Affluence is defined as a state of having a great deal of money. During this time period, the employment rate was high and unemployment was very low, so people had more money. The lowest unemployment rate of this time period was recorded as 1.2% in 1944, while the highest was 4.7% in 1942. Throughout the 40's and 50's, unemployment stayed below 5% which was incredible considering how it wasn't much after the Great Depression ended. Collectively, Americans were seen as being "affluent" during the 1940's and 1950's because they had a lot of money. This was a new concept after the Depression, but the people embraced it greatly by buying more goods and services than ever before.
The Post War Boom was a time of great economic expansion and prosperity. The United States as a whole thrived after WWII by having more economic opportunities for everyone in the country. Many people had jobs that finally enabled them to earn a comfortable living. |
After World War II, Americans were afraid that their country would fall into another Great Depression. They were wrong. The United States experienced great economic growth for the first time since World War I. People finally had the financial stability to buy new things such as cars, TVs, and even brand new houses, that they didn't think was possible to afford during the Great Depression. The end of the war brought a new sense of hope to the American people because they finally had the opportunity to make new purchases. Employment rates skyrocketed, businesses expanded, and farming improved greatly.
GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product. GDP is defined as "the monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period." In this time period, the United States GDP increased most of the years and stayed at fairly higher rates than during the Great Depression. The following data shows the GDP rates in the US throughout the 1940's by their dollar amount and how much the percentage increased/decreased from year to year: 1940 | $1,166,900 | 8.77% 1941 | $1,366,100 | 17.07% 1942 | $1,618,200 | 18.45% 1943 | $1,883,100 | 16.37% 1944 | $2,035,200 | 8.07% 1945 | $2,012,400 | -1.12% 1946 | $1,792,200 | -10.9% 1947 | $1,776,100 | -0.89% 1948 | $1,854,200 | 4.39% 1949 | $1,844,700 | -0.51% 1950 | $2,006,000 | 8.74% This mainly goes to prove how much Americans were spending in this time period to have all of their new products that they were suddenly able to afford. |
Money was the number one motivator of the time. Since people had gone so long without it, everyone started to spend it once they had it again.
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This shows how low the unemployment rates stayed during the 40's and 50's compared to other time periods in United States' history.
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