1. Section 3: Business of America
Chapter 12
Section 3: Business of America

2. American Industries Flourish
Calvin Coolidge said, “the chief business of American people is business”.
Coolidge and his republican successor Herbert Hoover had a goal: to keep government interference in business to a minimum and to allow private enterprises to flourish.
Coolidge’s administration continued to place high tariffs on foreign imports which helped American manufactures
For most of the 1920s this approach seemed to work.
People had more money in their pockets

3. Impact of the Automobile
The automobile literally changed American landscape
The legendary route 66 provided a route for people traveling west from Chicago to California.
1st traffic signals began blinking in Detroit in early 1920s
Allowed both women and young people to become more independent
Auto industry symbolize the success of free enterprise system and the Coolidge era
In the late 1920s about 80% of all registered motor vehicles in the world were in the U.S.

4. The Young Airplane Industry
Airplane industry began as a mail carrying service for the U.S post office
The first flight was in 1718 and was a disaster!
Weather forecasting was a big help for pilots
Planes began carrying radios and navigational instruments
In 1926, Henry Ford made a motor airplane
The Lockhead company produced a single engine plane called the Vega in 1927
It was one of the most popular transport airplanes of the late 1920’s

5. Electrical Conveniences
These appliances made lives of house wives more simple and opened up their lives to the community
Gasoline powered much of the economic boom in 1920
Electricity transformed the nation.
The development of an AC electricity made it possible to distribute power over long distance

6. The Dawn of Modern Advertisement
There were new goods flooding markets
Companies hired psychologists to study how to appeal to people’s desires for youthfulness, beauty, health and wealth
Business people applied to power for advertising to other areas of American life

7. Producing Great Quantities of Goods
Productivity increased, business expanded
There were many merges of companies that manufactured automobiles, steel, and electrical equipment
Chain stores sprouted, selling groceries drugs, shoes and clothes.
Five and –dime stores spread rapidly.
The income gap between workers and managers increased as business grew
Railroad and iron industries weren’t prosperous and farms suffered losses.

8. Buying goods on credit
Easy credit provided a way for avg. income citizens to afford new consumer goods
Banks provided the money at low interest
The 1920s brought technological and economical changes, life seemed easier
The installment plan enabled people to buy goods over an extended period w/out having to put down much money of the time of purchase.