Transcript Slide 1
Progressive
Technologies
Electricity
Widespread
use of
electrical power meant
that factories could
operate around the
clock, producing huge
numbers of cheap
consumer goods
It also meant that new
electric appliances,
such as vacuum
cleaners and
dishwashers, were in
demand for use in
wealthier homes
Refrigeration
Electricity
also
ushered in the age
of refrigeration
Allowed food to be
preserved longer
Fewer diseases from
consuming spoiled
food (esp. meat)
Henry Ford
1863
– 1947
Originally worked for
Thomas Edison, but left
after Edison dismissed
automobiles as a “fad”
Built his first car in 1896
Founded Ford Motor
Company in 1903
Sold over 15,000,000
Model T’s between
1908 and 1927
Ford’s Model T
"I will build a car for the
great multitude. It will be
large enough for the family,
but small enough for the
individual to run and care
for. It will be constructed of
the best materials, by the
best men to be hired, after
the simplest designs that
modern engineering can
devise. But it will be so low in
price that no man making a
good salary will be unable
to own one—and enjoy with
his family the blessing of
hours of pleasure in God's
great open spaces."-----------------------Henry Ford
Assembly Lines
Ford
trained each
worker to do one
specific job; this led to
greater efficiency
Cars moved down the
line from worker to
worker having
individual parts added
along the way
This led to faster
production and greater
production volume,
thus lowering the cost
of Fords
$5 per day wage
Ford
also saw his
workers as potential
customers, wanted
them to be able to
buy cars themselves
Offered the unheard
of pay of $5 per day
(as a minimum wage
– some workers made
more!), forcing
wages to rise across
US
Wilbur Wright
1867
– 1912
Ohio bicycle
mechanic
Developed a series of
gliders over the
period of 1899-1902
Finally built first
successful airplane in
1903 Kitty Hawk NC
Died of typhoid fever
Orville Wright
1871
– 1948
Ohio bicycle
mechanic
Developed a series
of gliders over the
period of 1899-1902
Finally built first
successful airplane
in 1903
Died of heart attack
Charles Lindbergh
1902
– 1974
Rose to fame by
becoming the first man
to fly a non-stop solo
trip across the Atlantic
Ocean in 1927 in his
plane Spirit of St. Louis
In many ways, he
demonstrated the
commercial
practicality of the
airplane
Airlines
First
commercial air
travel in the US
began in 1914
Didn’t become
profitable until the
1920s when Ford
began producing it
Tri-Motor aircraft
that could carry 12
passengers
Movies
First “movie” was the 12minute 1903 Edison film
The Great Train Robbery
Quickly became one of
America’s favorite forms
of cheap entertainment
First “hit” movie was the
1915 film Birth of a Nation
which earned over $10
million despite being over
3 hours long and
portraying the KKK as
heroes
Movie Theaters
First
purpose-built
movie theater
opened in New
Orleans in 1896 –
seated about 90
people and showed
travel films
Movie theaters
quickly became a
“must” for any town –
thousands had
opened by 1920s
Radio
After 1913, technology
allowed long-range radio
transmissions
1926: National
Broadcasting Company
(NBC) formed
1928: Columbia
Broadcasting System
(CBS) formed
Radio programs became
a staple of household
entertainment; by 1929,
10 million radios were in
use in the US
Ragtime Music
Music
that
reflected the
hectic pace of
city life
Scott Joplin
(1867 – 1917)
became known
as the “King of
Ragtime”
Mass Culture
US
cultural trends
became national
rather than local –
what was fashionable
in dress, music, food,
books, etc. was now
more consistent
across the country
Consumer Goods
Now
available:
Electric razors
Disposable tissues
Frozen foods
Hair dye
Washing machines
Gas stoves
Deodorant
mouthwash
Coca-Cola
Introduced
in 1886 as
a patent medicine
Name came from its
two primary
ingredients:
cocaine
(from the
coca plant) and
caffeine (from the
kola nut);
cocaine
dropped
after 1903
Kodak Cameras
George Eastman
introduced the first
camera for amateur use
in 1885 and expanded
the market in 1900 with
the introduction of the
“Brownie” box camera
The key element was the
development of cheap
film to capture
photographic images
rather than the heavy,
expensive glass plates
that cameras had used