The years from the end of World War II are called the post-war boom.
Thousands of young American men had spent years away from home because of World War II. From the end of the year until 1950, marriage rates soared nationally. An unusually high number of children were born in this period nationwide. This trend is called the “baby-boom.” Officially, the “baby-boom” lasted from 1946 to 1964.
With the dramatic increase in new families, suburbs emerged. The housing and construction industries began an upswing.
When World War II ended, many women who had worked in factories during the war returned to home and the traditional domestic way of life. The feminist movement actually slows down.
Not only does integration begin in professional sports, but also in the military. The U.S. military was integrated in 1948.
New technologies developed during the war will now have non-war uses. Examples include computing machines and an early computer. Atomic weapons lead to a rise in the study of nuclear physics. Airports began using radar and the airline industry now had jet aircraft. Radiocarbon dating revolutionized archeology. The post-war years saw the introduction of the Jeep, television, an early microwave oven, Velcro, Tupperware, nylon stockings and the Frisbee and Slinky.
Internationally, the post-war years saw the rise of the U.S.S.R. and communist control of China. The United Nations was formed.
Winston Churchill gave the Iron Curtain speech in 1946 when speaking of Soviet control of Eastern Europe. The Iron Curtain was the imaginary boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II until 1991. This was the beginning of the Cold War, a state of political and military tension between the United States and countries in Western Europe and the Soviet Union and countries under its control in Eastern Europe. The Marshall Plan began in Western Europe to give economic support to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II. The Berlin Airlift took place in 1948 and 1949. Berlin, the German capital, was in the Soviet zone, but the city itself was divided into four sections. In June 1948, the Russians closed all highways, railroads and canals from western-occupied Germany into western-occupied Berlin. The U.S. and its allies decided to supply their sectors of the city from the air. The “Berlin Airlift,” lasted for more than a year. NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was organized in 1949, also as a direct result of the Cold War.
Decolonialization and the emergence of new nations began during and at the end of World War II, with leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi in India. In many cases, civil wars and/or wars with the former colonial powers were fought before independence was gained. The United States gave independence to the Philippines.
Other new nations, in addition to India, were Pakistan, Burma, Jordan, Sri Lanka, Ceylon, Indonesia and Vietnam. Lebanon and Syria were granted independence during World War II.
The Chinese communists won the Chinese Civil War in 1949 and the new nation of Taiwan was created.
The independence of Palestine and the immediate admission of 100,000 new Jewish immigrants, led to the Palestinian War and the creation of Israel.
Korea was divided into North Korea and South Korea.

Post-War Years in Henderson County