The ideal family as portrayed in this picture. Everyone lead a happy, routine life.
1. Suburbanization- I find this to be the most important change in the nation between 1941 and 1974 because we learned a lot about urbanization and how people migrated to the cities in search of work but now we see how there is a drastic migration of people to the suburbs. This was a result of many war veterans who “faced severe housing shortages in the cities” (Chudacoff p.218) and were given the opportunity to own homes (most houses located, expanded and built) in the suburbs through low-interest home loans. This was also played a significant role in the segregation between blacks and whites. Most of the whites moved from crowded cities toward the Midwest or South and the blacks were forced to remain in the cities because real estate angencies refused to provide housing in the suburbs for blacks.
2. Expansion of buildings- “…federal governent built an average of $2.5 billion worth of industrial buildings…” (Chudacoff p218).
3. Expansion of highways- “…federal funds spent on highways swelled from $429 million in 1950 to $2.9 billion in 1960.” (Chudacoff p221)
4. The American Dream- the ideal suburban neighborhood consisted of fathers who worked and earned money and mothers who tended happily to their families and enjoyed leisure life.
5. Destruction of the Environment- construction contaminated groundwater and factories and machinery used to build homes polluted the air.