Lesson 8.05 Postwar America

The Economy

Postwar Economy

Soldiers returning home from Europe and the Pacific were anxious to put the war behind them, focus on starting a family, and simply enjoy life and the comforts of home. Due to rationing during the war and the economic struggles of the Great Depression before it, it had been a long time since Americans had the money and/or the opportunity to buy the consumer goods they desired.

Troops on Their Way Home IRC, 2005. Image. Discovery Education. Web. 27 July 2014.

Families and Economic Growth

After World War II, young men returned from war anxious to start families of their own.

Young men attending 1950s family living class. IRC. 2005. Discovery Education. 27 July 2014.

Birthrates skyrocketed and the period between 1946 and 1964 was known as the "baby boom" with more than 50 million babies born. Take a look at the chart below. In 1945, there were about 2,700,000 (that's two million and seven hundred thousand) babies were born in 1945. What about the birth rate in 50s and early 60s?

This birth rate chart from 1930 to 2005 shows the uptick in births from 1946 to 1964.

Also during this period, the gross national product (GNP) more than doubled between 1945 and 1960, growing from $212 billion to $504 billion. The per capita income, or average income per person, increased from $1,526 to $2,788.

Advancements in Consumer Goods

New technological advancements spurred industrial growth. With greater disposable income, Americans were eager to buy the newest and improved consumer products like washing machines, dishwashers, gas-powered lawnmowers, and vacuum cleaners.

The technology that impacted American society the most was the television which was developed in the 1930s and became popular after WWII. Americans fell in love with TV, and by 1953, two-thirds of all American families owned a television! Television offered a new way to reach the American public and transformed both popular culture and the political arena.

First NBC Studio in Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. IRC, 2005. Image. Discovery Education. Web. 27 July 2014.

Advancements in Science

Advances in medicine included a polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk and advancements in antibiotics, such as penicillin, which developed during the war and saved countless lives.

Polio vaccine developer Dr. Jonas Salk in his lab. IRC, 2005. Image. Discovery Education. Web. 27 July 2014.

During WWII, FDR established the Office of Scientific Research and Development to recruit scientists and coordinate scientific and technological efforts for the war. Advancements during the war in computers and atomic energy changed American society. In 1947, the first transistor was invented. Nuclear power became a new source of energy.

The Univac I (Universal Automatic Computer I) was the first general-purpose electronic digital computer design for business application produced in the United States. IRC, 2005. Image. Discovery Education. Web. 27 July 2014.

The Suburbs

Suburbia and the Middle Class

A robust economy coupled with a growing population led to significant growth in consumer demand for homes and automobiles. The "American Dream" became characterized by a home in the suburbs (a residential community surrounding a city) and a car in the garage. Many families wanted to escape cities that had become overcrowded during the war. America's middle class, or the social class between the wealthy and the lower working class, was growing with the economy and population and moving to the suburbs.

Affordability was the key element to living in the suburbs. Ten miles from New York City, William Levitt built mass-produced homes, breaking down the building process into steps patterned after the assembly line and making it more economical. Levittown, New York was one of the earliest examples of a planned residential community. New families flocked to the affordable housing and other Levittowns sprang up across the country.

Welcome to Levittown sign on Wantagh Ave. in Levittown, NY | Public domain

For many veterans, ordinary life meant not only higher education, but the achievement of the American dream - home ownership. The GI Bill of Rights or the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 gave veterans low-interest mortgages to purchase their new homes and pay for college. The GI Bill, coupled with the federal government's offer of income tax deduction on home mortgage interest payments, offered Americans an affordable housing options in the suburbs.

Aerial view of Levittown, Pennsylvania | Public domain

New Freeway Construction

The American dream was made possible for many through massive construction of new highways, allowing the growth of the suburb. The 1956 Interstate Highway Act provided money to build interstates. New interstates provided evacuation routes in the event of a nuclear attack. Newly constructed interstates resulted in new shopping malls, restaurants, drive-ins, amusement parks, and greater car production.

New freeway construction. IRC, 2005. Image. Discovery Education. Web. 27 July 2014.

Population Shifts

The population explosion and broader wealth distribution also brought about demographic changes and population shifts in the country. Families left the overcrowded, industrialized northeast and headed towards the "Sunbelt" states, which stretches from Virginia south through Florida, west to Texas, and northwest through California.

Map of the Sun Belt | Public domain

Newly created industries and federal dollars were reallocated to the south and west coast and people moved to find jobs and create a better life for their families.

A Changing America

The American Dream materialized itself in new ways in the 1950s, such as owning a car and your own little piece of land in the suburbs. But for African Americans and others, these dreams were still off limits. Relations between blacks and whites were worse in the south than the north and the Civil Rights Movement began to take hold.

A kindergarten class in San Leandro, 1942 IRC. 2005. Discovery Education. 27 July 2014.