Transportation In The 1920s Essay

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Transportation affected the lives of almost every American during the 1920s and 1990s similarly. During both decades there was major improvements in technology that advanced the United States significantly. In the 1920s when Ford began producing the Model T using the assembly line the automobile became popular and affordable for consumers. The rapid diffusion of the automobile called for an increase in oil products and other raw materials including rubber and steel. The 1920s saw an expansion of the regional and national air transport services in Europe and the United States with mass-produced propeller aircrafts such as the Douglas DC-3. These changes in transportation methods drastically changed lifestyles and the structure of cities. It …show more content…

During the 1920s, it was a time of peace and prosperity and the Unites States stock market soared as new technologies such as the radio, automobile, and aircraft were commercialized. Many Americans speculated in the stock market with large amounts of borrowed money and they became very wealthy. However, by 1929 the stock market had peaked and then plunged which financially ruined most stock investors. Banks began to bail and unemployment skyrocketed ultimately leading to the Great Depression. Similarly, in the 1990s there was a speculative bubble when people began investing in early Internet companies called “Dot-coms.” This investing caused technology company stocks in the Nasdaq stock index to soar to incredible heights thus leading to technology company founders and investors becoming extremely wealthy. During this time Americans had started to believe that technology had led to the creation of the “new” economy and that recessions were a thing of the past, which led to excessive risk taking in business and investments as “Dot-com” companies went public. Eventually the technology stock bubble crashed and the United States economy was hurled into a recession (Colombo). The 1920s and 1990s both prove to be a time of prosperity and wealth, but as it has been said periods of strong economic growth are often followed by severe economic downturns, which was seen when both decades were followed by a crash in the stock

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