American Society on the CHange during the Post- World War Years

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American Society on the Change during the Post-World War Years

After World War II, Americans experienced a time of rapid social change. American soldiers were discharged and returned home from the battlefields, hoping to find work and to get on with their lives. Marriage rate increased dramatically after the war. North American population experienced what is known as the “Baby boom” – an 18-year period of rapid population growth from 1946 to 1964. During this period, many children were born than in the same period before or after. During the post war years, the United States embarked on one of its greatest periods of economic expansion. Many Americans had enjoyed economic prosperity. However, the United States has changed since 1950. American society today is different from our grandparents’ generation. The rising divorce rates, population growth in the suburbs, the lives of women and mothers working outside the home marked the tremendous social changes in American society today.

First of all, America has the highest divorce rate among western nations. Divorce rate increased after every major war, and decreased during the Post-World War II economic boom. The divorce rate has more than doubled since 1940, when there were two divorces for every 1,000 persons. Now for the same number of people, there are over five divorces. Studies indicate that there is more divorce among persons with low incomes and limited education and those who marry at a very young age. Teenage marriages are much more likely to end in divorce than are all other marriages. And women who marry when they are over age 30 are the least likely to become divorced. There has been a decline in divorce in the number of couples who have children under 18. Almost 45 p...

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...ct religious rules and less prejudice against divorced people have made it easier for people to end unhappy marriage. The suburban population boomed, fueled by a growing economy, city residents moved to the suburbs to fulfill dreams of home ownership and to flee crime and congestion. Employment outside the home made a big difference in American women and mothers’ lives, giving them self-confidence as well as economic independence. All of the above mentioned facts indicate that the American society had changed.

Work Cited

"Baby Boom." - AP U.S. History Topic Outlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

"The Future of Children, Princeton - Brookings: Providing Research and Analysis to Promote Effective Policies and Programs for Children." - The Future of Children -. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.

PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

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