Economy from 1945 to 1960

“With the post-1945 emergence of America from the Great Depression and World War II, the automobile moved the nation forward into the modern age. The pioneering efforts of Henry Ford to mass-produce the automobile and offer affordable prices for average Americans created a new product called ‘personal travel’ and a host of new business opportunities. . . the construction of the vast interstate highway system was largely concentrated in the years 1958-72. The multi-lane highway network greatly increased the productivity of truck drivers, shortened the duration of personal trips, and increased safety.”

-Source: Robert J. Gordon, economist, The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living Since the Civil War, 2016