Pursuit of Happiness A Prosperous Era While the Cold War dominated American foreign policy in the post-world War II era (1945 1960), the American people were pursuing their versions of happiness at home. For many, that meant a secure job, a new suburban home, a new car, a television, and, by the end of the 1950s, enjoying a hamburger at McDonald's. Wartime savings, government spending, business expansion, and union wages all contributed to unprecedented economic growth during this era. The nature of work was changing. By 1956, more workers labored in the service sector of the economy than in the manufacturing sector. The irony of American agriculture continued. As thousands of farmers produced themselves out of business, they and/or their children fled to the city for economic and social opportunities. Video: Living Large Television shaped perceptions of life and enticed consumers with new forms of advertising. Automobiles traveling on interstate highways and freeways could take folks almost anywhere in the United States. The American people were on the move, especially to the West and Southwest. Living Large examines factors contributing to the rapid economic growth in America during the post-world War II years, including higher wages for workers and the rise of the military-industrial complex. Look for answers to these questions when watching the video: What were the major challenges existing in the American economy as it converted from wartime to peacetime? How were these challenges addressed? Why were there so many labor strikes in 1946? What gains did organized labor make? What effect did higher wages have on the economy? Why was the Taft-Hartley Act passed? How did it affect labor? How did wartime saving and government spending stimulate the economy? How did the GI Bill affect veterans and the economy? What were the dangers of the military-industrial complex?
Why did African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asians, and poor whites not share equally in the prosperity of the era? How did African Americans and Mexican Americans protest their condition? What gains did they make? What was important about the 1952 Immigration Act? What explains the growth of the Sun Belt in this era? How important is air conditioning in this development? Video script: Music introduction Newsreel Announcer: Flourishing in peace, with 67 million people gainfully employed, the most in our history, the United States today represents an achievement in good government, unsurpassed in the history of man. Narrator: The years following World War II were a time of unprecedented growth in America. Productivity was up, new industries were emerging, and farmers were literally producing themselves out of business. But the conversion from military to civilian economy, in a labor market flooded with returning soldiers, was not without its bumps. Kevin Boyle, Ohio State University: 1946 is one of the great strike waves in American history. And one of the reasons for that is because union leaders were afraid that, now that the war emergency was over, that the gains they had made during the war would start to slip away from them. And they were determined to hold onto those gains, even to push them in new directions. And so what happened in the years after World War II, through the late 1940s into the 1950s, is that bargaining over these fundamental issues, wages, working conditions, benefits, became routine. Dianne Swann-Wright: My father joined the union because all the other people he worked with joined the union. The most important thing for him was providing a good place for us to live, and clothing, and money for education. And so having that union job, that steady wage that was negotiated by the union, was a very, very positive thing for him. Narrator: Because of union gains, production workers saw their real earnings increase dramatically. Many union members moved into the middle class, now part of the booming economy of the 1950s.
