Mass Production

The 1920s was full of new technologies, especially automobiles; moving pictures and radio were a large part of the population. Mass production made technology more affordable to the middle class Americans.  The automobile, movie, radio, and chemical industries exploded during the 1920s. The most important product was the automobile industry. Before the war started, cars were a luxurious invention. Mass-produced vehicles became common throughout the U.S. and Canada. Henry Ford was an American industrialist. The automobile industry was led by him. He increased wages and lowered the cost of vehicles through out mass production making them affordable. In 1927, Henry Ford discontinued his Model T after selling 15 million of that model. Only about 300,000 vehicles was registered in 1918 in all of Canada, but by 1929, there were 1.9 million, and automobile parts were being made in parts of different states all over America. The automobile industry's effects were widespread, contributing to such industries as highway building, motels, service stations, used car dealerships and new housing outside the range of mass transit.  The automobile industry's effects were widespread, contributing to such industries as the making of highway buildings, motels, service stations, and making transportation easier for people. Aside the automobile industry, the radio was another popular invention. Radio became the first mass broadcasting medium. Radios were expensive, but their mode of entertainment proved innovative. Radio advertising became the attraction for mass marketing. Its economic importance led to the mass culture that has dominated society since. During the "golden age of radio", radio programming was as varied as TV programming today. The 1927 establishment of the Federal Radio Commission introduced a new era of regulation.  Before, radios couldn’t produce sound signals. Later on, once radio signals could be transmitted and received with improved clarity around the 1920s, the idea of public radio began to take hold in America. The first public radio broadcasting station opened in Pittsburgh, 1922. It was an instant success; listeners would sit around the radio listening to everything that was broadcasted. As a result many more radio stations popped up during the 20s, some even over night. The radio was one of the most important inventions of the 1920s, because it was a whole new way for people to communicate and interact .