The automobile's effect on America
Nicolas Cugot built the first self-propelled vehicle in 1769. It was capable of speeds up to 6 km/h. He built a faster automobile two years later. That automobile went so fast that it crashed into a wall, and history’s first auto accident was recorded. (Birth, 1) From then on, the automobile has redefined the way the world worked. The automobile gave whole new meanings to accessibility, time, and distance. Travel, once a luxury, became commonplace, and then a necessity to everyday life. Little of society was untouched by the automobile’s coming. Cities were transformed; railroads and horses were rendered obsolete for the purpose of casual travel. The steel, chemical, rubber, and petroleum industries were remade to suit the needs of the automobile. Industries sprang up that were completely reliant upon the automobile for their livelihood such as service stations and automobile insurance. (Daeges, 1) The advent of the automobile dramatically affected America’s economy, reinvented Americans’ way of life, and directly led to the invention of the assembly line and other methods of mass production.
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2 Transportation Infrastructure 3 Rural Society 4 City Society 5 Recreation 6 Women 7 Injury and loss of life 8 Courtship 9 Mass Production 10 Conclusion 11 Sources |
America’s economy was completely revolutionized by the coming of the automobile. Huge industries devoted only to the automobile were created. Others were expanded from once trivial insignificance to imminent importance. Before the internal-combustion engine was implanted, gasoline was a useless waste, often thrown away. (Jewels, 2) Once the automobile became commonplace, the production of gasoline blossomed into a matter of such importance that the government took actions to secure a steady flow of oil into America. The steel industry was already established, but the coming of the automobile created huge amounts of business for it. The making and selling of automobiles became America’s most profitable industry, an industry that took advantage of the huge demand created by automobiles.
Aside from industries, one of the most visible effects the automobile had on America was the huge increase in the amount of roads our nation had. In 1921, America had only 387,000 miles of surfaced road throughout the country. Over the course of twenty years America spent forty billion dollars and built enough road to bring the nation’s total amount of roads up to 1,400,000. (World, 926) As roads went to more and more places, and people had a means of transportation that wasn’t on a schedule, distance lost a lot of its meaning. Fifty miles was no longer a daylong journey, with the automobile it would take only an hour or two. The quality of roads was also improved. Roads were paved with asphalt, and roads with more than one lane one each side became commonplace.
Farmers however, didn’t like the automobile in its infancy. The noise scared their livestock, and they had to pay taxes to improve roads they didn’t use. (World, 932) They then realized that automobiles could be useful to them. Automobiles broke the isolation that until then always accompanied farm life. Automobiles made it much easier for farmers that lived far from town to quickly get there, to shop or to go to church. Automobiles allowed farmers to reach doctors and hospitals much faster than they could have ever gone before. Their children were able go to school farther away, while still having enough time to work on the farm. The automobile also kept talented and ambitious youth from leaving the farm in search of a less demanding occupation because it lightened the workload and offered them more mobility. (Flink, 37) Farmers used automobiles for everything, from carrying goods from the barn to town, to taking the family to see relatives. The automobile even improved the speed that they received their mail.
The automobile’s effect on America’s economy was huge, yet that was nothing compared to its effect on the way Americans lived. Because of the automobile, cities grew and suburbs appeared for the first time. Until the advent of the automobile, factory workers were forced to live close to the factory or a railroad junction that led to the factory so that they could get to work on time. With the automobile, they no longer needed to live so close. They could live miles away from the stench and grime of the factories and the city, yet still work at a factory. Communities began to show up that had few employment opportunities, instead of working in their home town, the residents would work a good distance away and make the commute every day. (Flink, 33) These commuter communities were called suburbs, since they were a subsection of urban communities. Yet people still depended upon the cities for all of their shopping, so the suburbs were never too far away from the hustle and bustle of cities.
Between World War I and World War II, automobile manufacturers made many improvements upon the automobile. One of those innovations made the car much more comfortable was the balloon tire. Instead of using hard wheels resembling the wheels of a horse-drawn carriage, manufacturers implemented rubber tires cushioned with a balloon of air. Manufacturers also modified the design of headlights between those wars. Instead of the headlights shining all over the place and potentially blinding a driver coming the other way, headlights were changed so that the beam of light was more concentrated on the road, and allowed little light to reach the eyes of passing drivers. This innovation was called the sealed beamed headlight, and its use soon appeared in every model of car. These, among countless other innovations, made the automobile both safer and more comfortable, reaching an ever expanding market.
Shopping centers were then built in the suburbs to save people a trip to the city. These shopping centers made shopping more convenient and saved those who lived in the suburbs a trip to city just to get a carton of eggs. Now that the suburbs had their own source of goods and didn’t have to rely on the city for everything, suburbs were found farther and farther away from the big cities. Even with the creation of suburbs, millions of people still lived in cities; in fact, the automobile provided the means for even higher population density because the automobile allowed farmers to transport their produce much more quickly and efficiently to the cities, making them able to feed more people. (World, 932) By 1940, nearly three quarters of all poultry and eggs and a quarter of all fruits and vegetable were brought to market by automobile.
