The Impact of the Automobile on the United States Essay -- Automobiles

The Impact of the motorcar on the United States The automobile has had a profound meet on the United States. It has brought ussuperhigh moods, paved bridges, motels, vacations, suburbia, and the economic growthwhich accompanied them. Today, the automotive industry and nearly one million relatedindustries employ well-nigh twenty percent of all American workers. The US produces moreautomobiles than every other nation combined. This product has become a symbol of theAmerican way of life. The US is sometimes referred to as a nation on wheels. Considering these facts, one must wonder what the United States was like before therevolutionary innovation of the automobile. The outset automobile was invented by a French artillery officer, Nicholas JosephCugnot. His self-propelled vehicle was powered by steam. Other models ofsteam-powered automobiles were created by different innovators, but these models were finally make obsolete by the internal-combustion powered car invented by Je an JosephEtienne Lenior. This technology reached the United States when Charles and FrankDuryea made the first successful American flatulency automobile. Ransom Eli Olds had theearliest assembly line for automobiles and began mass production. Later, Henry FordsModel T dominated the car industry and remained the most prevalent automobile for nearlytwenty years. In the early days of the automobile, there was not a real automotive industry. Onlya few c cars were made in the early years of automobile manufacturing. They werevery seldom seen and only could be afforded by the wealthy. The car was such anunfamiliar spectacle, it was sometimes feature in circuses. Eventually, the car began toincrease in popularity. During the 1920s, the US economy was on the rise and one of the main reasonswas the automobile. Assembly lines were becoming more efficient, thus, admitting cars tobe made more cheaply and allowing prices of cars to drop. From 1909 to 1925, the priceof a Ford Model T dropped from $950 to $290. This allowed more people to be able toafford them. Millions were sold. The automobile, once a rarefied luxury, was becoming apart of American life. It had a ripple effect on US industries. With the increase inautomobiles, came an increase in related products. salient quantities of glass, rubber andsteel were needed t... ...nvolved with the safety of Americans. Many actions by the governmentsuch as the seatbelt requirement and the establishment of the Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) dedicate made the automobile safer for the general public. The automobile has had many different effects on the United States, both good andbad. In the future it will concern to shape our culture, commerce and surroundings.Works Cited1Thomas DiBacco, Lorna Mason, Christian Appy, History of the United States, vol. 2 (Evanston McDougal Littell Inc.), p. 324.2John Rae, The American Automobile Industry, (Boston G.K. Hall & Company), p. 89-92.3John Rae, The Amer ican Automobile Industry, (Boston G.K. Hall & Company), p. 96.4John Rae, The American Automobile Industry, (Boston G.K. Hall & Company), p. 188.5John Rae, The American Automobile Industry, (Boston G.K. Hall & Company), p. 89-90.6American Lung Association of California, , 13 April 2001.7National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, , 14 April 2001.