Republic Of Drivers Summary

the book, Republic of Drivers, associate professor of American studies Cotten Seiler, writes about how the automobile came to be, and how it has become a dominating factor in the lives of Americans. Seiler examines and analyzes how automobility has affected our society and culture, from when the first automobile manufacturing company was created in 1895, to the completion of the Eisenhower administration in 1961. Seiler focuses on the early years from 1895 through the 1920’s when automobility was emerging at a time of corporate capitalism, and in the 1950’s during the time Seiler calls, “automobility’s high-modernist moment”. Seiler conveys that the automobile provides freedom; freedom to go where and when you please, contribution to women …show more content…
Automobiles and driving had always been a staple of masculinity across the country, associated with masculine prerogative and ruggedness. However, for women, driving offered an opportunity of freedom and liberation from housework. Women at the time wanted to redefine the role of the female in society, and turn women into adventure seekers and members of the upper class. Advertisers surprisingly accepted these ideas and marketed more ads towards women, “During and directly after women’s struggle for the franchise, advertiser’s flattered women with an identity of “sovereign consumer,” celebrating, in often explicitly political language and images, women’s capacities to make informed choices and to “accept no substitutes” (51). These ads helped push the modern idea of feminine equality into the everyday lives of Americans. “As the car became a literal instrument of women’s deliverance from the spaces of domesticity, women used images of driving to conceive a more intrepid modern femininity, one that was politically significant” (51). Gradually, smaller, and more fashionable “feminine cars” were created and marketed towards women. Women even began to participate in races and auto clubs, breaking down the feminine-masculine barrier for sports and pastimes and becoming their own individuals. The idea of individualism also resurfaced with the creation of the automobile. Seiler explains that American culture became obsessed with self expression as the freedom of the road was given to them. The freedom to travel where and when they pleased gave the public the desire to become their own individual. Marketing took off and so did car sales when the public wanted their own, shiny, automobile that was unlike anyone