The 1920's Automobile

            The 1920’s brought huge success for the automobile industry. The 1920’s brought a whole new variety of makes and models to the automobile industry. One large contributing factor to the success of the automobile industry was Americas booming economy, which was due to the end of World War I and the return soldiers. Soon, American began to see the benefits of the automobile.

            At first the automobile entered the market to appeal to the upper class, but eventually it had such a high demand across America and Europe that it became affordable for the middle class as well. For the first time, the nation’s national wonders and land marks came into the reach of millions of Americans. This was all thanks to the affordable automobile and the ever-growing network of highways. With the growing popularity of automobile, all states by 1918 required license plates. Some states did start requiring licenses by the 1920’s but they didn’t become required in all states until the 1940’s. An example of a license in the 1920’s was that of Indiana. Indiana licenses were placed on red paper with the drivers photograph and personal information on it. This personal information consisted of name, weight, height, hair color, date of birth and address. Back in the 1920’s there was no drivers-ed for new motorists. People learned how to drive from car-salesmen, friends and family and various organizations. [3]

Traveling for pleasure was a new thing for Americans, but now they could strap a tent, a sleeping bag and some food and go see the sights. This was the beginning of the “auto camping.” People now had time to go to lakes, and other camping areas and spend the day exploring and taking pictures. This was a new luxury that Americans weren’t use to. Reynold M. Wik stated that in 1920 a family of five could finance a month long automobile vacation for as little as $100. Most of that money just went to gasoline and groceries. [1]

The twenties also gave birth to another automobile related industry; the feeding and sheltering of tourists. Soon, there were tourist cabins popping up everywhere. Tourist cabins or motels began to compete with one another which caused better facilities and cheaper rates. Also, roadside restaurants began to appear, to feed the hungry travelers. With that being said auto travelers were opened up to a new verity foods and customs. With more people traveling gas stations started to appear at every corner and every intersection.  At the time gas prices were between $0.21 and $0.26 per gallon. [6]

All of these Inns, road side restaurants, and gas stations created thousands of new jobs for Americans across the country. With all of these convenient luxuries across the map, it made it easy for people to travel and experience new lands and cultures. In a sense, the automobile helped break down regional isolation and prejudice in the United States. What I mean by this is that people now had the ability to travel for luxury, which allowed people to travel outside there local area and network of friends. This traveling and vacationing allowed people to mingle with other people of different ethnicity and religion. [1]

The automobile also had a few negative affect on America.  Businesses at the time had no zoning regulations, so they could build where ever they had or bought land. Also, many of these gas stations, inns, and roadside restaurants were visually unappealing. A lot of these business owners didn’t worry about the physical appearance, or atmosphere of their business; instead they wanted large signs and bright lights. They figured the bigger the sign and brighter the lights, then that would get the attention of the passing motorist better then other places. This unsightliness wasn’t true to all businesses across America, but it was true for most. [1]

Another negative effect the automobile had on America was that on the train industry. Trucks started to haul supplies for various companies, which in return cut into the freight train business. The automobile not only hurt the freight train aspect of the industry it also hurt the passenger train. The automobile became so affordable that just about everyone could buy one. Having an automobile also made it more convenient for the everyday American; there were no time restraints or schedules to fallow. Also operating a vehicle was cheaper then riding the train. [9], [15]

The automobile had a major impact on America in just about every shape and size. The automobile created huge industries devoted only on creating automobiles. One large impact was that of the industries that directly contributed to the automobile. One of the industries affected the most was the petroleum industry. Before the creation and wide spread of the automobile, only small amounts of petroleum were converted into gasoline. With the demand of gasoline to power the engines of the automobile, many new oil fields opened which created many new jobs for Americans. Another industry that was affected by the automobile was the rubber industry. Automobiles required rubber for tires, and after a few years of perfecting the tires design, it required more rubber then ever before. Also, like the petroleum industry the rubber industry also grew very fast and opened many new jobs for America. [9], [6]

Beside the effects the automobile had on industries, the automobile also affected the highway systems. With the growing popularity of the automobile, new roads had to be constructed and old roads needed to be redone to support automobiles. “For example, between 1921 and 1941, the United States spent US$40 billion on roads, increasing the amount of surfaced road from 387,000 miles (619,000 kilometers) to over 1,000,000 miles (1.6 million kilometers) which doesn't even take into account road widening.” [6] Cities and towns also had to compensate for the automobile. Many cities had to be redesigned for the overwhelming amount of motor vehicles. [6]

Another effect of the automobile was that on sexual behavior. The automobile allowed teens to travel basically anywhere they would like which gave them their own privacy. Before the automobile couples were usually constrained under adult supervision, but with the automobile they were able to escape the watchful eyes of their parents. This freedom worried many parents. [9]

As you can see the automobile affected just about every aspect of life in American in the 1920’s. The automobile helped break down social and racial barriers which in return helped unite America. The automobile industry also created, directly and indirectly, thousands of new jobs across the country. If it wasn’t for the automobile the world would be a much different place.