As the Cold War unfolded in the decade and a half after World WarII, the United States experienced phenomenal economic growth.The war brought the return of prosperity, and in the postwarperiod the United States consolidated its position as theworld's richest country. Gross national product, a measure ofall goods and services produced in the United States, jumpedfrom about $200 thousand-million in 1940 to $300thousand-million in 1950 to more than $500 thousand-million in1960. More and more Americans now considered themselves part ofthe middle class.
The growth had different sources. The automobile industry waspartially responsible, as the number of automobiles producedannually quadrupled between 1946 and 1955. A housing boom,stimulated in part by easily affordable mortgages for returningservicemen, fueled the expansion. The rise in defense spendingas the Cold War escalated also played a part.
After 1945 the major corporations in America grew even larger.There had been earlier waves of mergers in the 1890s and in the1920s; in the 1950s another wave occurred. New conglomerates --firms with holdings in a variety of industries -- led the way.International Telephone and Telegraph, for example, boughtSheraton Hotels, Continental Baking, Hartford Fire Insurance,and Avis Rent-a-Car, among other companies. Smaller franchiseoperations like McDonald's fast-food restaurants provided stillanother pattern. Large corporations also developed holdingsoverseas, where labor costs were often lower.
Workers found their own lives changing as industrial Americachanged. Fewer workers produced goods; more provided services.By 1956 a majority held white-collar jobs, working as corporatemanagers, teachers, salespersons and office employees. Somefirms granted a guaranteed annual wage, long-term employmentcontracts and other benefits. With such changes, labor militancywas undermined and some class distinctions began to fade.
Farmers, on the other hand, faced tough times. Gains inproductivity led to agricultural consolidation, as farmingbecame a big business. Family farms, in turn, found it difficultto compete, and more and more farmers left the land.
Other Americans moved too. In the postwar period the West and theSouthwest continued to grow -- a trend that would continuethrough the end of the century. Sun Belt cities like Houston,Texas; Miami, Florida; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Tucson andPhoenix, Arizona, expanded rapidly. Los Angeles, California,moved ahead of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the third largestU.S. city. By 1963 California had more people than New York.
An even more important form of movement led Americans out ofinner cities into new suburbs, where they hoped to findaffordable housing for the larger families spawned by thepostwar baby boom. Developers like William J. Levitt built newcommunities -- with homes that all looked alike -- using thetechniques of mass production. Levitt's houses wereprefabricated, or partly assembled in a factory rather than onthe final location. The homes were modest, but Levitt's methodscut costs and allowed new owners to possess at least a part ofthe American dream.
As suburbs grew, businesses moved into the new areas. Largeshopping centers containing a great variety of stores changedconsumer patterns. The number of these centers rose from eightat the end of World War II to 3,840 in 1960. With easy parkingand convenient evening hours, customers could avoid cityshopping entirely.
New highways created better access to the suburbs and its shops.The Highway Act of 1956 provided $26 thousand-million, thelargest public works expenditure in U.S. history, to build morethan 64,000 kilometers of federal roads to link together allparts of the country.
Television, too, had a powerful impact on social and economicpatterns. Developed in the 1930s, it was not widely marketeduntil after the war. In 1946 the country had fewer than 17,000television sets. Three years later consumers were buying 250,000sets a month, and by 1960 three-quarters of all families ownedat least one set. In the middle of the decade, the averagefamily watched television four to five hours a day. Popularshows for children included Howdy Doody Time and TheMickeyMouse Club; older viewers preferred situation comedies likeILove Lucy and Father Knows Best. Americans of allages becameexposed to increasingly sophisticated advertisem*nts forproducts said to be necessary for the good life.
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