Embedded Files
Learning Target 29: Describe how American life in the postwar period was impacted by the postwar economic boom and by advances in science.
Learning Target 29: Describe how American life in the postwar period was impacted by the postwar economic boom and by advances in science.
The United States experienced a period of unprecedented prosperity and economic growth following World War II. Increased public demand for goods and services contributed to this economic boom. With the war over, it was no longer necessary to conserve materials needed for the war effort.
The demand for housing and automobile ownership led to the growth of suburbs, outlying residential areas adjacent to cities. The housing demand resulted from the influx of returning soldiers from the war. As automobile ownership increased, new freeways were built, allowing people to move out of the center city and commute from the suburbs.
Economic opportunities in defense plants and high-tech industries led to the growth of the Sunbelt, a region stretching across the South and Southwest U.S.
The postwar prosperity produced some other “epic changes” in American life. These include the baby boom, increased consumerism, increased mobility via automobiles, pop culture, franchising, and longer life spans.
Advances in science following the war also impacted American life. Examples include new developments in: medicine (e.g., polio vaccine, birth control pill, artificial heart valve, open-heart bypass, organ transplant, genetic engineering) communication (e.g., transistor, television, computers, Internet, mobile phones) nuclear energy (e.g., atomic weapons, nuclear power plants) transportation (e.g., passenger jet airplanes, catalytic converters in cars).
Report abuse