738 Chapter 28 Collision Courses, Abroad and at Home: 1946–1960
The Postwar Economy
Economists had feared that the flood of millions of vet-
erans into the job market would cause serious unem-
ployment. But the widespread craving for cars—bigger,
faster, and “loaded” with features such as radios and
air-conditioners—fueled the postwar economic boom.
During the decade of the 1920s American factories
had produced 31 million cars. In the 1950s, 58 million
rolled off the assembly lines; during the 1960s, 77 mil-
lion were made. The proliferation of cars contributed
to the expansion of related industries, especially oil.
Gasoline consumption first touched 15 billion gallons
in 1931; it soared to 35 billion gallons in 1950 and to
92 billion in 1970. A new business, the motel industry
(the word, typically American, was a combination of
motorandhotel) developed to service the millions of
tourists and business travelers who burned all this fuel.
Although the car industry was the leading postwar
economic sector, war-weary Americans also bought
new houses, washing machines, and countless other
products. Unable to buy such goods during the war,
they used their war-enforced savings to go on a shop-
ping spree that kept factories operating at capacity.
In addition, the government made an unprece-
dented educational opportunity available to veterans.
Instead of a general bonus, which would have stimu-
lated consumption and inflation, in 1944 Congress
passed the GI Bill of Rights,which made subsidies
available to veterans so they could continue their
educations, learn new trades, or start new businesses.
After the war nearly 8 million veterans took advan-
tage of the education and training grants, greatly to
their long-term advantage, and thus to the country’s.
Economic prosperity in the decades after World
War II allowed the federal government to increase its
military and economic commitments abroad without
raising taxes.Truman Becomes President
When Harry S Truman received the news of
Roosevelt’s death in 1945, he claimed that he felt as
though “the moon, the stars, and all the planets” hadLevittown, New York, in 1949 epitomizes the postwar housing boom.