America on the Move The automobile is one of the few inventions that truly changed America. One has to wonder if Henry Ford realized that he was making history
when the first Model-T rolled off the assembly line. Whether or not Ford had any idea what was coming, the United States would never be the
same again.
Interestingly, the earliest automobiles were not American at all. The first cars were actually built in Germany around 1884 and did not make
their American debut until sometime later. Initially, the automobile was not a hit in the United States. At the time, trains and coaches were the
primary means of transportation, and cars were nothing more than an expensive alternative. That all changed when Henry Ford came along.
Ford was passionate about the automobile and wanted to see it succeed. He believed that the best way to get people interested in cars was to
make them more affordable and more common. To do that, Ford introduced the assembly line, a revolutionary system that allowed him to make
a large number of cars quickly at a relatively low cost. With this system in place, Ford was able to produce a more affordable car known as the
Model-T. Sales skyrocketed immediately. Between 1913 and 1927, Ford put about 14 million Model-Ts on the road.
By the late 1920s, America was quickly falling in love with the automobile. Drivers found that automobiles gave them a degree of freedom they
had never enjoyed before. They could go just about anywhere they wanted whenever they felt like it. Now that it was so much easier to get from
one place to another quickly, people increasingly moved out of big cities and into new neighborhoods that became known as suburbs. The freedom offered by the automobile also encouraged people to travel more often for leisure. As more people hit the road, gas stations,
motels, diners, and other roadside establishments catering to travelers sprung up all over America. The desire among motorists for a quick,
inexpensive meal on the go gave birth to the concept of fast food, which eventually became another American staple.
The automobile also changed the way Americans made purchases. In order to make his cars as affordable as possible, Ford came up with the
idea of selling his Model-Ts on credit. This notion of "buy now, pay later" in time became an essential part of the U. S. economy.
By 1956, the popularity of the automobile was undeniable. Realizing that cars were the future of transportation, President Dwight D.
Eisenhower issued the Interstate Highway Act, which made possible the construction of 42,400 miles of interstate highways that connected the
nation. Since then, driving has become a way of life in America.
Write a conclusion that follows logically from the information in the essay.