During the 1910s, new developments in government, big business, and industry began to change daily life in the United States. America was becoming an urban, industrial nation as the younger population increasingly left farms to settle in big cities. As they moved into closer proximity to each other and made increasing amounts of disposable income, people were becoming more fashion and lifestyle conscious.
Lifestyles became more active and fashions became more functional. Clothing that restricted movement and distorted the look of the body became outdated. Meanwhile, the rise of national magazines helped spread an interest in fashions and trends, making a single style accessible to people of varied economic classes. Automobiles began to take on a stylish look. While there were no general changes in the Ford Model T, the era's topselling car, other manufacturers produced cars that catered to more affluent customers. Through technical advances, these cars became more efficient to make and operate. Plus, they no longer resembled old-fashioned carriages.
Below are 35 interesting vintage photographs that capture daily life in the U.S. from between the 1910s and 1920s.
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| Men Overboard. New York, 1917. |
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| Multnomah Falls, Oregon, circa 1918. |
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| San Francisco or thereabouts circa 1919. |
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| San Francisco circa 1919. Peerless tank truck. |
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| October 1919. California Highway Motor Train in San Francisco. |
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| San Francisco circa 1919. Cole touring car at Stow Lake, Golden Gate Park. |
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| The Bay Area in 1920. Dodge auto on boardwalk. |
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| Northern California circa 1920. Touring car at Yosemite National Park. |
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| Maxwell touring car in 1920 San Francisco. |
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| San Francisco circa 1920. Peerless touring car. |
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| 1921. This is the delicate machinery being installed beneath the Arlington Amphitheater which will amplify the President's voice one thousand billion times when he makes his address on Armistice Day in honor of America's Unknown Warrior. |
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| Steam excavator during work, 1921. |
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| San Francisco, 1921. Antique Cadillacs - still running. |
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| Circa 1922 in San Francisco, this aging Chalmers touring car needs a new shoe. |
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| San Francisco circa 1923. Buick touring car at Victor's Dog. |
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| San Francisco, 1922. Official Red Cross car. |
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| Shutterbugs Ahoy, 1922. |
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| San Francisco, 1923. Stutz sedan in Golden Gate Park. |
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| July 1923. Hupmobile barbecue at Sawyer Camp. |
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| Maritime Mascots, 1923. |
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| 1924. REO taxicab, San Francisco. |
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| San Francisco circa 1924. Star touring car with four-wheel brakes. |
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| 1924. De Forest Phonofilm Co. Inc. on White House grounds. The inventor and "father of radio" Lee de Forest, center, and components of his sound-on-film system. |
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| San Francisco circa 1925. Cunningham auto and chorus girls. |
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| San Francisco circa 1925. Advertisement for the 'Good Maxwell,' built by Chrysler engineers. |
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| Washington, D.C., 1925. Snow removal -- Ford tractor. |
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| San Francisco circa 1925. Swimsuit girls camping in dealer window with Willys-Knight auto. |
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| 1926. Rotogravure press, Lanman Engraving Co. Printing the Sunday, Jan. 31 "Pictorial Section" of the Washington Post. |
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| New York, 1926. Tiller girls. Arriving from England, 16 chorus girls in the troupe originated by British musical-theater impresario and precision-dancing pioneer John Tiller. |
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| Cadillac (Flappers, 1927) at de Young Museum, Golden Gate Park. |
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| San Francisco, 1927. Traffic signals -- police officer stops pedestrian crossing against the light in front of Hudson sedan at Bee Garage service station. |
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| Women on boat, 1927. |
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| San Francisco in 1928. Scouts in Indian costume with Pontiac autos. |
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| Thanksgiving turkey for the President, Nov. 26, 1929. |
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| Graham-Paige sedan, San Francisco. It's a beautiful sunny day in 1929. |