Post-War Prosperity Brings Babies, Suburban Living

21 June 2012

People move into new homes in Levittown, New York, in October 1947. Levittown served as a model for planned communities for the baby boom generation.

STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember

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World War Two finally ended in August of nineteen forty-five. Life in the United States began to return to normal. Soldiers began to come home and find jobs. Factories stopped producing war materials and began to produce goods for peacetime.

At the same time, other changes began to take place in society. Many Americans were no longer satisfied with their old ways of life. They wanted something new and better. And many were now earning enough money to find that better life.

Millions of Americans moved out of cities and small towns. They bought newly built homes in suburban communities outside busy cities. Today, we look at the growth of suburbs and other changes in the American population in the years after World War Two.

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WIFE: “And we’ll have the living room right in here, and the kitchen right here so we can see the children playing in the yard.”

HUSBAND: “Yeah, the children … Children? Say, how many are you planning on? Not more than six, I hope. Maybe I better add a few more rooms back here.”