Industrial Technology and Economic Impact Flashcards

Flashcards covering key concepts, events, and economic impacts from the lecture on industrial technology and the Golden Age of Capitalism.

What invention, exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1867, revolutionized power application and transportation?

The internal combustion engine.

Who invented the world's first internal combustion engine?

Dr. N. A. Otto of Germany.

By 1923, what was the status of the automobile industry in the United States?

It was the largest industry in the country, with its annual payroll in 1960 being as large as the national income of the U.S. in 1890.

To what extent has the modern U.S. economy become 'mobilized'?

Our entire economy has become dependent for its very functioning on the existence of wheeled, self-propelled transportation.

What was the first effect of industrial technology on the urbanization of society?

A vast increase in the degree of urbanization of society, with technology enhancing the ability of farmers to support non-farmers, leading to society increasingly taking on city aspects.

How has industrial technology affected the economic independence of the average citizen?

It has greatly lessened the degree of economic independence, as work has become vastly more specialized, making individuals dependent on a wide network of others.

How did the Industrial Revolution change the character of work itself?

Work became more repetitive, requiring less muscular ability and judgment, performed in vast groups, and workers often could not identify their contribution in the final product.

What economic phenomenon describes the development of continuous throughput, far exceeding productivity gains of simple division of labor?

Mass production.

What is one key economic result of increases in the scale of production, such as those achieved through mass production?

Great reductions in cost per unit of output, despite expensive machinery.

What was the immediate source of the unprecedented demand that spurred economic growth after World War II?

The social effect of four years of 'going without' during the war, combined with swollen savings accounts.

What crucial element of the 1948 labor contract between General Motors and the United Auto Workers helped prolong the 'Golden Age' boom?

An agreement to key wage increases into increases in productivity, giving workers a stake in productivity advanced.

Besides providing free education, what other significant benefits did the GI Bill of Rights offer veterans and their families?

Subsidized housing and other benefits, providing a broad-based impetus to the nascent economic boom.

What major civilian project, undertaken by the federal government under Republican President Eisenhower, significantly impacted interstate commerce and American society?

The planning and construction of a national network of superhighways.

If any single phenomenon can be said to mark the end of the Golden Age, what was it?

The appearance of new, persistent, and eventually alarming inflation.

What economic challenge emerged in the 1970s, characterized by the simultaneous experience of price inflation and a downturn in growth and employment?

Stagflation.