Kevin Boyle: One of the reasons that the immediate postwar period is a period of unprecedented prosperity in the United States is because ordinary people, working people, had more money than they ever had before. And they did what ordinary people do when you give people money. They spend it. They buy cars. They buy refrigerators. They buy TVs. Well, someone s got to make those. And so they hire people at good wages and those people go out and buy things and you create an upward economic spiral. TV Commercial: It s out of this world. Take a look at the new Ford for 1950. Song: You know you make me want to shout.kick my heels up and shout. Throw my hands up and shout.throw my head back Narrator: The car culture had always been strong in modern America, but the new prosperity brought the desire for speed and mobility to the forefront. President Eisenhower s great domestic initiative was the Interstate Highway and Defense System Act of 1956. Promoted as essential to the nation s cold war defense strategy, the act authorized construction of a national system of highways. Actor, David Lawrence: Government planners figure they have found the magic formula for almost endless good times. Cold War is the catalyst. Cold War is an automatic pump primer. Explosion Song: They-y-y.said someday you ll find Narrator: Cold War military spending was a major stimulant to domestic prosperity in the fifties. Song: O-o-o-oh-h. Narrator: The southern and western states attracted weapons research, defense contractors, and military bases, as well as the booming aerospace industry. Song:.Smoke gets in your eyes Narrator: The nation was spending more on military security than the net income of all U.S. corporations, giving real meaning to the term big government. President Dwight Eisenhower: In the councils of government, we must guard against the
acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. Michael Bernstein, University of California, San Diego: President Eisenhower was concerned about that complex because he thought it might give too much power and influence to military industrial contractors. But, it is clear that in the 50s, stretching into the 60s, the military industrial sectors of the economy stimulated economic growth not so much by the amount of gross domestic product they made but in their impact on technological development. 50s TV Scientist: Here it is general grove plutonium. Song: Come with me. My-y love. to the sea.the sea of love. Narrator: The nation s gratitude to its returning warriors provided yet another boost to the economy. Michael Bernstein: The so-called G.I. Bill, the Serviceman s Re-Adjustment Act, that s passed toward the end of World War II, provides loans and other support to returning GIs who want to start small businesses and farms. That stimulates economic growth, obviously. It also provides support to returning GIs who want to buy houses. That stimulates the construction industry. And it also provides support to returning GIs who want to go to college or technical school. So that is, on the one side, stimulating the educational sector more and more students, but it s also giving these new students more skills, more technological expertise, and capability to be ever more productive members of the economy. Music Michael Bernstein: The prosperity of the 50s the golden age of American capitalism as economists sometimes like to call it, certainly worked to the benefit of the vast majority of Americans. But to say that it was uniform in its impact and that it benefited everyone to the same extent would be inaccurate. In the final analysis, in the 50s, people of color did not share in the prosperity of the 50s to the extent that equity would suggest they should have.and to the extent they had hoped. End of video.
A New Concept in Service Just as inns and taverns sprang up along the National Road in the early 1800s, the Eisenhower Interstate Highway system spurred the growth of many travel-related industries in the 1950s. Driven by a need for speed and convenience as they traveled, Americans began to embrace a new concept in service developed by restaurant owners Richard and Maurice McDonald. With meticulous attention to detail, the enterprising immigrant brothers mapped out a fast food service system that would eventually be franchised and imitated throughout the world. The Golden Arches are only one of many successful businesses launched during the golden age of capitalism following World War II. Did the area in which you live experience a postwar economic boom? Are there educational institutions, military bases, or travel-related businesses such as motels, fast food restaurants, and gas stations that trace their origins to this time period? Have these developments affected your family's opportunities in jobs and education? Activity: Check Your Understanding This activity reviews the economic growth in the United States during the decades following World War II. The pent-up demand for consumer goods at the end of World War II fueled a huge boom in factory production and consumer spending. Businesses were able to pay the wages negotiated by unions, resulting in an upward spiral in the economy. A major achievement of the Eisenhower administration, with both civilian and military overtones, was the Interstate Highway and Defense System Act. Passed in 1956, this landmark legislation led to the vast interstate highway system the nation now enjoys. Originally, federal spending on the system was justified on the grounds of a national defense strategy. It was designed to make the nation's military more flexible and mobile, but today, of course, all drivers use the system. During the 1950s the two areas of the country that grew the fastest, both economically and in population, were the West and Southwest. Growth in the West and Southwest gave rise to the so-called Sun Belt, the region where warm climates and mild winters attracted many industries associated with oil, aerospace, defense, and retirement communities. Upon leaving office, President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned Americans against the danger of the military-industrial complex. Even though he had spent most of his adult life in the military, Eisenhower had become alarmed at the great influence of military and defense contractors over government spending because power and corruption were inherent in the system. The Servicemen s Readjustment Act of 1944,
popularly known as the GI Bill, provided loans to start small businesses and farms, loans to buy homes, and support to attend college or technical school. It was aimed at enhancing the economic prospects of returning veterans, but did not address social issues such as segregation. Additional Resources Websites Suburban Nation http://www.pbs.org/fmc/interviews/2seg4.htm "How the Suburbs Changed America." Three historians in interviews with "The First Measured Century" project discuss post-world War II changes in American lifestyles and the phenomenon of suburbia.