Henry Ford's Economic Impact On The Economy

Once Henry Ford made the automobile affordable, the lives of every citizen changed. He impacted the United States (and the world) both economically and socially. He did this by creating the assembly line. This assembly line enabled the mass production of the automobile and ultimately a discounted price. Socially, among other things, he improved the quality of life greatly. People were able to take vacations to places that they would have never have been able to go, even if just for a day trip on a weekend. In addition, many people began to move to the suburbs, and commute to the cities for work. Also, the automobile was viewed as a private, mobile place for couples to drive around together. Economically, people happily paid taxes for gas because they knew that the money was being used to improve highways, thus giving them more freedom. Land near highways were valued greatly. Lastly, there is a possible correlation between automobiles and the stock market crash. People became accustomed to buying on credit, and mass consumption because the norm. Socially, the automobile changed the majority of Americans’ ways of life, and economically, the automobile brought factories outside of cities and allowed businesses to cultivate a whole new vein of their companies that specifically appealed to automobile owners. One of the biggest ways that automobiles …show more content…
Even though the automobile was affordable for so many people, some people were still forced to take out loans for their cars. Socially, an automobile was viewed as a necessity, so even if a family could not afford one, they would still buy one. When people could not pay off these loans they accumulated debt. As the percent of people taking out these loans increased, large portions of America became impoverished. This was one of the causes of the depression of the