First, the postwar economic growth was an extremely prosperous time for America. The postwar return of prosperity after the Great Depression continued in the postwar years, relieving fears of another depression. The next several decades saw one of the longest sustained economic expansions the country had ever known. This prosperity helped the United States solidified its position as the richest nation in the world, a position it still holds today.

The statistical evidence of economic success was impressive. The gross national product (GNP) jumped dramatically between 1945 and 1970, while per capita personal income also rose. Almost sixty percent of all families in the country were now part of the middle class, a dramatic change from the class structure in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. (Nash 840) The United States, which produced half of the world's goods, was providin

The development of a massive interstate highway system also stimulated auto production and so contributed to prosperity. Instead of encouraging the growth of mass transit, the Eisenhower administrations emphasized the American commitment to the car. Although the highways added to the problem of pollution and started urban flight, proponents for the interstate complex saw it as a key to the countries material development. Rationalized in part on the grounds that it would make evacuation easier in the event of nuclear attack, the highway system made its advocates proud. This massive effort cause the nation to be dependent on a constant supply of cheap and plentiful oil.

Industrial concentration continued after the war, making oligopoly a feature of American capitalism. At the same time, the booming economy encouraged the development of conglomerates. It also led to further development of finance capitalism to help put deals together. Expansion took other forms as well. Even as the major corporations grew, so did smaller franchise operations like McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

The automobile industry played a key part in the boom. Just as cars and roads transformed America in the 1920s when mass production started, so they contributed to an equally great transformation in the 1950s. Limited to the production of military vehicles during World War II, the auto industry expanded dramatically in the postwar period. Customers now chose from a wide variety of engines, colors, and optional accessories. The automobile became a status symbol, just as it is still considered today. For members of the middle and upper-middle classes, a fancy car could reflect some economic achievement. For younger members of the country, speed was more desirable. The importance of the car in everyday American life was established during this time.

Postwar American growth avoided some of the major problems that often plagued periods of economic expansion: inflation and the enrichment of few at the cost of many. Inflation, a problem in the immediate postwar period, slowed significantly in the 1950s and 1960s. And though the concentration of income remained the same, the ranks of middle-class America grew.

Second, the c

Some topics in this essay:
War II, Andrew Carnegie, , Bell Laboratories, Postwar American, GI Bill, Department Defense, Fried Chicken, Cold War, America Wealth, war ii, world war ii, world war, technological advances, american life, labor costs, highway system, middle class, industrial concentration, atomic energy, job creation,