Technology in the 1920s

The Assembly Line

Limousines are assembled at individual stations by a Pittsburgh manufacturer, 1912

Old way:

-products assembled one at a time

-work stations

-took a long time for something like a car

-very skilled labour

-is a manufacturing process in which individual parts of a larger product are put together in a specific order

-workers do the same repetitive task

-sped up the manufacturing process dramatically

-allowed factories to churn out products at a remarkable rate

-reduced labour hours—benefitting many workers who used to spend 10 to 12 hours a day in the factory trying to meet quotas

The Assembly Line

-meatpacking, firearms, and auto industries used the assembly line process

-meatpacking industry was already using assembly lines by the 1860s

-operated a pulley system to bring over each animal carcass in turn

-would cut the meat as needed, then move on to the next animal much more quickly

The Assembly Line

-Ford Motor Company adopted the assembly line between 1908 and 1915

-helped the company become a significant force in the United States economy

Henry Ford

Henry Ford and his first car the Quadricycle, which he built in 1896

Henry Ford-did not invent the car

-produced an automobile that was within the economic reach of the average American

-designed a method of manufacture that steadily reduced the cost of the Model T

-profits went into lowering the price of his car

-cars no longer seen as a luxury item for the rich

-made its debut in 1908 with a purchase price of $825.00

-over 10,000 were sold in 1908

-four years later the price dropped to $575.00 and sales soared

-by 1914, had a 48% share of the automobile market -reduced the assembly time of a Model T from twelve and a half hours to less than six hours

The Model T

First Ford Assembly Line, 1913

The Telephone

-by 1920’s, became standard household appliance

-had to turn a crank generator which caused a current to be sent through the line which rings the bell of the party wanted

-neighbours were all on the same line (called party lines)

-‘rubbernecking’ – listening in on the conversations of others

Radio-most important of inventions!! Broke down the isolation between rural and city

-essential device for modern living, bringing news and entertainment to homes across the country

-soap operas (dramas sponsored by soap companies for housewives)

-issue raised ….should it be censored???

-Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) formed in 1932 to ensure Canadian content on airwaves

-Hockey Night in Canada first aired in 1923

Brunswick Radio Ad (1928)

RCA Radiola – Radiola 30 Eight-tube Super Heterodyne (1925)

-were silent

-orchestra or piano player would provide music to accompany the silent screen

-intertitles convey story details and dialogue

-“Talkies” arrived in 1927

Movies

Charlie Chaplin Buster Keaton Marx Brothers

Movies

Automobile-Canadians LOVED the car and the way it opened up a wider world to them

-sold for less that $400. Soon became ‘closed car.’ Electric starters developed so you didn’t have to crank it. Windshield washers and heaters made driving comfortable -1925- 75000 km of paved road-1930- 128000 km

-tourism became massively important

-summer cottages sprang up

-1929, 4 million Americans spent $300 million in Canada

Automobile

Toronto

Automobile

Life magazine on October 1, 1908 Excerpt:"FORD HIGH PRICED QUALITY IN A LOW PRICED CAR""The Ford Four Cylinder, Twenty Horse Power, Five Passenger Touring Car $850.00 Fob. Detroit"

Automobile

1912"Ford delivery cars cost but $700 f.o.b. Detroit - complete with all equipment."

Automobile

1927

Automobile

1924

Household Appliances-seemed to promise consumers more time for leisure activities

-advertising’s golden age

-was needed to sell the huge amounts of products being produced

-new innovations: home washing machine, toaster, vacuum cleaner, refrigerator, electric stoves and hotplates

Household Appliances

Electrochef (500 pounds!)

Household Appliances

-toasters needed electricity (which was spreading to cities)

-also, advent of sliced bread in the 1930

-the year after Wonder began selling sliced bread, Americans bought over one million toasters

Household Appliances

Household Appliances

Household Appliances

Questions?