The 1900s

At the turn of the century, the Industrial Revolution brought with it greater consumer literacy and availability of printed materials. These two developments, combined with the advent of a railroad system to transport goods, gave rise to a new marketing concept: the sale of brand-name products on a massive, not just local, scale.

More goods and services, sold by increasingly clever and widespread advertising, brought about greater potential for consumer troubles. Thus, the 20th Century ushered in an unparalleled era of federal legislation, new regulatory agencies, publications, scandals and pioneers that dramatically changed the relationships between buyers and sellers, as described in the table below.

1890	Sherman Anti-Trust Act
1891	First local Consumers’ League formed, New York City
1898	National Consumers’ League created
1906	Upton Sinclair’s book, The Jungle, exposes meat packing industry and prompts passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act
1906	Wiley Pure Food and Drug Act
1914	Federal Trade Commission Act, to regulate unfair methods of competition in commerce
1927	Your Money’s Worth, written by Chase and Schlink attacks the advertising industry, calls for product testing and proposes "Consumers Club"
1929	Consumers’ Research, Inc. formed to test products
1930s	Food and Drug Administration (FDA) dramatizes the need for new legislation with product exhibit called "Chamber of Horrors," which includes items like an eyelash dye which causes blindness
1937	Liquid form of a new sulfa drug kills 100 people, prompting an FDA bill requiring manufacturers to prove the safety of new drugs before marketing
1938	Wheeler-Lea amendment gives FTC Act the power to protect consumers from un- fair or deceptive acts or practices
1946	Ex-Madison Avenue copywriter Frederick Wakeman writes The Huckster, an exposé on the advertising industry, creating public outcry
1950	Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver’s investigation into drug industry reveals weakness in safety testing and calls for amendments to strengthen powers of FDA
1957	Hidden Persuaders, written by by Vance Packard exposes advertising industry
1962	President John F. Kennedy outlines Consumer Bill of Rights
1962	Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring exposes the dangers of pesticides and chemicals
1964	President Lyndon Johnson creates Office of Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs
1965	Ralph Nader’s book, Unsafe at Any Speed, presents evidence of hazards in automobiles
1966	Highway Safety Act passed
1966	Truth-in-Packaging Bill
1977	Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
1980	Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act
1991	Truth in Savings Act
1999	Gramm-Leach Bliley Act Regulation, Privacy of Consumer Financial Information

Next: Connecticut’s Consumer Protection Pioneers

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