on whatever they see on film or hear on the radio

2.2.3. Because people were hearing or seeing advertisements being sponsored by celebrities, it had a cultural influence on American society as people tried to emulate what they would see and hear on celebrities.

2.3. Assembly Line

2.3.1. Made production and manufacturing more efficient creating more products and consumer goods at a faster rate

2.3.2. Mass production of consumer goods increased demand.

3. Advertisements

3.1. An increased amount of outlets (radio, newspaper, cinema, billboards) and demand for consumer goods encouraged manufacturers to create advertisements to sell products.

3.2. Advertisements showed desire and gratification from purchasing a product. Manufacturers targeted social acceptance, insecurities, and emotions to make people more likely to buy their products as they thought they 'needed' them.

3.3. Advertisements also benefited media/ advertising outlets that would be paid by manufacturers to promote or sell an advertisement slot. National magazines were especially sought out because they reached around 200 million Americans.

3.4. This increased demand for consumer products in the economy, which in turn lead to business expansion and higher levels of employment.

3.5. Advertisements also helped expand credit, as people could now buy items they wanted on ads by paying for them later, especially expensive products which allowed for an increase of consumer goods among average Americans.