Question

How did the post-war economic boom impact American perceptions on capitalism and freedom? Use both text and primary sources in your response.

Answer 1

America's involvement in World War || and post war economic boom had great significance on American perception of capitalism and freedom. After World War II, the United States emerged as one of the two dominant superpowers with Soviet Union as counterpart. In 1941 the United States was still recovering from the great depression. The unemployment rate was touching 25 percent as highest ever, bankruptcy rate was on its peak and the standard of living for most Americans was 60 percent lower than before the great depression of 1929.

When the war started, following change happened :

1. More people were needed to produce the food and weapons for the men on the front lines.

2. The new jobs were taken by many who had been out of work for several years. As more men were sent away to fight, women were hired to take over their positions on the assembly lines.

3. The U.S. economy grew dramatically in the post-war period, expanding at an annual rate of 3.5%. Gross national product, a measure of all goods and services produced in the United States, jumped from about $200 thousand-million in 1940 to $300 thousand-million in 1950 to more than $500 thousand-million in 1960.

4. The substantial increase in average family income within a generation resulted in millions of office and factory workers being lifted into a growing middle class, enabling them to sustain a standard of living once considered reserved for the wealthy.

5. By the end of the 1950s, 87% of all U.S. families owned at least one television, 75% owned cars, and 60% owned their homes. By 1960, blue-collar workers had become the biggest buyers of many luxury goods and services.

Reasons behind such a powerful economic boom included :

1. The automobile industry quadrupled between 1946 and 1955.

2. A housing boom emerged as affordable mortgages for returning servicemen were made available.

3. The rise in defense spending as the Cold War escalated also played a significant role in American growth story.

However the post-World War II prosperity did not extend to everyone :

1. Many Americans continued to live in poverty throughout the 1950s, especially older people and African Americans, the latter of whom continued to earn far less on average than their white counterparts.

2. Racial differences were staggering. In 1947, 60% of black families lived below the poverty level (defined in one study as below $3000 in 1968), compared with 23% of white families. In 1968, 23% of black families lived below the poverty level, compared with 9% of white families.

3. Voting rights discrimination remained widespread in the south through the 1950s.