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How Did World War II Transform American Society and Government?

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After the end of World War II, the United States went through many changes. Most of the changes were for the better, but some had an adverse effect on certain population centers. Many programs, agencies and policies were created to transform American society and government. One of the greatest transformations to American society was the mass migration of families from the inner cities to the suburbs. This was thought to make for a better quality of life and a stronger nuclear family. The migration led to the rebirth of American religion, which was associated with suburban living. Less than fifty percent of Americans belonged to specific churches before the onset of World War II, but by the middle of the 1950, this number grew …show more content…

Neighbors competed with each other to show their wealth with material belongings. The automobile and manufacturing industries saw huge increases in growth and profits because of these purchases. America saw huge improvements in medicine, which helped people live longer and healthier lives. Breakthroughs such as penicillin and the polio vaccination extended life expectancy by leaps and bounds. In 1948, the National Institutes of Health was created with federal support for continued research. One of the drawbacks of advanced medical techniques meant that treatment was more expensive and not shared by all classes of people. This later brought about the creation of Medicare in 1965 for the ageing population and Medicaid for the lower class and jobless. Due to this migration the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956 was created. The justification given to the public was that it would make evacuation of large cities more efficient in case of an attack by the Soviet Union. It became the largest public works program in American history. The program was completely funded by taxes placed on goods that were needed for this migration (e.g., gas, oil, tires, buses and trucks). Two industries that reaped the most from this were the automobile industry and suburban home construction. Although this helped stimulate the American economy, it had an adverse affect on large cities. Places like New

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