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Machine Age is a term associated with the early 20th Century. Considered to be at a peak in the time between the first and second World Wars it forms a late part of the Industrial Age and was utimately eclipsed by the Atomic Age beginning in 1945.

Artifacts of the Machine Age include:

• Mass production of high volume goods on moving assembly lines, particularly of the automobile
• Gigantic production machinery, especially for producing and working metal, such as steel rolling mills, bridge component fabrication, and automobile body presses
• Powerful earthmoving equipment
• Steel framed buildings of great height (the skyscraper)
• Radio and phonograph technology
• High speed printing presses, enabling the production of low cost newspapers and mass market magazines
• Large hydroelectric and thermal electric power production plants and distribution systems
• Low cost appliances for the mass market that employ fractional horsepower electric motors, such as the vacuum cleaner and the washing machine
• Fast and comfortable long distance travel by railroad, automobile, and aircraft
• Development and employment of modern war machines such as tanks, aircraft, submarines and the modern battleship

Contents 1 Social influence 2 Environmental influence 3 International relations 4 Arts and architecture

• The rise of mass market advertising and consumerism
• Nationwide branding and distribution of goods, replacing local arts and crafts
• Nationwide cultural leveling due to exposure to movies and network broadcasting
• Replacement of skilled crafts with low skilled labor
• Growth of strong corporations through their abilities to exploit economies of scale in materials and equipment acqusition, manufacturing, and distribution
• Corporate exploitation of labor leading to the creation of strong trade unions as a countervailing force

• Exploitation of natural resources with little concern for the ecological consequences; a continuation of 19th century practices but at a larger scale
• Release of synthetic dyes, artifical flavorings, and toxic materials into the consumption stream without adequate testing for adverse health effects

• Conflicts between nations regarding access to energy sources (particularly oil) and material resources (particularly iron and various metals with which it is alloyed) required to ensure national self-sufficiency. Such conflicts were contributory to two devastating world wars.

The Machine Age is considered to have influenced:

• Dystopian movies including Chaplin's Modern Times and Lang's Metropolis
• Cubism
• Art Deco decorative style
• Streamline Moderne appliance design and architecture
• Bauhaus style