They had much less things and they did not live in consumerism, they bought one car, one table, one bed for almost the whole life.
Average Americans today have tuns of useless cheap stuff. It must be cheap so that you can buy and buy and buy and have more than your neighbor. Even average houses in America are just cheap wooden boxes. Who can afford a real house made of bricks?
Of course, you can buy one high-quality american shoes instead of 10 pairs of Chinese shoes. But only few Americans want to do that. Not masses. Quantity and quick "fashion" changes are more important than quality, today.