Sam Leatham

Hist1700
3/11/15
Reaction Paper # 4

As we have been learning in class, the way of life before and after
World War 1 shifted into a standard of living very different from how it had
been in the history of America. Consumer capitalism took over the nation. As
seen in the documents given, began to have a mind set to think of what
others would think of them rather than thinking for themselves. This was the
time when having the highest social status became the need of all the
people. The American population was being governed by the opinions of
others and the people werent thinking for themselves.
This need for a high social status is noticed in the first document about
the rise of the automobile industry. Owning a vehicle in the early 1900s
became very popular even for those who couldnt afford it. At the turn of the
century, business class people began to feel apologetic if they did not have a
telephone, so ownership of an automobile ha[d] now reached the point of
being an accepted essential of normal living. (Middletown) People began to
feel socially unaccepted if they didnt own a car, not because owning a car
was necessarily needed,

but because of social status and the effects of consumer capitalism. It is

interesting to note that this way of thinking is still practiced today by the
majority of the American people. It is all about what others will think of me. I
also found it interesting that the automobile ha[d] apparently unsettled the
habit of careful saving for some families. (Middletown) This is also seen in
todays society, not only in America, but I witnessed this on the other side of
the world. I served as missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints in Santiago Chile and saw the need for prioritizing needs before
wants. It was amazing to see houses made out of ply wood and sheet
metal and then seeing a satellite dish nailed on the side with a fifty inch
screen TV inside. Consumer Capitalism has a huge influence on the world.
It was also noticed in the advertisement for Listerine. The way that the
manufacturers tried to sell their product was by getting people to think selfconsciously about what others would think of them if they didnt use their
product. .Halitosis (the scientific term for unpleasant breath) creeps upon
you unawares. Usually you are not able to detect it yourself. And, naturally
enough, even your best friends will not tell you.(Listerine) Again, the
advertisers put into the minds of the buyers the fact that owning the product

was a need and not a want. They even went so far as to make you think
differently about your friends!
It was finally noticed in the document about Bruce Barton. Bruce, as a
little child let the

way people taught him about Christ get in the way of actually knowing who
he really was. In his opinion, Christ was portrayed as a pale young man with
flabby forearms and a sad expression. (Bruce Barton) Without even knowing
himself, Bruce led himself to think that the people were teaching him about a
man who, compared to David, and Daniel, and other biblical persons, was
weak and pushed around by the people. This was the case, until he began to
think for himself. He one day realized that "Only strong magnetic men inspire
great enthusiasm and build great organizations. Yet Jesus built the greatest
organization of all."(Bruce Barton) The day he began to think for himself he
realized that Christ wasnt such a weak man. A physical weakling! Where did
they get that idea?(Bruce Barton)
It is evident that Consumer Capitalism had a tremendous effect on not
only the American people during the early 1900s, but it still does today on
the entire world! Hopefully one day the people of this world will be able to

make that switch in mind-set back to allow us to think for ourselves, rather
than letting the social standards of living think for us.

Sources

Source: Bruce Barton, "How It Came to Be Written" from The Man

Nobody Knows. Copyright 1925by The Bobbs-Merrill Company and
renewed 1953 by Bruce Barton. Reprinted with the permissionof
Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group. All

rights reserved.
Source: Listerine ad byLambert PharmacalCompany, St. Louis,
inLiterary Digest, November17,1923. Courtesy ofWarner-

LambertCompany, the copyrightand trademark owner.

Source: Excerpt from Middletown: A Study in American Culture, 253260. Copyright 1929 by

Harcourt, Inc., and renewed 1957 by Robert S. and Helen M. Lynd.

Reprinted by permission of thepublisher.