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Henry Ford: Assembly line
[Experience History: Interpreting America's Past](Davidson, DeLay, Heyrman, Lytle, & Stoff)Ford introduced the assembly line in 1914. A conveyor belt, positioned waist high to eliminate bending or walking, propelled the chassis at 6 feet per minute as stationary workers put the cars together. The process cut assembly time in half. In 1925, new Model Ts were rolling off Ford's lines every 10 seconds. At $290, almost anybody could buy one. The assembly line was significant because without it, we wouldn't have half the things we have today (p. 651). -
Ku Klux Klan reborn
[Experience History: Interpreting America's Past](Davidson, DeLay, Heyrman, Lytle, & Stoff)The modern Klan reflected the insecurities of the New Era. Klansmen worried about the changes and conflicts in American society, which they attributed to the rising tide of new immigrants, "up-pity women," and African Americans who refused to "recognize their place." Whereas any white man could join the old Klan, the new one admitted only "native born, white gentile [Protestant] Americans." The new KKK drew on the culture of small-town America and responded to some of its anxieties (p.667). -
Eighteenth Amendment
[Experience History: Interpreting America's Past](Davidson, DeLay, Heyrman, Lytle, & Stoff)Prohibition was not total: private citizens could still drink. They simply could not make, sell, transport, or import any "intoxicating beverage" containing .5 percent alcohol or more. The significance of this was to take the profit out of the liquor trade and reduce alcohol consumption without trampling too heavily on the rights of individuals (p. 664). -
Washington Naval Disarmament Conference
[Experience History: Interpreting America's Past](Davidson, DeLay, Heyrman, Lytle, & Stoff)A conference held in Washington, the sea powers of the world agreed to freeze battleship construction for 10 years and to set ratios on the tonnage of each navy. This was significant because the Five-Power Agreement was the first disarmament treaty in modern history (p.671). -
The Dawes Plan
[Experience History: Interpreting America's Past](Davidson, DeLay, Heyrman, Lytle, & Stoff)Charles G. Dawes attempted in 1924 to solve the World War I reparations problem, by persuading victorious Europeans to scale down reparations. In return the US promised to help stabilize the German economy. The importance of the Dawes Plan was that it provided short-term economic benefits to the German economy and softened the burdens of war reparations. By stabilizing the currency, it brought increased foreign investments and loans to the German market (p. 671). -
Charles Lindbergh
[Experience History: Interpreting America's Past](Davidson, DeLay, Heyrman, Lytle, & Stoff)"Lucky Lindy" streaked into the skies above Long Island aboard a silver-winged monoplane called the 'Spirit of St. Louis,' headed east, and 33 hours and 30 minutes later, landed outside Paris. Lindbergh was the first flier to cross the Atlantic alone; eight others had died trying. This was significant because never had one person mastered a machine so completely or conquered nature so courageously (p.659-660). -
Kellogg-Briand Pact
[Experience History: Interpreting America's Past](Davidson, DeLay, Heyrman, Lytle, & Stoff)The major nations of the world (except Soviet Union) signed this pact outlawing war. "Peace is proclaimed," announced Secretary of State Frank Kellogg as he signed the document with a foot-long pen of gold. This pact was significant because it was one of many international efforts to prevent another World War, but it had little effect in stopping the rising militarism of the 1930s or preventing World War II (p.671). -
Stock Market Crash
[Experience History: Interpreting America's Past](Davidson, DeLay, Heyrman, Lytle, & Stoff)Stockholders lost $10 billion in a single day. And the downward slide continued for almost four years. The Great Crash did not cause the Great Depression, but it did damage the economy and break the unbounded optimism on which the New Era rested. This was significant because the Great Crash signaled the start of the greatest depression in the history of the modern world (p.672).
