How Automobiles Affected Life In The 19th Century

Automobiles affected life in many ways, mainly by providing more jobs and allowing people to gain more freedom. “The growth of the automobile industry caused an economic revolution across the United States. Dozens of spin-offs industries blossomed. Road construction created thousands of new jobs, as stores and local governments began funding highway design” (The Age 4). Soon enough, the federal government even became involved through the Federal Highway Act of 1921. Gas stations began to be made and mechanics began to earn a living fixing unavoidable problems that were sure to happen. When the demand for automobiles increases, so did oil and steel, which became two well-known industries (The Age 5). Automobiles also affected cuisine. The typical …show more content…
The automobiles were able to create mobility on a scale that was never known or done before, and because of that it had a total effect on living habits and social ways. During the times of horse-drawn transportation, the average limit of wagon travel was around ten to fifteen miles, meaning that a community or individual from a city, railroad, or navigable waterway, was unfortunately isolated from the mainstream of social life. Now, farmers can easily drive to town when needed and institutions such as schools and hospitals are now easily accessible (The …show more content…
In 1914 the Model T was created and sold for $450. By 1920 it became popular and there were over eight million registrations. Automobile ownership grew tremendously over a short period of time and the number of registered drivers almost tripled to twenty three million by the end of the decade (The Age 3). The mass production of the automobiles was successful thanks to Henry Ford and his brilliant idea of creating the assembly line in 1913. This innovation was able to decrease the time it took to manufacture a car from more to twelve hours down to two hours and thirty minutes (Ford’s