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1-Page Summary of One Summer
Overview
Many of us have a memory from our childhood or adolescence of a magical summer that changed everything. But could the same thing happen to an entire country? In hindsight, the summer of 1927 seems to have been exactly that sort of pivotal moment for America. Many culturally significant events happened in 1927 and it was a time when we were experiencing affluence like never before. The summer of 1927 signalled the dawning age of American consumerism as well as global power but also held early omens about bad times coming with the Great Depression.
In this article, you’ll learn why Charles Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic Ocean saved US aviation; how almost half of the world’s products in 1927 were manufactured in the United States; and why the 1920s should also be known as “The Age of Loathing”.
Big Idea #1: The United States was behind the rest of the world in aviation until Charles Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic.
It’s hard to imagine the United States without planes. The U.S Air Force is a global powerhouse, red-eye flights take people from coast to coast every night and one of the largest airplane producers in the world is American. However, this wasn’t always true.
Airplanes were uncommon in the US military before 1914, but they became popular after World War I. They were used for many things like guiding artillery fire and dropping bombs on enemy troops.
The first automobiles appeared during the 1890s, and by 1910 there were more than a million cars on American roads. Automakers soon realized that women drove less frequently than men and might need special features to entice them to buy their vehicles.
Civilian air travel increased after the war, but only in Europe. Flights became widespread in post-war Europe, with Germany safely transporting 151,000 passengers by 1927 and France operating nine airlines.
In the United States, however, civil aviation was stunted by a lack of investment during the war and an abundance of government regulation afterwards.
After the war, Americans didn’t develop their aviation industry at the same rate as Europeans. Passenger air services didn’t exist in America until 1927.
The Spirit of St. Louis was the first plane to fly from New York to Paris in 1927, and it spurred more interest in aviation among everyday Americans. This flight made Charles Lindbergh a national hero because he won a prize for being the first person to be in two cities on consecutive days.
Lindbergh’s accomplishment helped commercial airlines succeed and also inspired more people to pursue aviation.
Lindbergh’s extraordinary accomplishment captivated the world’s attention and imagination. His fame helped promote commercial air services, but also aviation in general. In fact, it spurred around $100 million in aviation investments in the United States.
Within a year of Lindbergh’s flight, the airplane manufacturer Boeing grew from being a small company in Seattle to employing a thousand people.
Big Idea #2: The United States’ cultural influence and national pride increased in 1927, thanks largely to the film industry and the celebrity of Babe Ruth.
Before 1927, Americans felt that the most exciting things in the world were happening in Europe. However, one year changed everything and made America a more interesting place to live.
The Jazz Singer was released on October 6th of that year and became the first full-length movie with synchronized sound.
