Following World War II, the United States emerged as one of the two dominant superpowers, turning away from its traditional isolationism and toward increased international involvement. The United States became a global influence in economic, political, military, cultural, and technological affairs.
Building on the economic base left after the war, American society became more affluent in the postwar years than most Americans could have imagined in their wildest dreams before or during the war. Public policy, like the so-called GI Bill of Rights passed in 1944, provided money for veterans to attend college, to purchase homes, and to buy farms.
The overall impact of such public policies was almost incalculable, but it certainly aided returning veterans to better themselves and to begin forming families and having children in unprecedented numbers.
Not all Americans participated equally in these expanding life opportunities and in the growing economic prosperity. The image and reality of overall economic prosperity – and the upward mobility it provided for many white Americans – was not lost on those who had largely been excluded from the full meaning of the American Dream, both before and after the war. As a consequence, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and American women became more aggressive in trying to win their full freedoms and civil rights as guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution during the postwar era.
These wonderful color from Dave’s old slides show what life of the U.S. looked like in the post-World War II period.
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| American Canyon Campground, Los Padres National Forest, California, 1952 |
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| Robert Kross (1920-2011) with his photo prints and negatives at Elmhurst, Illinois, 1952 |
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| Thanksgiving at Elmhurst, Illinois, 1952 |
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| Chapel at Bunker Hill Air Force Base, Indiana, circa 1953 |
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| Graduation at Elmhurst College, Illinois, 1953 |
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| Iron River, Wisconsin, 1953 |
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| Michael Kross at Elmhurst, Illinois, Christmas 1953 |
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| A. Zito, US Air Force, 1954 |
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| Bride and bridesmaids in mirror, USA, 1954 |
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| DuPage Division, Chicago Title & Trust, Wheaton, Illinois, 1954 |
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| DuPage Division, Chicago Title & Trust, Wheaton, Illinois, 1954 |
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| DuPage Division, Chicago Title & Trust, Wheaton, Illinois, 1954 |
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| Pat Sullivan and anthurium in the new building of the DuPage Division, Chicago Title & Trust, Wheaton, Illinois, 1954 |
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| Armed Forces Day at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, May 1955 |
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| Western Illinois or eastern Missouri, 1955 |
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| Dick and Sara with 1955 Chevrolet, 1956 |
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| A convivial group, USA, 1957 |
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| Joe Sante Quartet, 1957 |
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| Children on stairs, Christmas 1958 |
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| Couple on sofa, USA, June 1958 |
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| Fire scene attended by the Selma Fire Department, Alabama, 1958 |
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| Passengers disembarking from TWA Lockheed Constellation at Midway Airport, Chicago, circa 1958 |
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| Woman in park, 1958 |
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| Wrecked car, Route 35, USA, July 1958 |
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| Christmas 1959 |
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| Diane and snowman, circa 1959 |
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| Diane with skis, January 1959 |
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| Hawaii, 1959 |
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| Hawaii, 1959 |
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| Marineland of the Pacific, California, 1959 |
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| At the lake, USA, 1950s |
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| Boy on tricycle with hamster and spaniel, 1950s |
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| Boy singing and playing guitar at Christmas, 1950s |
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| Children with Christmas presents, USA, 1950s |
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| Couple in 1954 Plymouth Belvedere, 1950s |
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| Time for a drink, 1950s |
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| Young women at beach, USA, 1950s |
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| Woman in green dress, USA, 1950s |
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| 'AC Farm', with 1953 Ford Crestline Sunliner convertible |
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| 'Beer Party, NAS Hutchinson', Naval Air Station, Kansas, 1950s |