The United States came out of World War II a prosperous country.
Workers had earned good money in military industries but had had little chance to spend it. Returning troops rejoined their spouses or married, ready to set up households and buy consumer goods. The birthrate, increasing during the war, skyrocketed, and the new generation was tagged the “baby boom.”
The United States took on the role of a world superpower, helping its allies and former enemies. At the same time, the USSR struggled to assert its authority. President Truman adopted a policy of “containment,” trying to counter Soviet influence throughout the world. From 1950 to 1952, the United States fought alongside South Korean troops against the Communist North in an indecisive civil war. The United States and the USSR jockeyed for influence over nonaligned nations. The cold war between the United States and the USSR would last for almost fifty years.
The sense of communist encroachment around the world led to an era of political suspicion in the United States. During the late 1940s, intelligence agencies investigated individuals suspected of spying or subversion. A congressional committee delved into communist infiltration of government and business, and under President Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961) a cold war policy held sway.
Yet, even as the U. S. government sought to present a united front against communism, American society seemed to fracture into distinct demographic segments. One powerful group was composed of teenagers, who had money to buy cars, records, clothes, and movie tickets. As teenage crime rose, the image of the ‘juvenile delinquent’ emerged as well. Other social groups also gained prominence. The civil rights movement accelerated, primarily under the guidance of pacifist Martin Luther
King, Jr. In 1954, the Supreme Court decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education took a step toward ending legal discrimination by mandating school desegregation.
World History
