How Did World War II Transform American Society and Government?

After the end of World War II, the United States went through many changes. Most of the changes were for the better, but some had an adverse effect on certain population centers. Many programs, agencies and policies were created to transform American society and government.

One of the greatest transformations to American society was the mass migration of families from the inner cities to the suburbs. This was thought to make for a better quality of life and a stronger nuclear family. The migration led to the rebirth of American religion, which was associated with suburban living. Less than fifty percent of Americans belonged to specific churches before the onset of World War II, but by the middle of the 1950, this number grew to almost seventy-five percent. Families spent more time together due to the distance from other families and recreational facilities.

Right after the war, many of the returning servicemen had to return to the work force and found this very difficult. Many jobs were filled with women and many did not want to give up these jobs because this meant a better lifestyle for them and their family. This brought about the "Servicemen's Readjustment Act -- the G.I. Bill of Rights". The programs were meant to not only educate and train the returning soldiers, but also help them obtain low interest mortgages and business loans. These loans were backed by the Veterans Administration and guaranteed by the government.

Most of the suburbs were built as small communities with strip malls. This meant that all families had to have at least one car if not two for a second job. Families with a two-income household had it much easier than those with one. This caused an explosion of the middle ...

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...et Union. This started with the CIA’s covert operations in the Bay of Pigs invasion and ended with the Cuban Missile Crisis between the United States and the Soviet Union. Although war was avoided, a communist regime (Fidel Castro) remains in power today.

Another extreme transformation of the government was to focus federal spending on agriculture and infrastructure. These changes led to subsidizing farmers and developing infrastructure programs like the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act and The National Defense Education Act (NDEA). This in turn helped create jobs and encourage farmers to either plant crops or not to plant crops. Even though farmers received subsidies from the government, so much was produced that there became a huge surplus. This led to major trading with foreign countries and transformed American society and government.