After WWII there was a baby boom which was when there was a large increase of the number of babies born
(mainly because the men were coming back from war)
An estimated 76 million babies were born
Also caused by couples who could not afford families during the depression, but now could.
The Levitt family started building suburban type homes after WWII
Mortgage payments were cheaper than renting small apartments in the city
Attracted couples looking to start a family
More babies were being born so bigger homes were needed
Families were needing more space in their homes
Levittown consisted of 12,000 homes split into ten neighborhoods
Each neighborhood had a elementary school, pool, and playground
The suburbs that were built were not built near the big cities
Little public transportation for the suburban areas
Since more people were going to the suburbs because of the baby boom, the needed ways to get around
In 1956 over 41,000 miles of highways were built for better transportation
Television became a big part of American culture
People were able to follow the new stories like the
Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movements
A big source of entertainment and had an impact on clothes and music
Commercials also helped with teenage consumerism
70 million Americans tuned in to watch the first ever presidential debate
Richard Nixon was the Vice President and foreign policy expert
Kennedy had little experience that Nixon wanted to expose
John F. Kennedy looked a lot more confident on TV
Seeing this confidence made voters want him to be president
Television, magazines, and newspapers covered this movement
Showing these boycotts and marches on television kept the Civil Rights Movement on America’s mind
Having it on TV helped people start supporting the movement
Even though television was first introduced to the public in 1939, WW2 prevented it from being manufactured and distributed on a large scale until after the war.
True regular commercial network television programming didn’t being in the U.S until 1948.
The first electronic computers were developed in 1940-1945 and were originally the size of a large room and consumed lots of energy.
In the 1970s, people in educational or research institutions had the opportunity for single-person use of a computer system in interactive mode for extended durations.
Personal computers at this time were very expensive and were usually not used only by one person or family.
Personal computers were often of interest to hobbyists and technicians.
A cellular telephone is an electronic device used for two-way radio telecommunication over a cellular network of base stations known as cell sites.
The first mobile telephone call was made from a car in St.
Louis, Missouri on June 17, 1946.
Martin Cooper is considered to be the inventor of the first practical mobile phone for handheld use. He and Bell Labs were in a race for the first portable mobile phone.
Cooper was a researcher and executive of Motorola.
After these new advances in technology began, communication among people in the United states became easier.
Telephone lines covered the country making it possible for people on opposite sides of the nation to communicate with each other.
Computers were making it easier for academic people to find information and share it with fellow colleges.
Cell phones were making it more convenient to always be in touch with anyone.
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