The Basics.
The early 20th century brought 125 auto companies to Detroit, of the mass, Ford quickly climbed to the top. Employment peaked, and come 1914 Ford introduced a $5 pay day. This type of compensation drove many southern migrants to the north and sooner than later turned Detroit into one of Americas most ethnically diverse areas. By the mid-twentieth century 1 in 6 of working Americans were employed through the auto industry. In the 1950's Detroit had easily become the 5th most populated city in the United States holding more than two million citizens.
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As expected due to the significant pay, families (especially children) benefited from the salary hikes. In addition to the auto industry improving life, the civil rights movement also impacted schools becoming better overall, blacks now receiving the opportunity to higher education. Middle class was on the rise, and so were suburban lifestyles.
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As expected due to the significant pay, families (especially children) benefited from the salary hikes. In addition to the auto industry improving life, the civil rights movement also impacted schools becoming better overall, blacks now receiving the opportunity to higher education. Middle class was on the rise, and so were suburban lifestyles.
The Suburbs
With higher salaries and steady incomes employees began to flourish economically. Moving out to the suburbs became the norm, with new skills, work experience, and inexpensive transport there was little to argue. Furthermore, life in the suburbs not only entailed less noise, factory fumes, being less overcrowded, and better pay but was passed on to children of said individuals. This being said, it is still important to mention there still was a significant amount of racism towards African Americans and other minorities. The G.I. Bill for example unintentionally prevented blacks from the ability to obtain a home in the quickly growing suburban market. This only holds true as local banks and colleges administered the benefits, and were biased, to say the least. This will remain constant throughout this page, even today many areas fall short of racially mixed areas.
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Whites grew significantly from the help of the G.I. Bill in the long-term. Better education, finical security, safety, higher paying jobs and minimal, if any, debt. Think about it this way, your great-grandparents begin by relocating into the suburbs and then in turn assist your grandparents with better qualities of living and employment options. From there, your grandparents give back to their children in the form of paid higher education. With your parents carrying no burden of student loans, they in turn have more money to assist you in the longer run. So on, and so forth in a small sense. Now, as suburbs grew they become more exclusive, making it even harder for non-whites to enter.
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Whites grew significantly from the help of the G.I. Bill in the long-term. Better education, finical security, safety, higher paying jobs and minimal, if any, debt. Think about it this way, your great-grandparents begin by relocating into the suburbs and then in turn assist your grandparents with better qualities of living and employment options. From there, your grandparents give back to their children in the form of paid higher education. With your parents carrying no burden of student loans, they in turn have more money to assist you in the longer run. So on, and so forth in a small sense. Now, as suburbs grew they become more exclusive, making it even harder for non-whites to enter.
Metro Detroit
The rise of the city of Detroit must give all its credit to the auto industry. Auto companies began small, Ford's Piquette Avenue Plant for example as shown below. The photos, taken late 1904 and 1907 showcase just how quickly the auto industry came to rise. Ford in 1907 being the largest American car manufacturer.
As mentioned before, Ford began to offer a $5 pay day and drove thousands to the north. Come the 1930's and Detroit's population grew to 1.6 million occupants. Dodge's main plant was somewhat near Ford's making two major factors consistently pumping out job opportunities. Many workers began to build their own homes, or buy wood/brick bungalows. Homeownership sprang especially after WWII. With the G.I. bill, The Union and the New Deal, buying a home became easier and simpler. The city of Detroit was filled with the families of workers and only grew from there.