HIS 113C Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Benjamin Spock, The Affluent Society, William Levitt
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The postwar (cid:862)(cid:271)a(cid:271)y (cid:271)oo(cid:373)(cid:863) (cid:272)aused a populatio(cid:374) i(cid:374)(cid:272)rease. The you(cid:374)g (cid:271)a(cid:271)y (cid:271)oo(cid:373)ers (cid:272)reated powerful demands for new houses, appliances, bikes, toys and diapers. As the u. s birthrate went up the death rate fell down. A lot of people moved from urban areas to suburbs. Short term installment credit mostly for new cars. Pro: big businesses grew bigger during the postwar era. Pro: farmers produced more food than consumers could buy. Larger farms prospered from a combination of greater efficiency and government subsidies. The manufacture of the automobile remained the most important american industry during the 1950s. Two thirds of the (cid:374)atio(cid:374) s populatio(cid:374) (cid:272)o(cid:373)(cid:373)uted to work (cid:271)y (cid:272)ar. Congress enacted the national interstate and defense highways act of 1956. As the number of cars on the road multiplied, they became longer, wider and more powerful. Advertiser stressed the power, the flashiness and even the sex appeal of the machines.
