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• rations and diminished production during war =
saved money
• government funded research and development of
industry created new products and improved
efficiency
• rapid production of goods in factories manned by
women and African Americans
• Americans eager to acquire all the Depression and
War had denied
• machines replacing worker
• growth of white-collar workers (managers, sales,
professional, and clerical duties)
• 1940 = 44.8% white collar workers
• 1960 = 56.2% white collar workers
• growth of service industry
• African American and female workers displaced by
returning soldiers
Soldiers returning were
eager to pursue the
American Dream they
had fought for –
marriages, birth rates,
and home sales soared
Expanding families search
for the American Dream…
1.Baby Boom (1945 – 1957)
• 3 - 4 million births a year
• Previously only 2 – 3 million
births a year
2.GI Bill of Rights
• Low-interest mortgages to buy houses
3. Levittowns
- mass produced communities in the suburbs
developed by William J. Levitt
- average Americans could afford homes
4. The Automobile
• dependence on a car to get to jobs
• led to new industries (federal/interstate highways,
gas stations, repair shops, parts stores, drive-in
movies and restaurants).
4. Teen Consumers
• Teens became a significant part of population due to baby
boom – word teenager enters American vocabulary
•Teens took part in fueling the growing economy
• Companies used advertising to appeal specifically to teens
Prosperity for all?
• While new suburbs grew, new housing in
cities rapidly declined, with existing
structures deteriorating (primarily
home to most minority groups)
• Dependence on car for wealthy led to
the decline of mass transit (primarily
poor & minorities affected because they
can not afford cars)
Truman & Eisenhower
President Harry Truman (Democrat)
• attempted to continue FDRs economic
policies in post-war years with the
“Fair Deal”
• Republican’s feared Democratic control
(and rejected most of his ideas)
• Ex: repeat of FDRs four terms, and 22nd Amendment passed
limiting Presidential terms
• Successes:
• banned discrimination in hiring of federal employees
• ended segregation in armed forces
President Eisenhower (Republican)
• former Commander of Allied Forces
(led D-Day invasion)
• introduced “modern Republicanism”
• slow growth of Federal government
• limit power of President, increase power of Congress & Courts
• cut spending, reduce taxes
• Domestic Policies:
• created NASA
• National Defense Education Act
• money to increase science and math
education to compete with the USSR in
Arms and Space Races
Political, Economic, and
Military competition between
the U.S. and U.S.S.R
• As WWII was ending tension arose between the two strongest
Allies (U.S. & U.S.S.R)
• Began a new era, The Cold War
• lasted for over 50 years
• affected both domestic and foreign policies
• led to the “Second Red Scare”
DEMOCRACY vs
COMMUNISM