The 1920s: Innovations in COMMUNICATION and TECHNOLOGY [APUSH Unit 7 Topic 7] Period 7: 1898-1945

Heimler's History2021-02-02

265K views|3 years ago

💫 Short Summary

The 1920s in the United States were a time of significant technological and cultural change, with innovations in communication and manufacturing leading to the mass adoption of automobiles, the spread of consumer goods, and the emergence of a national popular culture through radio and cinema. However, these changes also highlighted and emphasized existing cultural and regional differences.

✨ Highlights

📊 Transcript

✦

The 1920s saw significant innovations in technology and communication in the United States.

00:00

Henry Ford revolutionized manufacturing with the introduction of the assembly line.

The affordability of automobiles led to a transformation in American society, with people moving to suburbs and cities being redesigned around the use of cars.

Mass production techniques also changed the economy, leading to a rise in the standard of living and the advertising industry.

The advent of new communication technologies like the radio and cinema contributed to the spread of popular culture throughout America.

✦

The 1920s saw innovations in technology and communication that had a significant impact on American society, including the introduction of mass-produced consumer goods and the transformation of the advertising industry.

02:30

The Ford assembly line and other manufacturing techniques led to the mass production of consumer goods, increasing the standard of living for many Americans.

Innovations in communication technology, such as the radio, allowed for the widespread promotion of consumer products.

The advertising industry benefited from the study of human psychology, influencing people to buy products through subconscious messaging.

✦

The 1920s saw the spread of popular culture in America through new communication technologies like the radio and cinema, but also highlighted regional and cultural differences.

03:45

The introduction of synchronized sound and music in the film 'The Jazz Singer' marked the end of the silent film era.

New media emphasized both national culture and regional differences, particularly in race, ethnicity, and region.

For some groups, the distinction between their lives and the portrayal in popular culture led to movements like the Harlem Renaissance for the black population.

The spread of national culture through the media had a dual effect of emphasizing distinctions among different people groups.

