Post WWII Economic Expansion Essay Research Paper

Post WWII Economic Expansion Essay, Research Paper

.The U.S. embarked on one of the greatest periods of economic expansion in its history..America did indeed embark on one of the greatest periods of expansion in the postwar years. People had money, consumers were spending that money, and corporations were profiting from that. New types of companies got started and were succeeding, and older businesses folded because of this. New industries were created which opened many possibilities for the near future. Current workers were getting promoted into white-collar jobs in all sorts of industries, and new jobs were created because of new technology. The postwar era was the beginning of the technology boom, which would transform the world within 50 years. The move away from the cities still continued, and the baby boom was still occurring. All of this made the postwar years some of the best economic years in American history.

During World War II people were earning wages, but not spending much of them. This was mostly because of the small supply of consumer goods, if they were even produced during the war. This meant that the average American consumer had several years of wages saved by the end of the war. Some unfortunate families also had money from the government and insurance companies if they lost a relative due to the fighting in Europe and the Pacific. This meant that at the end of the war Americans had money, and the want to buy new things and give the economy a nice, long awaited boost.

Americans had thousands of dollars saved up, and now they wanted to do something with that money. The obvious solution was spending it. For the first time in years consumer good were once again produced and sold in large quantities. That set-up was a perfect situation for economic growth. Consumer has money, corporation has product, consumer wants product. It.s very simple, the consumer will pay for what they want, and that will cause economic growth because of increased spending. This spending was very obvious, the Grosse National Product increased by 292 billion dollars from 1945 to 1960, which was an increase of almost 150%. That proves how much American consumers were spending compared to the war years.

This increase in buying did not just make the consumers happier. The corporations welcomed the buying increase, because that meant a profit increase for them. The .big three. automotive companies, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, because the clear industry leaders, because they were outselling competitors by a long shot. These large companies were using their large profits to take-over smaller companies, thus causing the parent corporation to grow. Some large corporations bought up totally unrelated companies, like a telephone company buying an insurance company, and a rent-a-car place. These unrelated companies were called diversified conglomerates. Hundreds of companies found themselves diversified conglomerates in the postwar years. This is how companies benefited and grew during the postwar years.

During this time of economic growth some people wanted to get themselves a piece of the pie. Several large corporations that still exist today first opened their doors during the postwar era. Companies such as McDonald.s, American Express, and Visa led the way. These new businesses quickly grew, and were industry leaders within just a few years. These new businesses were too successful for existing businesses such as corner caf.s, and soda shops. These private, small businesses were mostly all taken over by these large franchises, like Burger King, Kentucky Friend Chicken, and the previously mentioned McDonalds. Credit card companies also make millions during these years. For the second time Americans had hundreds of dollars of personal debt because of credit, but this time there were precautions in place to prevent a major disaster for reoccurring. These are just a few examples of new corporations booming in the growing economy of America.

Technical advances made during World War II led to the development of several new industries in the postwar era. The largest, and perhaps most intriguing was nuclear power. The atomic bomb created thousands of possibilities for future usage. Not all of these uses were destructive weapons either. The most important peacetime use, which still exists today, is commercial power. The first nuclear power plant was built in 1957 in Shippingport, Pennsylvania. Sense then nuclear power has become an incredibly valuable resource to our nation.

Another factor that contributed towards the growth of the American economy was the promotion of a large portion of the current workforce. This meant pay increases, but it also caused a lot of internal conflict amongst workers. Blue-collar workers were not white-collar office workers, and some didn.t quite like that. The companies pushed for uniformity, and not individual expression. Some of the workers didn.t feel comfortable with this, and the impersonal feeling that came with the job. They felt like a number, not a living, breathing person. Even with this set back many workers kept their jobs, and enjoyed the high pay, and good benefits that came with the job. Their increased salary was yet another factor that lead to a growth of the economy.

The economic boom in the postwar years led to the creation of many new jobs, which ended up boosting the economy further