AP U.S. History Flashcards: Economy after 1945
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
Review key ideas with interactive flashcards. This set includes 10 cards to help you master important concepts.
What was the role of federal spending in the post-1945 economy?
Federal spending was one of the primary causes that helped spur economic growth in the years after World War II.
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What was the role of federal spending in the post-1945 economy?
Federal spending was one of the primary causes that helped spur economic growth in the years after World War II.
A family moves from Chicago to Los Angeles in 1955 for a job in the growing aerospace industry. This exemplifies what major demographic shift?
This is an example of the post-1945 migration of many Americans to the South and West, a region known as the Sun Belt.
How did education and technology influence social mobility and migration after 1945?
As higher education opportunities and new technologies expanded, they increased social mobility, which in turn encouraged Americans to migrate to the suburbs and the Sun Belt.
What factors encouraged the migration of the middle class to the suburbs after 1945?
Increasing social mobility, which was fueled by expanded higher education opportunities and new technologies, encouraged middle-class migration to the suburbs.
Sun Belt
The South and West regions of the United States where many Americans migrated after 1945, encouraged by new opportunities and technologies.
Identify two distinct migration patterns of Americans that occurred after 1945.
After 1945, the middle class increasingly migrated to the suburbs, and many Americans in general migrated to the South and West (the Sun Belt).
Post-1945 Social Mobility
An increase in the ability of Americans to improve their socioeconomic status, which was expanded by new technologies and greater access to higher education.
A historian claims the post-WWII economic boom was driven entirely by private industry. What evidence from the text contradicts this?
The text states that federal spending, the baby boom, and technological developments were also key factors that spurred economic growth, not just the private sector.
Baby Boom (economic context)
A significant increase in the birth rate following World War II that helped spur economic growth by increasing consumer demand.
What were the four main drivers of economic growth in the U.S. after World War II?
Post-WWII economic growth was spurred by a burgeoning private sector, federal spending, the baby boom, and technological developments.