When World War II ended, the United States rejoiced with what they assumed their victory would determine; total peace, the discontinuation of Communism, the return of all the dearly missed soldiers, and greater equality for all, especially in the workplace. Much to the dismay of many citizens at home during the war, these aspirations were not exactly what they expected. In the near short years right after the war, there was much prosperity and many were perfectly content, but in these years, many had difficult times with the changes that occurred after the war. With these rough times came many fears of the conditions of the country, but many of these fears were greatly calmed through the work of the President Eisenhower in the 1950s. In the …show more content…
From Statistics provided by the Department of Commerce from the years of 1949 to 1959, a steady increase is seen in the GNP, which shows the nation’s overall wealth (Document G). These numbers suggest the economy booming soon after the war, meaning that even during the recession of 1953 people had money enough and steady jobs to support their lifestyles. This was done during Eisenhower’s Administration, and the statistics show that the tactics he chose to increase the GNP worked, as it went up almost $500 in 10 years. Though the GNP went up, the government also spent much more money than previously, even on things such as the Interstate and Highway System. This system was put in place as a defense mechanism in June 1956, and was widely recognized across the nation as a grand idea to pull the nation back together. In the Saturday Evening Post in October 1956, the Interstate System is described as connecting “209 if the 237 cities having a population of 50,000 or more”, which was considered a huge success in the nation (Document D). People now would be able to escape from their cities if ever needed. Because of this, the threat of nuclear warfare didn’t seem as personal anymore, as people would have been able to get out of their homes in the case of an atomic bomb going