Jul 05 2011 12:04 am

Posted by under July 5 Assignment

Spread of Electricity

Electricity was not very wide spread by the early 20th century. As technology developed and there became more demand for household appliances, so did the demand for electrical wired housing. In 1920, city housing was only 10% total electrically wired, but in just 10 years it jumped up to 50%. However in rural parts of the country where farming was prominent, houses rarely had electricity. Because of this, many of the new innovations in washing machines, vacuum cleaners, refrigerators and radios were primarily promoted to urban and suburban society rather than to rural society (Chudacoff 186). With the usage of these appliances many more women raised their own standards of cleanliness, by tending to choirs more often due to the convenience created by these appliances, which also resulted in demand for greater spread and supply of electricity. Although it is not a new invention, electricity has changed the developed world so much that it would be very challenging to live without it.

1920's Washer Machine

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One Response to “Spread of Electricity”

  1. natalia.tatishvili on 07 Jul 2011 at 1:12 am #

    I agree with your post but, it didn’t take long for rural places to get electricity. According to TVAkids.com, “President Franklin D. Roosevelt believed strongly that America’s farming areas should have the same access to electricity as cities did. In 1935 the Rural Electric Administration was created to bring electricity to rural areas like the Tennessee Valley.
    By 1939 the percentage of rural homes with electricity had risen to 25 percent”. This shows us that the use of electricity spread out quickly throughout United States.