Topic > Technological Progress in the Roaring Twenties

Technology played an important role in the economy of the Roaring Twenties. Some examples of new technology include: printing, radio, film, print media, radio programs, RCA, talkies such as The Jazz Singer, movie stars, credit and installment purchases, new forms of transportation such as airplanes and automobiles. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The first piece of technology I will talk about today is airplanes and cars. The first to have a successful flight were the Wright brothers on December 17, 1903. Before that, airplanes were so rare that if you saw one you were lucky. After the First World War they were used much more. The first commercial airplane was built by Alberto Santos-Dumont, a pioneer aviator who invented the airplane. In 1922, the first permanent airport and the first commercial terminal used exclusively for commercial flights opened at Devau Airport near Konigsberg in East Prussia. The first airport terminal was built in 1927. An airport terminal is a building where people can purchase tickets to board a plane and a beautiful and comfortable waiting room where passengers can comfortably wait for the arrival of the their plane. The first commercial flight (i.e. a flight on which innocent people could travel) flew on January 1, 1914, and the first transatlantic flight occurred on June 14 and 15, 1919. The first airplanes were built of lightweight materials such as wood and canvas. Eventually, there were planes made only of metal. The first major user of the aircraft is the United States Postal Service (Department of Posts). They used airplanes to be able to send mail over long distances very quickly. Henry Ford was very angry about airplanes because he feared they would hurt his automobile manufacturing business. Since we're talking about Henry Ford competing with airplanes, let's switch gears and talk about cars. Henry Ford was the leading automobile manufacturer in the 1920s. There was a collection called road financing, where the government pays money to build roads for cars to travel on. Since automobiles had much more traffic than horses, they had to invent methods/materials for traffic control, such as traffic signals. Since cars had to use gas, gas station owners earned revenue from the sale of gas. Gasoline cost between $0.02 per gallon and $0.05 per gallon. The gas tax was paid to the US government, which helped improve the economy. Some streets were made of brick while others were made of gravel. In 1927, Henry Ford invented the Model A which replaced the Model T, which was produced for 18 years. Airplanes and automobiles have affected the economy in many ways. First of all, gas stations were built because cars need gasoline to run. The drivers had to pay for petrol and there were also taxes. The tax was paid to the government and the subtotal was paid to the employees and to help the gas station. Additionally, travelers needed places to stay while they traveled, so motels were invented. Again, people had to pay to stay in hotels, so the employees get paid and the government gets paid too. The government uses tourist money by repairing and maintaining roads, motels, gas stations and even road signs. Another way is car shops. When the cars broke down, they had to have them repaired. There were no do-it-yourselfers back then! Everyone took their car to the shop to buy basic things like new tires and gearbox..