366 ChaPter^7
World War II, there were180 million Americans. This led, naturally, to more
people being able to buy more goods. Annual income levels rose substantially
between 1940 and 1950, in large measure because union members, who
always make more than non-union counterparts, accounted for about a third
of the work force. For white males, the highest paid group in American soci-
ety, income went up from about $1400 to $3300 a year in the decade. For
Black men, the rise was not as dramatic, but incomes still increased for them
from about $600 a year to nearly $1700. With more money available to spend,
the production and sale of basic goods went up as well. The average consump-
tion of meat increased from less than 120 pounds a year per American in 1950
to about 145 pounds 10 years later. In 1940, American companies produced
about 4.6 million automobiles, whereas in 1950, they sold over 6 million,
which accounted for over 80 percent of the global market in cars [U.S. com-
panies now make less than 10 percent of the world’s automobiles]. Appliances,
medical care, energy, and other important industries and segments of the
economy saw substantial increases as well. A full-blown “consumer’s culture”
had emerged.
Housing was an important part of this growth. As noted, the government,
through the G.I. Bill and agencies such as the Federal Housing Authority
[FHA] provided loans for people who previously could not have afforded to
have their own home. In 1940, about 43 percent of Americans owned a home;
by 1950, that figure was up to 55 percent. And the location of the typical
home began to change as well, especially with the creation of suburbs. Prior
to the war, most people lived in cities, where they walked or took a bus or
subway to work. But the increased educational opportunities from the G.I. Bill
along with increased incomes and better jobs made it possible for middle-class
people, almost all Whites, to move outside of cities where they often felt
uneasy due to the poverty and crime that was often present, and find safe
havens in places where virtually everyone would be much like them. One of
the first, and best-known, suburbs was Levittown, New York, outside of Long
Island. Alfred and William Levitt began to build thousands of identical homes
in previously wooded areas. The houses were built rapidly and as inexpen-
sively as possible, with identical floor plans and appliances, and play areas for
Baby Boom children. Levittown was reserved for the White middle class, and
new professionals with young families seeking to “escape” the cities flocked
there.