Transportation and Trade
During the Industrial Revolution, the hard work of many creative entrepreneurs in America caused big changes in business and society. People were discovering, inventing, and selling many new products. Big department stores opened for the first time in cities. People traveled to cities to buy what they needed and wanted. As the population in America grew, the need for goods grew. As immigrants arrived in America, they began working, earning money, and then spending that money at department stores and local businesses. Additionally, trade with other countries in the world was very valuable to the
American economy. More and more people in America and in the world were becoming consumers.
Sears-Roebuck and Montgomery Ward both began to publish new mail order catalogs which made shopping for and buying new products easily available to everyone. Now, consumers could buy things without having to leave their homes. Nicknamed "wish books," when the catalogs arrived in the mail, people were excited to see pictures and explanations of the goods that were available. People would order what they wanted, and the products would be shipped right to their house through the mail.
Department stores increased the production of goods from American factories, and this mass production brought the prices down. Most Americans could now afford to buy clothing, shoes, furniture, and all kinds of household items because they were sold at an economical price.
Also, during the Industrial Revolution another entrepreneur, Henry Ford, was working hard to improve the motored car. In 1903, Mr. Ford established the Ford Motor Company in an effort to build a car that was practical and available to more Americans. He and his friends began producing Model A Ford cars in small teams, one car at a time. It took each team about 12 ½ hours to complete one car. The team noticed that as fast as a car was built, it was sold.
The Ford cars were known for their quality, but only the rich could afford to buy one at that time. The first cars driven down the streets frightened horses and people as they whizzed by. It took some time for people to get used to the new machines.
Mr. Ford continued improving his cars and trying to reduce the price so more people could afford a car. Finally, Mr. Ford developed an idea to produce the cars that would make them more affordable: the assembly line. On the assembly line, each worker had just one specialized job. One worker would install just one part and then the car would pass it down the line. The next worker would install the next part. The parts rolled from one worker to the next on a large conveyor belt. By 1914, as the assembly line became more and more efficient with interchangeable parts, the workers could now assemble a Model T car in an hour and thirty minutes! Because the cars were produced more efficiently, the price came down to $360.00 a car. By 1916, the price for a Model T dropped even further to $250.00. Now almost everyone in America could afford to buy a car. Mass production increased the number of Ford cars built in a year to 585,000. More and more consumers were driving cars. More and more consumers were buying gas and oil. More and more consumers were driving to cities to shop and spend money. The economy was thriving.
Though work on the assembly line can seem repetitive, assembly line factories of all kinds were producing more goods quickly. Mr. Ford had changed the world. He modeled how to produce factory goods more efficiently. Many goods, such as clothing and kitchen wares, were being mass produced. Now many more people could afford to buy what they needed and wanted.
Production of goods through the assembly line process and the use of interchangeable parts flooded the market with products. Selling products to people in other nations became appealing to entrepreneurs. And, yet there was another important discovery happening at the same time in the transportation arena in America. Mr. Ford’s cars allowed people to travel many different regional places, railroads were taking people all across the United States, and now it looked as though people would be taking to the skies to fly from place to place.
Orville and Wilbur Wright were brothers from Dayton, Ohio, who owned a bicycle shop. Both brothers were determined to build an airplane that would lift off the ground with its own power while carrying a person. After much hard work on many experiments, re-designing and trial runs, in 1903, the brothers finally flew. The bi-plane was only airborne for a few feet, but it was a start. Now the brothers worked hard to improve the design. Finally, at a French airshow in 1908, thousands of people at a racetrack saw Wilbur fly in his airplane. With this new innovation people could travel by car, by train, and now by airplane, which opened up the ability for people to travel all over the world purchasing goods and services worldwide.
American economy. More and more people in America and in the world were becoming consumers.
Sears-Roebuck and Montgomery Ward both began to publish new mail order catalogs which made shopping for and buying new products easily available to everyone. Now, consumers could buy things without having to leave their homes. Nicknamed "wish books," when the catalogs arrived in the mail, people were excited to see pictures and explanations of the goods that were available. People would order what they wanted, and the products would be shipped right to their house through the mail.
Department stores increased the production of goods from American factories, and this mass production brought the prices down. Most Americans could now afford to buy clothing, shoes, furniture, and all kinds of household items because they were sold at an economical price.
Also, during the Industrial Revolution another entrepreneur, Henry Ford, was working hard to improve the motored car. In 1903, Mr. Ford established the Ford Motor Company in an effort to build a car that was practical and available to more Americans. He and his friends began producing Model A Ford cars in small teams, one car at a time. It took each team about 12 ½ hours to complete one car. The team noticed that as fast as a car was built, it was sold.
The Ford cars were known for their quality, but only the rich could afford to buy one at that time. The first cars driven down the streets frightened horses and people as they whizzed by. It took some time for people to get used to the new machines.
Mr. Ford continued improving his cars and trying to reduce the price so more people could afford a car. Finally, Mr. Ford developed an idea to produce the cars that would make them more affordable: the assembly line. On the assembly line, each worker had just one specialized job. One worker would install just one part and then the car would pass it down the line. The next worker would install the next part. The parts rolled from one worker to the next on a large conveyor belt. By 1914, as the assembly line became more and more efficient with interchangeable parts, the workers could now assemble a Model T car in an hour and thirty minutes! Because the cars were produced more efficiently, the price came down to $360.00 a car. By 1916, the price for a Model T dropped even further to $250.00. Now almost everyone in America could afford to buy a car. Mass production increased the number of Ford cars built in a year to 585,000. More and more consumers were driving cars. More and more consumers were buying gas and oil. More and more consumers were driving to cities to shop and spend money. The economy was thriving.
Though work on the assembly line can seem repetitive, assembly line factories of all kinds were producing more goods quickly. Mr. Ford had changed the world. He modeled how to produce factory goods more efficiently. Many goods, such as clothing and kitchen wares, were being mass produced. Now many more people could afford to buy what they needed and wanted.
Production of goods through the assembly line process and the use of interchangeable parts flooded the market with products. Selling products to people in other nations became appealing to entrepreneurs. And, yet there was another important discovery happening at the same time in the transportation arena in America. Mr. Ford’s cars allowed people to travel many different regional places, railroads were taking people all across the United States, and now it looked as though people would be taking to the skies to fly from place to place.
Orville and Wilbur Wright were brothers from Dayton, Ohio, who owned a bicycle shop. Both brothers were determined to build an airplane that would lift off the ground with its own power while carrying a person. After much hard work on many experiments, re-designing and trial runs, in 1903, the brothers finally flew. The bi-plane was only airborne for a few feet, but it was a start. Now the brothers worked hard to improve the design. Finally, at a French airshow in 1908, thousands of people at a racetrack saw Wilbur fly in his airplane. With this new innovation people could travel by car, by train, and now by airplane, which opened up the ability for people to travel all over the world purchasing goods and services worldwide.
