Inventions of The 1920s

Inventions of the 1920s

            “There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: Make the best quality of goods possible at the lowest cost possible.” (The Life of Henry Ford) This quote by Henry Ford represents the attitude of many people as America entered the “roaring twenties.” Everything was bigger in the twenties. Mass production made technologies such as cars available to the public at lower prices. Radios allowed for mass advertising as it was the first mass broadcasting device. Also developments in television and movies made available public as well as private entertainment. Other inventions made such as traffic lights and hair dryers were made for convenience of the public or of consumers. Technological innovations in the 1920s led to a mass market based society and a higher standard of living.

            Mass production is the production of goods in bulk, often by use of the assembly line made popular by Henry Ford, the creator of the model T automobile and founder of the Ford motor company. Ford’s cars came off the line every fifteen minutes, much faster than previous methods, while using less manpower. Because of the lack of amount of work involved, Ford was able to sell his cars at an affordable price. Most middle class workers could buy a model T with only four months wages (The Life of Henry Ford). This mass production along with the use of assembly lines led to a decrease in the need for skilled labor. No skill was needed to operate the machines that built products or to work on the assembly line. This also led to an increase in child labor because children would work for less pay (Traditions and Encounters).

            Before 1920, the only radio communication available was through Morse code. However in the 1920s, Ernst Alexanderson who developed a high frequency alternator with which transmission of radio waves became successful. Roughly three million Americans owned radios by 1923. The first radio broadcast took place on November 2, 1920 from the station KDKA airing reports on the presidential election results. Stations ranged from music and news to stock market and weather reports to comedy and sporting events. Radio was the first mass broadcasting device. It was the first device that could reach millions of people in an instant. Companies took advantage of this by advertising on a radio station. One of the first companies to take advantage of this opportunity was the AT&T phone company who used radio stations to sell their phones (Radio in the 1920s).