Way We Were?, The: Economic Miracle, The
For most Americans, the 1950s are years of astonishing prosperity in contrast to a world economy that has been devastated by the war. Europeans turn to socialism during this period while the U. S. grips the free enterprise system with enthusiasm, th...
Way We Were?, The: Explosion of Science and Technology, The
There are remarkable advances in medicine in the postwar years, medical breakthroughs with development of antibiotics like penicillin and vaccines to suppress influenza and polio. The federal government funnels enormous amounts of money into scienti...
Way We Were?, The: Suburban Nation, The
By 1960 a third of the nation's population lives in suburbs, an unprecedented demographic shift. The mass production of housing like Levittown creates what some critics call "architectural monotony." The industrial approach and lower price, however,...
Way We Were?, The: Bombs, Rockets, and Missiles
The United States detonates the first hydrogen bomb in 1952 based on the research of Edward Teller, Manhattan Project physicist. The development of hydrogen weapons sparks yet another race between the U. S. and Russia, the race to develop unmanned r...
Way We Were?, The: Consumer Culture, The
One of the most striking characteristics of the 1950s is the predominance of the middle class. They are "people of plenty," as one author calls them, a consumer culture, and their numbers include people whose families had been on the fringes of pove...
Way We Were?, The: Rise of the Modern West
Economic growth outpaces population growth by almost ten to one in the years after World War II. The West, in particular, becomes more populous, industrial, rich, and powerful. It is not just the climate that attracts people, it is the jobs created ...
Way We Were?, The: Capital and Labor
A relatively small number of companies gain control of a huge share of nation's economic activity. To prevent strikes that will interfere with operations these industrial giants negotiate postwar contracts, generous wage increases and benefit packag...