After World War II, the United States became one of the two dominant superpowers, moving away from isolationism and toward international engagement. The United States influenced economic, political, military, cultural, and technological affairs globally.
Following the war, American society became affluent in a way that most people could not have imagined in their wildest dreams before or during the war. With public policy, like the so-called GI Bill of Rights passed in 1944, veterans could attend college, buy houses, and buy farms. These public policies had a virtually incalculable impact overall but certainly helped return veterans better themselves, begin forming families, and have children in unprecedented numbers.
The expanding opportunities and growing prosperity did not equally benefit Americans. Before and after the war, Americans who had been mainly excluded from the American Dream and its whole meaning were not blind to the image and reality of overall economic prosperity. After the war, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and American women became more aggressive in seeking full freedoms and civil rights guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
Here are some stunning color photos that show cities, towns, and everyday life in the United States after World War II.
![Grand Grocery Co.], Lincoln, Nebraska, 1950s](https://www.bygonely.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Post-War_America_1950s_65.jpg)
![War production workers at the Vilter [Manufacturing] Company making M5 and M7 guns for the U.S. Army, Milwaukee, Wis. Ex-housewife, age 24, filing small parts, 1950s](https://www.bygonely.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Post-War_America_1950s_94.jpg)
