POST WAR
ECONOMY
After the war, a lot of people were worried that the drop in military spending would just bring back the Great Depression. Things worked out in their favour, though, as pent-up customer demand helped fuel the economy. The car industry went back to building car, and new businesses like aviation and electronics only grew from there. By 1956, “a majority of U.S. workers held white-collar rather than blue-collar jobs” (ThoughtCo).
America gained a newfound status as a superpower after the war, due to their atomic bombs and resilient fighting in the war. Though, there were tensions back home. People were in fear of going back to the Great Depression, and they thought the economy was controlled too much by the government.
America gained a newfound status as a superpower after the war, due to their atomic bombs and resilient fighting in the war. Though, there were tensions back home. People were in fear of going back to the Great Depression, and they thought the economy was controlled too much by the government.
WOMEN
Due to the amount of men going to war, women were forced take up many of the more 'masculine' jobs, like factory workers and lumberjacks. The amount of working women rose from 14 million in 1940 to 19 million in 1945 when the war ended. Their wages rose by 50% during this time, though there was still a wage gap. Some women even worked in the war, with around 300, 000 women working as soldiers, navy, and nursing corps. Most women went back to their normal lives, though some stayed in the work force, changing the roles of women leading unto the 50's.
SOLDIERS
418,500 Americans are estimated to have died due to World War II. Of those, 416,800 were military workers. In total, 60 million people died because of World War II, making it the world's most devastating catastrophe, with 3% of the population having been lost.
Citations:
US Department of State, The Post War US Economy, thoughtco.com, 2018 https://www.thoughtco.com/the-post-war-us-economy-1945-to-1960-1148153
US Department of State, The Post War US Economy, thoughtco.com, 2018 https://www.thoughtco.com/the-post-war-us-economy-1945-to-1960-1148153