5 Mass Transportation: Chariots & Jets
Kyle Jenko
5.1 Introduction
Keywords
- Automobile – a usually four-wheeled automotive vehicle designed for passenger transportation
- Public Transportation – a system of trains, buses, etc., that is paid for or run by the government
- United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) – the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. Precursor to the United States Air Force
- Demobilization – to discharge from military service
- Suburbs – a district lying immediately outside a city or town, especially a smaller residential community
- The Finletter Commission – a task force (the Air Policy Commission) on the future of U.S. air power. Finletter was the principal author of the commission’s influential 1948 report, “Survival in the Air Age,” which led to the rapid expansion of the U.S. Air Force.
- National Security Act of 1947 – An Act To promote the national security by providing for a Secretary of Defense; for a National Military Establishment; for a Department of the Army, a Department of the Navy, and a Department of the Air Force; and for the coordination of the activities of the National Military Establishment with other departments and agencies of the Government concerned with the national security.
- Berlin Airlift – one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies’ railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control.
- Interstate highway system– The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States.
- Jet engine– a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet that generates thrust by jet propulsion.
- Supersonic flight – flying faster than the speed of sound (767 mph).
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
- Understand how World War II created a bigger market for the aviation industry
- Explain how civilian restrictions on automobiles contributed to the war effort
- Demonstrate a basic understanding of how cars contributed to suburbanization
- Compare and contrast differences in transportation technology from before the war and after the war
As they grew up, Americans of the Silent Generation witnessed their country cement its status as a world superpower. Participation in World War II and its aftereffects shaped the development of transportation technologies for generations to come. Although invented in a previous era, this generation reaped the benefits of a burgeoning car-centric culture and the genesis of jet powered aviation. The rise of automobile ownership coupled with more powerful aircraft encouraged Americans to travel more frequently and for cheaper. They now felt comfortable moving away from ur