US technology and economy space race sputnik kennedy nixon debates baby boom gi bill levittowns neil armstrong interstate highway system NASA

1. The impact of technological
development and economic
growth on the United States,
1945-1975.

2. • After WWII, thousands of US soldiers returned home all
at once & the nation experienced a population explosion
known as the “baby boom”.
• “Baby boomers” are members of the generation born
within the first few years after WWII after spouses were
reunited and couples got married.
• Many of these people started or expanded their families –
the result was a “boom” in the number of babies born in
the US during the late 40’s and early 50’s.

3. • After WWII, Congress passed the “GI Bill” that provided
military veterans with benefits such as job priority, money
for furthering education, training, & loans for purchasing
homes & property – for the first time, large #’s of people
could afford to buy their own home.
• Developers like William Levitt would build entire
communities of new houses; applying the idea of mass
production, he could sell them at a lower price.
• The new suburbs he helped create became known as
“Levittowns”.

4. • To accommodate the returning US soldiers from WWII
and their expanding families (“baby boom”) that were
making use of the passage of the GI Bill.

5. • Concerns about a possible nuclear strike against the US
(Cold War) led President Eisenhower to support the
National Highway Act of 1956 calling for the construction
of a federal interstate highway system.
• It would provide for greater mobility for citizens – more of
whom owned cars and would commute from the suburbs
to cities for work.
• More importantly, the highways served a military
purpose; the improved roads enabled military troops &
personnel to move quicker and people could evacuate
cities much faster in the event of a nuclear attack and/or
war.

6. • For the first time, the TV made it possible for people to
watch entertaining shows, news reports, &
advertisements from the comfort of their own home
without having to go to a theater.
• It made an impact on politics; politicians had to worry
about how they looked onscreen.
• The debate b/t Kennedy & Nixon in 1960 was the first
televised presidential debate in history; interestingly,
people who listened to the debate on radio thought Nixon
won, people who watched it on TV thought Kennedy won
– they thought the young, good looking senator appeared
much more confident & presidential.

7. • As the Civil Rights Movement progressed in the 50’s &
60’s, TV coverage of the violence inflicted on African
Americans played a major role in winning support for the
cause.

9. • With the distrust growing b/t the US & the USSR b/c of
the Cold War and nuclear weapons, they felt compelled
to keep up with each others’ technological advances.
• 1957, the Soviets launched “Sputnik”, the first artificial
satellite to orbit the earth, revealing the superiority of
Soviet technology while causing great concern in the US
b/c this same technology could launch nuclear missiles.
• US entered the “space race” – competition with the
Soviets to gain the upper hand in space travel &
technology – in 1958 with the passage of the National
Defense Education Act which provided aid for education
& was geared towards bosting the study of science,
math, & foreign languages.

10. • US entered the “space race” – competition with the
Soviets to gain the upper hand in space travel &
technology – in 1958 with the passage of the National
Defense Education Act which provided aid for education
& was geared towards bosting the study of science,
math, & foreign languages.

11. • (1957) Sputnik

12. • With the distrust growing b/t the US & the USSR b/c of
the Cold War and nuclear weapons, they felt compelled
to keep up with each others’ technological advances.
• 1957, the Soviets launched “Sputnik”, the first artificial
satellite to orbit the earth, revealing the superiority of
Soviet technology while causing great concern in the US
b/c this same technology could launch nuclear missiles.

13. • 1961, the Soviets showed they were ahead in the space
race again when they successfully launched the first
manned space flight; Yuri Gagarin orbited the earth on a
Soviet spacecraft.
• In response, President Kennedy issued a challenge: to
put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
• Less than a year later, NASA (the National Aeronautics &
Space Agency) successfully launched a spacecraft
carrying astronaut John Glenn into orbit.
• Seven and a half years later, July 20, 1969, Neil
Armstrong because the first person to walk on the moon.

14. • July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong because the first person to
walk on the moon.