Well, the primary reason the US experienced an economic boom during the 1950s and 1960s was the effect that World War II had on the US economy. During World War II there was very low unemployment as many men were drafted into the military. Women and those remaining men got jobs in factories manufacturing arms for those fighting. Much of the money they earned was saved as there was little to spend it on during the war period. By 1945 $140 billion was held in private savings. These savings were used after the war to boost consumer spending. After the war the US economy grew as there was little damage to mainland USA and thus no money was spent on reconstructing factories, houses and public infrastructure as had to be done across the UK and mainland Europe. Due to the damage caused to Europe there was a large increase in US exports to Europe as European countries were unable to manufacture goods whilst they rebuilt their factories and infrastructure. The Marshall Plan was a program for European recovery which gave European countries money to their economies. It is widely thought that the US did this partly for their own benefit. They knew that with this money European countries would buy goods from US factories as they needed to rebuild their factories, this would mean that jobs would be created as there was higher demand for goods. Investment in advancing technology would occur and more tax could be collected from those employed. This all contributed to the increase in the economy. Finally, after World War II the US increased their spending on defence out of fear of communism spreading from Russia. There were large amounts of money spent by the US government on research and development on new weapons and technological advancement. Around 60% of federal spending between 1945 and 1970 was on the military. This increase in spending on research and development would have provided massive employment opportunities in science and engineering. This also sparked an increase in the number of people becoming engineers and scientists, and was helped by the GI Bill which gave free further education to soldiers returning to the US after World War II. Overall the US economy grew massively in the 1950s and 1960s because of World War II. Savings from the war period, increased government spending on military research and development and the Marshall Plan for Europe all contributed significantly to the US economy’s growth during the post war period.
