The Roaring Twenties Economic Boom

📋 Course Outline

1. Mass production and consumer boom
2. Advertising, electrification and new gadgets
3. Social change and migration in the 1920s
4. Unequal prosperity and poverty groups
5. Causes of America’s 1920s economic boom
6. The Great Depression and consequences

📖 1. Mass production and consumer boom

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Mass production of goods: Mass production is the manufacturing of large quantities of standardized products, often using assembly lines or automation technology.
• Assembly line: An assembly line is a factory system where workers and machines progressively assemble identical items in sequence.
• Economic boom: An economic boom is a period when the economy does well and many people benefit from rising prosperity.
• Consumer society: A consumer society is one where people frequently buy new goods, often beyond immediate needs, and value owning many things.

📝 Essential Points

• Henry Ford’s conveyor belt and assembly line let goods be produced faster and in much larger quantities.
• Because machines were easier to operate, factories could hire large numbers of unskilled workers.
• Mass production lowered prices, which increased employment and encouraged further spending on goods.
• Cheaper mass-produced products became widely available in chain stores and through mail-order firms.
• American demand for goods rose by 20 per cent, making the USA the first major consumer society.

💡 Memory Hook