Mass+Consumption+Economy+1st

=Mass Consumption Economy =


 * White Castle, circa 1920 ... A product of mass consumption economy **

What is mass consumption economy?

 * During the Roaring Twenties, production rates within the United States sky-rocketed.
 * The flip-side of the increased production was that more and more people were consuming, and this is where the **mass consumption economy** came from.
 * Generally, a mass consumption economy occurs after a war, with World War I acting as the catalyst in American culture.

Mass production:

 * The Roaring Twenties were also referred to as the Decade of Consumer Appliances.
 * Production rates increased on a whole variety of products, such as automobiles, magazines, and appliances.
 * Henry Ford adapted the assembly line concept in 1914, and this method of production set the stage for the upcoming decade.

 ** Employees on an assembly line, Ford-Rogue River plant **
 * Henry Ford standing near a Ford T, 1921 **
 * By the end of the decade, even common things were being mass-produced, like soap and tobacco...Even hamburgers!
 * [[file:Roaring Twenties Advertisements.ppt]]

Mass consumption:

 * With increased production came increased consumption, and this brought many major changes to the face of the US.
 * Countless new products emerged, causing the market to flood with choices.
 * It created a rapid increase in the amount consumed by the US population.
 * For the first time, consumers were using and abusing credit in order to "keep up with the Joneses."
 * The automobile industry paved the way for the credit industry, as almost every American had to pay for cars in payments.


 * The average Roaring Twenties consumer. **
 * Eventually jewelry, appliances, furniture, books, and toys could be bought in installments, and consumerism boomed.
 * America changed from valuing community and integrity to valuing competition and materialism.
 * It was all about who had nicer, better, and more expensive things.
 * Companies began to change their logos and relied on advertisement in order to sell products at a fast rate.
 * Mass consumption created the American middle-class as we know it, as more people began to move to the suburbs and commute.

Colin Gillespie, Josh Rigali, Vedant Vasavda