Land of Desire by William Leach (Progressive Era-WWI, Class and Economy)

Land of Desire 

by William Leach 

Progressive Era-WWI
Class and Economy

Thesis:

Industrialization, and the concentration of wealth and production led to a transformation of American culture into a consumer culture like had never been seen anywhere in the world.
This book covers the rise of consumerism from 1890-1930.
American society was ultimately changed from that point on. The American way of life, valued as goods and wealth became mainstream and has never faded.

Specific examples/evidence that supports the thesis:

The development of department stores was a dramatic change to the economy because now the sale of goods was concentrated with those wealthy enough to create one of these massive stores that sells some of everything. The merchants of the old world could no longer compete.
The world's fair drove a desire for a massive range of goods from around the world.
Advertising, and window displays were developed and perfected at the end of the 19th century to produce a drive towards consumerism.

Fashion was a necessity to maintain consumerism. Focused mainly on women, advertisers tried to convince them that wearing something from last season would prove that you did not have the livelihood to afford to buy new clothes like the rest of the presentable women.
The relative easy access to and cheap nature of credit arose during this period and encouraged people to buy things they hoped to afford later. Saving went out the window, traded in for buy now pay later mentality. This was also encouraged by the relative degradation of the value of money. Money not spent, lost buying power as time went on.

Summary:

As consumerism became mainstream, it was supported and promoted by other fixtures of American life. The government assisted with the Department of Commerce, educational institutions like Harvard taught advertising as integral to business, cities promoted business by sponsoring pageants, the US Postal Service and Children's Bureau partnered with department stores.

What does this tell us about Class and Economy in the Progressive Era-WWI?
During the Progressive Era there was a large concentration of wealth with the elite and corporations. Consumerism fostered this kind of dispersal of wealth. Artisans and merchants could not contend with the large scale department stores. The cult of desire encouraged people to spend their money on fashionable items every season. Money came and went quickly. 

What parts of the book can be applied to lectures?

During this era, advertising really began as an industry with color adds, and clever selling techniques. Before this, people usually just had text ads that advised when and where a product could be purchased.
Additionally store windows were added to show off goods each store sold. before this, windows were not often used in store construction.
At this time, department stores would basically do anything for their patrons. Shipping anywhere was free and they would hunt down items for customers. The stores sent out catalogs that contained everything one could think of to buy.
This is when the commercialized Santa came out to help promote family values by way of consuming.

General Thoughts:

It's interesting that during the Progressive era, consumerism took hold. Thinking of the progressives as wanting to equalize economic welfare through government intervention seems contrary to consumer culture, but perhaps it is the strong desire for wealth promoted by consumer culture that made people so unsatisfied by the economic inequalities of the period.

Excerpts from Book Reviews: 

My Highlights:

"Acquisition and consumption as the means of achieving happiness; the cult of the new; the democratization of desire; and money value as the predominant measure of all value in society." (3)

"American corporate business, in league with key institutions, began the transformation of American society into a society preoccupied with consumption, with comfort and bodily well-being, with luxury, spending, and acquisition, with more goods this year than last, more next year than this." (xiii.)

"diminished American public life, denying the American people access to insight into other ways of organizing and conceiving life, insight that might have endowed their consent to the dominant culture...with real democracy." (xv.)

"This book examines how this older culture was challenged and was gradually superseded by the newer culture. It deals with the new national corporations and the investment banks as they moved almost overnight into the everyday lives of Americans. It focuses on mail order houses, on chain stores and dry goods houses, on hotels and restaurants, and especially on department stores, and it does so in part because most historians have for too long looked down on them."

"It was the country’s first world’s fair and probably the most influential of all the fairs because it unlocked the floodgates to what became a steady flow of goods and fantasies about goods."