In the not-very-distant past, when it was cheaper to produce things in America than to produce them overseas and transport them here, people bought American. They had no choice.
Maybe they had less stuff. Maybe they had higher quality stuff.
Maybe they made more of their own stuff, and took better care of their store-bought stuff, so it would last longer. Maybe they had to save up longer to be able to afford their stuff, and so it meant more to them.

If things became more difficult to obtain because we were forced to buy American, we would survive.
Believe me, we would.