Essay On Suburbanization

Suburbanisation in the late 40s was the mass movement of middle-class white Americans from major cities to areas outside of these cities. It occurred for a number of different reasons; to house the generation of baby boomers who left cities overcrowded, to help people get way from the low quality of life in cities, to provide past soldiers with normalcy in a traditional home setting and because the suburbs were attractive, less expensive, had lower taxes and were seemingly the ideal place to raise a family. While men in the suburbs were content to cope with the conformity and banality after the dramatic horrors of war, women suffered greatly. Many had attended college and gotten degrees and many had entered the workforce during the Second World War to take over for the men. They were used to their own money and independence, and suburbanisation wasted their potential. They were confined to the role of housewives when they really had so much more to offer. Their aspirations were severely constrained, leading to

The role of women during the war was crucial, as they entered the workforce to take up all of the jobs that their male counterparts left behind to fight in active combat. For the first time these women had extra spending money, a sense of independence and more importunely, a sense of purpose. They took up clerical jobs but also jobs in machinery and engineering. They were no longer merely housewives who cared for their children and husbands, but working women who were just as skilled and capable as their male peers. Their immense pride and purpose led to higher morale and better productivity, improving America’s economy and morale as a whole. However, after World War 2, everything changed once again for these middle-class women. The men, back from fighting in the war, regained their old jobs and forced the new female employees out of the workforce.