Just After WWII, These Beautiful Color Photos Show What Life of the U.S. Looked Like in the Late 1940s
With the war finally over, life in the United States began to return to normal. Soldiers began to come home and find peacetime jobs. Industry stopped producing war equipment and began to produce goods that made peacetime life pleasant. The American economy was stronger than ever.
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| