The Age of the Automobile can be viewed from the following perspectives. The first perspective is Henry Ford, his invention of the Model T, and the creation of the Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford recognized the demand for the automobile would increase, and used his idea of the assembly line to make automobiles rapidly accessible to the public. Ford hired mechanics who liked to tinker with automobiles to create reliable, low cost, easy to operate, and easy to fix automobiles for the public. The second perspective is the view of the automobile as part of the economic transformation of the 1920s. Ford’s mass production techniques increased worker productivity. His company was able to make more cars available at a reasonable cost. The manufacturing of the automobile led to the demand for products such as steel, rubber, glass, oil, and gasoline to build and operate the automobiles. The automobile also developed a new cultural outlook in America. This perspective became known as the “work to live” philosophy. Individuals who worked long hours, looked forward to the new lifestyle and freedom the automobile gave them. They became more mobile and many Americans moved to the suburbs because the automobile enabled them to commute to work in the cities. Americans began taking extended vacations. This led to the growth of roadside restaurants, service stations and motels. New businesses were developing to support the freedom the automobile gave Americans.

How did the proliferation of automobile ownership effect American society?

“The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise.

He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice...

He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she earns.”

- Seneca Falls Convention, Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, 1848

In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Women's Rights movement experienced a divide due to differing opinions on which of the following issues?