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Vocabulary:Consumerism - The idea that an ever-
expanding consumption of goods is good for the economy
Deflation - A fall in the general price level or a contraction of credit and available money
Circulation - The distribution of copies of a periodical among readers
Credit – A purchaser's ability to obtain goods or services from a seller without immediate payment on the promise to pay later
The Emerging Middle Class
Americans devoted themselves to spending money as well as making it
Deflation and mass production slashed prices
An ever-larger range of consumer products available to more Americans
Publications
Advances in printing led to mass circulation
Newspapers, magazines, illustrated books, posters, and trading cards
Advertising subsidized much of the production costs
Lowering subscription costs
Allowed companies to reach a broader audience
Mass Consumer Culture
With their pace of life accelerating, Americans were captivated by a host of new convenience products
The promise of material comfort and pleasure was offered to anyone who could raise the cash
Hand-held camerasGillette safety razor w/ disposable blades5 cent pre-rolled cigarette packsJell-OAunt Jemima mixesUneeda biscuits
Companies offered consumers energy to compete in the economy
CoffeeCoca-Cola
Sugar also took on mass market forms:Tootsie RollsCracker JackChewing GumChocolate
Advertisement not well-regulated at the time
Companies made claims that were: Exaggerated Impossible to prove Just plain untrue
Debt problemsSocial pressure to
keep up with the times compelled many people to purchase new “solutions to modern living”
Eager consumers, given the chance to purchase items on credit, overspent their means and found themselves with debt problems
Respectable middle-class women, lost in the fantasy world of department stores, began to steal
Doctors were puzzled why a well-to-do woman would shoplift … they labeled it “kleptomania”
Please observe these advertisements from the Gilded
Age and think about the meaning and content of the ads