Gadgets in the 1920's

Telephones were still a luxury in the early 1920’s. Although the telephone had existed for a few decades by that point, only 35 percent of households had one. To provide an example, when Calvin Coolidge was Vice President, his hometown in Massachusetts only had one telephone, located in the general store. When the store closed in the evenings and on Sunday, the town’s residents had no phone access.[i]
Radios were also a new item. The first commercial radio broadcast was in November of 1920. At the time, most radio receivers were homemade crystal sets that could be put together for about $2 and used with a $4 set of earphones. At the end of 1921, there were only ten radio stations in the U.S. A year later, there were 350 radio stations.
Films were also very popular in the early 1920’s, but they had no sound. Theaters presented movies with the music of a live piano player, organist, or sometimes a live orchestra. During the period discussed in this book, Charlie Chaplain was a new silent movie star. The first feature-length “talking picture,” The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson, did not debut until 1927.[ii]
The automobile brought swift changes to America during this period. In 1920, only one household in three owned an automobile. However, America had an extensive, reliable system of railroads that crossed the country and reached most small towns. Most cities and towns were designed for pedestrians, so car ownership was not a necessity.
During those years, most American roads were dirt roads and no paved highway existed to connect the East and West Coast. In a practical sense, this meant that during times of heavy rain, the roads could turn into muddy quagmires. On the other hand, if there were a drought, vehicles and horses kicked up large amounts of dust (including dried manure). The switch from horses to automobiles did not happen overnight. In the city and in the country, many people were still using horses and mules, each of which made about 15-25 pounds of manure a day. One can only imagine the stench of a city like New York or Chicago in those days.
Henry Ford revolutionized the assembly line system and his workers cranked out an affordable and durable car “for the masses” called the Model T. To sell his cars, Ford introduced consumer credit on a massive scale, making it possible for Americans to live beyond their means. In the 1920’s, easy credit helped expand the American economy greatly, which worked out well until the credit bubble burst in 1929.
In order to accommodate the increased number of cars and trucks on the road, Congress approved a measure to subsidize highway construction. However, even by the 1929, only one fifth of America’s roads were paved.[iii]
[i] “Table Dg34-45- Telephone Industry- telephones, access lines, wire, employees, and plant: 1876-2000.” (Cambridge University Press, 2007.)
[ii] Kyvig, pp.75-76.
[iii] Ibid., p.49.