The+Automobile

**The Automobile**
By Kelsie Nye

In 1901 the first [|automobile] was produced for the masses in the U.S. This was the three-horsepower Oldsmobile, only 425 were sold in that year and 5,000 in 1904. The Ford Company was formed in June 1903 and sold its first car on the following July 23. Henry Ford produced only 1,700 cars during its first full year of business, by 1920 Ford had sold over a million cars in the U.S. The first mass produced automobiles in America were made as toys for only the rich. Then Henry Ford changed the American society forever by producing the first economic car for the average American. The availability to automobiles helped to erase the need for people to live solely where there were bus and train stations. As long as there were roads and highways to connect them to their work, they had more choices as to where they lived. To help maintain and build highways many states established motor fuel taxes.

With the growing popularity of the automobile the economy was boosted during a boom period after World War I but dropped suddenly during the Great Depression. World War II caused a large increase in mass transit because employment was high and automobiles were few. At first, after WWII the amount of car owners increased dramatically but motors, fuel and tires were in short supply. Then as the country shifted from making war supplies to car parts the production capacity increased dramatically. During the war most people had been saving because there had been little to buy but afterwards some had the money to buy automobiles. However, many people longed for the freedom and expansion of opportunities that the automobile could bring.

The automobile changed the American society forever by creating new jobs and opportunities to regular citizens. Before the automobile became available, people were limited to their places they could travel. Horse-drawn wagons could travel only 15 to 20 miles at a time, forcing people to live within that radius for their place of work and their homes. If you lived in the city, you had to work in the city and if you lived in the country, you had to work on a farm. In cities suburbs were made possible and people were able to commute from the suburbs to their jobs in the city. Everywhere jobs were created because of the production of the automobile such as; fast food, highway maintenance, state patrol/police, convenience stores, gas stations, auto repair shops, etc.



Works Cited:


 * "The History of the Automobile." //The Impact of the Automobile on the 20th Century//. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan 2012. .