00:00 well hey there and welcome back to

00:00 heimlich history now we've been going

00:02 through unit 7 of the ap u.s history

00:03 curriculum and in this video and the

00:05 next is time to talk about the 1920s

00:08 baby in this video we're going to focus

00:09 on innovations in technology and in the

00:12 next we'll look at how american culture

00:13 was changing during this decade so if

00:15 you're ready to get them brain cows

00:17 milked assembly line style then let's

00:19 get to it so first let's focus our

00:21 energies with the task we're aiming to

00:22 achieve in this video and it is this

00:24 explain the causes and effects of the

00:26 innovations in communication and

00:28 technology in the united states over

00:30 time so i reckon there's no better place

00:32 to start than with our boy henry ford

00:34 now ford made automobiles the most

00:35 recognizable of which was the

00:37 mass-produced model t now cars were a

00:39 big deal in and of themselves but ford's

00:41 contribution to manufacturing technology

00:43 was arguably more important and it's

00:45 here that i introduce you to the

00:47 assembly line so in 1913 ford opened his

00:49 manufacturing plan and the way it worked

00:51 was it had a large conveyor belt that

00:53 slowly transported the partially built

00:55 car from worker to worker each worker

00:57 would perform the same task on each part

00:59 of the car that worker's job was to put

01:01 that bolt in that hole all day per day

01:04 now ford wasn't the first guy to build

01:05 automobiles but this assembly line

01:07 manufacturing was so efficient that it

01:09 drove the price of the finished car so

01:11 low that those who built the cars from

01:13 start to finish could not compete in

01:14 this way unskilled assembly line workers

01:16 gradually replace skilled workers in

01:18 many sectors of manufacturing now you

01:20 might remember what i mentioned before

01:21 about frederick taylor's principles of

01:23 scientific management taylor basically

01:25 went into factories with a stopwatch and

01:27 timed every little task that workers

01:29 performed and then made recommendations

01:31 for how those workers could shave a

01:32 second off here and shave another second

01:34 off there this process was fundamental

01:36 in creating the efficiency of the

01:37 assembly line work now once an

01:39 affordable automobile was introduced to

01:41 americans ford found that there was a

01:43 nearly insatiable demand for them and

01:45 this transition to automobiles was

01:46 really an american phenomenon like by

01:49 the end of this decade americans own

01:50 something like 80 percent of all

01:52 automobiles worldwide it's a lot of

01:54 forwards tony and with the widespread

01:56 purchasing of cars came a profound

01:58 impact on american society as people's

02:00 individual mobility increased a metric

02:02 buttload of them began settling outside

02:04 of urban centers in suburbs but we'll

02:06 get to that more in the next unit but

02:08 even cities themselves like los angeles

02:10 and houston were remade into the image

02:12 of the automobile with roads becoming a

02:14 dominant urban feature so i've been

02:16 focusing on cars and how they shape

02:18 society but these same manufacturing

02:20 techniques refocus the american economy

02:22 on mass-produced consumer goods as well

02:24 not only were cars being offered to the

02:26 public but so were toasters and radios

02:28 and various health and beauty products

02:30 and consumer appliances and all these

02:32 manufacturers found willing customers

02:34 across america since in general many

02:36 american standard of living rose during

02:38 this decade and with the proliferation

02:39 of consumer goods the advertising

02:41 industry got its big boy pants on too

02:43 and thanks to sigmund freud's studies on

02:45 human psychology advertisers learned how

02:47 to promote their products through ads

02:49 that attempted to tap into the

02:50 subconscious of their customers no

02:52 longer did they encourage you to buy

02:54 this toaster because it was better than

02:56 the other toasters now they messed with

02:58 americans brains and says if you don't

02:59 have this toaster can you even call

03:01 yourself a woman okay another very

03:03 significant consequence of this flurry

03:05 of new technology was the advent and

03:07 spread of popular culture throughout

03:08 america this was accomplished largely

03:10 through new communication technologies

03:11 like the radio and cinema the radio was

03:13 almost non-existent at the beginning of

03:15 the 1920s but by the end of the decade

03:17 many american homes had them

03:19 corporations like westinghouse seized

03:20 the potential to reach mass audiences

03:22 and by 1923 there were just under 600

03:25 official radio broadcasters not only did

03:27 they broadcast news programs but they

03:29 also had programs specifically for

03:31 entertainment like the amos and andy

03:33 show which was a nightly serialized show

03:35 made in the image of the old minstrel

03:36 shows popular during the gilded age then

03:38 we had the cinema or movies and these

03:40 were spreading mass culture as well by

03:42 the end of the 1920s almost three

03:43 quarters of the american population was

03:45 attending movies on a weekly basis one

03:47 of the most significant films to be

03:48 released was the jazz singer which was

03:50 the first movie to have synchronized

03:52 sound and music thus ending the silent

03:55 film era but it's also going to be very

03:56 important for you to know that as these

03:58 new media were spreading a form of

03:59 homogenized national culture through

04:01 movies and radios it also had the effect

04:04 of emphasizing regional and cultural

04:06 differences as well especially those

04:08 differences in race ethnicity and region

04:11 for example very few radio shows or

04:12 movies depicted the black experience in

04:14 america unless it was their relationship

04:16 to white americans so as many black

04:18 americans listened to these shows and

04:20 watched these films which were the

04:21 product of a national culture which is

04:23 to say that they depict what it looked

04:24 like to be an american many of them

04:26 looked at their own lives and found that

04:28 they were in fact distinct from the

04:29 version of america given to them in

04:31 popular culture for the black population

04:33 this distinction led to the harlem

04:35 renaissance but we'll save that for the

04:36 next video and the same was true for

04:38 rural folks who saw films portraying

04:40 urban life like it served to show them

04:42 that their way of life was in fact

04:44 distinct so that's what i mean when i

04:46 say that the national culture being

04:48 spread through the media had a way of

04:49 emphasizing distinctions among different

04:51 people groups alright thanks for

04:52 watching check out my april review

04:54 packet right here if you need help

04:55 getting an a in your class and a five on

04:57 your exam in maine if you need more

04:58 videos on unit 7 topics and this

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💫 FAQs about This YouTube Video

1. How did Henry Ford revolutionize manufacturing in the 1920s?

Henry Ford revolutionized manufacturing in the 1920s with the introduction of the assembly line. This innovation significantly increased the efficiency of the manufacturing process, particularly for the mass-produced Model T cars, by having workers focus on specific, repetitive tasks. The approach lowered the cost of production, making automobiles more affordable and leading to a shift from skilled to unskilled workers in many manufacturing sectors.

2. What impact did the widespread adoption of automobiles have on American society in the 1920s?

The widespread adoption of automobiles in the 1920s had a profound impact on American society. It led to increased individual mobility, which in turn contributed to the expansion of suburbs as people could more easily live outside of urban centers. Furthermore, cities themselves were transformed to accommodate the automobile, with the development of extensive road networks.

3. How did the manufacturing techniques of the 1920s affect the American economy?

The manufacturing techniques of the 1920s, particularly the focus on mass production and efficiency, had a significant impact on the American economy. The introduction of consumer goods such as toasters, radios, and appliances, combined with the rise in the standard of living, created a consumer market with high demand. This also spurred the growth of the advertising industry, which leveraged new insights into human psychology to promote products.

4. What role did new communication technologies play in spreading popular culture in the 1920s?

New communication technologies, such as the radio and cinema, played a crucial role in spreading popular culture in the 1920s. The adoption of radios in many American homes enabled the dissemination of music, entertainment, and news programs, contributing to a more homogenized national culture. Similarly, the widespread attendance of movies introduced people to a shared cinematic experience, although it also highlighted cultural differences.

5. How did the spread of popular culture through the media in the 1920s impact different groups of people in America?

The spread of popular culture through the media in the 1920s had a complex impact on different groups of people in America. While it created a more unified national culture, it also accentuated the differences in regional and cultural experiences, particularly for minority groups. The depiction of everyday life in movies and radio shows often did not accurately reflect the lives of these groups, leading to a greater awareness of their distinct experiences.

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