1. Post World War II American Prosperity

2. Why did the Great Depression End?
From 1929 – 1941 the Great Depression continued to affect the American Economy
1941-The US entered World War II and the government spent billions over the next four years to win the war.
When the war was over America was ready to emerge from depression to one of the greatest periods of economic growth in our history.
How did this happen?

3. Consumer Demand
12 years of depression – Americans did not have the money to buy anything.
4 years of war – Americans had money but there was nothing available because of the war.
By 1946 Americans were ready to spend on houses, cars, appliances, clothes and just about anything else.
The more they bought the more industries needed to produce.
Europe was also in need of American products.

4. The Baby Boom
GIs came home from 4 years of war ready to settle down and start families.
More marriages meant more children, more children meant the need to purchase more things.
The generation of children born from 1946 to drove economic growth as families bought new houses, cars and other consumer goods.

5. The GI Bill Many soldiers came home looking for work.
Congress passed the GI Bill which allowed them to go to college paid for by the federal government.
A whole generation of young men who could not afford to go to college went through the GI Bill.
This gave the nation trained engineers, businessmen, educators other white collar workers.
They formed the foundation of the new middle class in America.

6. Military Spending
The Cold War made huge defense spending by the Federal Government permanent.
Dozens of companies and thousand of workers found steady business in the defense industry.
This became an important of our economy and also provided many innovations and technologies that would later become important to the commercial world.

7. Rise of Labor Unions
The National Labor Relations Act was passed during the Depression.
This allowed unions to organize and bargain for better pay, working conditions and benefits.
Blue Collar workers started to earn a living that allowed them to also become part of the middle class.
They could now buy houses, cars and send their kids to college.

8. Interstate Highway System
President Eisenhower helped pass the Interstate Highway Act in 1955.
The largest public works project in US history.
The whole country was connect with a system of highways.
This allowed for the rapid movement of resources, finished products and people.
Economic growth and the suburbs exploded with the help of this system.

9. Role of the Federal Government
Social Security provided for the elderly and disabled.
Medicare and Medicaid provided healthcare for the elderly and poor.
Affirmative Action gave minorities opportunities.
The Civil Rights Act provided equal treatment to everyone in the work place and as consumers.

10. Why did prosperity waver in the 1960s & 70s?
Spending on the Vietnam War.
Urban decay as the middle class left the cities for the suburbs.
Growing dependency on foreign oil.
High interest rates made it more difficult to borrow money.
High inflation made money worth less.
Growing costs of government programs.

11. Why did prosperity return in the 1980s and 90s?
Growth in the stock market and financial sector.
Development of tech companies and growth of computers in businesses and industries.
Drop in interest rates made it easier to borrow money.
The emergence of the internet and the dot.com era.
The growth of the housing sector as more Americans became home owners.