The automobile completely replaced any other means of transportation in both efficiency and usefulness. Up until the automobile, horses were the major means of transportation within cities. Horses require a large amount of care, and were therefore kept in public facilities that were usually far from residences. They also created a sanitary problem with the feces they left on the ground. (Flink, 31) The automobile had none of those disadvantages. It required little daily care, left no mess in the street, and could be kept at homes. The automobile quickly replaced the horse in urban environments as the preferred means of transportation.
Citizens weren’t the only group that utilized the automobile. Fire trucks were made that could quickly respond to an emergency fire, saving many lives and preventing fires from spreading. Ambulances were another modification to the automobile that allowed victims of injuries to receive care on their way to the hospital. The mobility and quick response that ambulances gave paramedics greatly increased a victim’s chance of surviving a life-threatening wound. The automobile greatly enhanced the police force’s ability to fight crime. The Police were among the first to utilize the automobile, and with it they prevented crimes. Policemen were able to speed to the scene of the crime and prevent evidence from being tampered with. Automobiles also allowed policemen to rush to a crime in progress, allowing them to prevent many crimes. Fire trucks offered the fire department a much more mobile vehicle than a carriage. The trucks were able to quickly get to the location of the fire and put it with the many hoses the trucks were able to carry. Many lives have been saved thanks to the actions of emergency vehicles. (Automobile, 727)
Automobiles were used for other things beside strictly utilitarian purposes. The creation of good roads and dependable automobiles changed people’s ideas of recreation and vacations. Before the automobile, resorts were only found near the coast or a railroad. If people didn’t live near either one, then they were unlikely to be able to vacation at a resort. Once the automobile was commonly found, resorts were found not where it was convenient, but where people who didn’t suffer the constrictions of railroads would like to go. (Automobile, 727) Resorts began to be found in scenic places, far away from the hectic life of the cities. In the early days of the automobile, national parks were extremely popular tourist attractions. National Parks were often located off of a major highway and were kept so that travelers would have nice places to stop. (Flink, 42)
Until the invention of the electric self-starter, women didn’t drive near as often as men. Until that point, in order to start the engine, the driver would have had to crank a shaft sticking out of the front of the automobile rapidly. This task was often very difficult for women, so they rarely drove. When Charles F. Kettering invented the electric self-starter, he removed the hand crank. The self-starter ignited the engine with an electric spark, removing the necessary cranking. Women then drove more often, and as a result a heretofore-inaccessible market was opened to the automobile industry. (Automobile, 732) The electric self-starter helped women gain more freedom. Traditionally, women were confined at home with chores and providing their husbands with a comfortable environment. With the coming of the self-starting automobile, women were able to leave home. Instead of sewing their own clothes for their family, women were able to go to stores and buy them. (Jewels, 4)
Yet the automobile was capable of killing people. Automobile accidents caused many deaths before the government passed laws to safely drive automobiles. The laws lowered the death rate but still thousands of people died every year from accident. Drivers who weren’t careful could cause the death of their family and others just by not paying attention. Even though the automobile was very dangerous and caused many deaths, most people agreed that the benefits greatly out weighed the risks.
The automobile also affected American courting and dating. The automobile became a sign of social status and standing among young people. The idea that men should pick up girls for a dance in an automobile was created because of the popularity of the automobile. The automobile also gave young people mobility and freedom. They no longer had to be under the eyes of their parents. (Jewels, 5)
After World War I, because of mass production, the automobile became the nation’s major means of transportation. Improvements in design and manufacturing turned the automobile from a luxury few could afford into a necessity for many. (World, 926) Before the advent of the automobile, people mainly used railroads to get around. Once the automobile was created, people were able to travel where the railroads didn’t reach. One of the most famous early models of the automobile was Ford’s Model T. It was so popular that production continued for twenty years, driving production costs down so low that eventually the “Tin Lizzie” sold for 375 dollars. (Norman, 156)
The assembly line and other methods of mass production were developed when American businessmen began seeking ways to build more automobiles at a lower price. The idea of using many small identical parts that could be exchanged for each other was engendered by the president of the Cadillac Automobile Company, Henry M. Leland (1843-1932). Once other automobile makers realized the value of small identical parts that were interchangeable, they hired many small machine shops to make identical parts that were then put together at assembly plants. Because of this, any time a customer’s car broke; an identical replacement part could easily be sent to them. This idea greatly prolonged the life of the automobile, making it even more attractive to consumers.
Ransom E. Olds took the first step towards assembly line production when had the framework of each automobile pushed on a wooden platform supported be rolling casters. Henry Ford built on this when he used conveyor belts to pull along the bare frame of a automobile while workmen added parts to it that were brought to them by other conveyor belts. Ford’s utilization of the conveyor belt in the factory was inspired by the Chicago Packing Association’s “disassembly line”, where workers dressed beef pulled along by an overhead trolley. The results of these methods of mass production were plainly visible. In 1901 the Olds Company built 425 automobiles. The next year, using mass-production methods, they built 2,500, more than five times as many.Production
Transportation Infrastructure
Rural Society
City Society
Recreation
Women
Injury and loss of life
Courtship
Mass Production
