The new national consumer-based society was characterized by an industrial boom. New goods and new ideas that impressed the idea of a good life came together in a ‘user boom’ (Jansson, 207). Women became beneficiaries of this industrial revolution due to the introduction of household equipment and tools that made their work easy. Before this era, a week’s work for a house wife was generally tedious owing to the many chores that had to be carried out.
Industrial revolution was speeding up the economy of the major nations, and it basically changed their economic systems. This was a decade of increasing convenience to the middle class. Products that were initially very costly became reasonably priced. A lot of spending was facilitated by the new forms of financing. Families, therefore, found it easier to spend beyond their present means.
The nature of labor and labor force changed during this period. The American industry was continuously swept by the science of management. Swiftness and good organization were linked to invention and good profits. Workers became unsatisfied from the assembly line that sped up productions. Women were able to get recruited in industry despite being discriminated against (Wood, 393). The American labor force, however, grew silent or either failed to respond well to the changes that engulfed the work force. This resulted in the weakening of the labor unions and the labor force decided to drop their memberships due to workers becoming less organized. The labor’s failures were as a result of employer intimidation, prosperity and fragile union leadership.
The era was also characterized by large numbers of rural residents moving to urban areas from farms, and this was a reason why farmers did not benefit from this industrial revolution. This was because their workforces were attracted by the growing economic industry and the wages seemed more lucrative in comparison to the farm prices that kept dropping (Weir, 11). In the cities, wealthy city dwellers were moving out of the cities and into what was referred to as the suburbs, with the automobile rendering the movement possible (Jansson, 207) . The revolution of the countryside into suburban expansion was a symbol that was influential to the materialization of the metropolitan nation.
Higher wages and increased leisure time and the effects of the virtues of hard work were diminished by attitudinal changes. Consumerism was increased by advertising. The attitude of consumers spending on credit that had been encouraged by retailers through a system of buy now pay later saw a doubling of consumer debt between 1920 and 1929. There have been arguments that consumerism was good for the country’s economy, although that is debatable.
Americans also developed an attitude that was reinforced towards sex. This was due to sexual topics that were explored in songs and movies that brought in the idea that sexual pleasure was a part of human life, and that was both necessary and desirable. People began using birth control techniques and topics on contraceptives, and sex education were no longer necessary for political radicals. This resulted in a decrease in family numbers due to birth control. Families saw this as necessary since they were able to spend more time making more money. This led to family life ceasing to become a unit of production and changed to a unit of leisure and consumption.
Works Cited
Jansson, Bruce S. The reluctant welfare state. Australia: Brooks/Cole, 2014. Print.
Weir, Robert E. Workers in America : a historical encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC- CLIO, 2013. Print.
Wood, Suzanne M. Historical and archaeological perspectives on gender transformations from private to public. New York, NY: Springer, 2013. Print.
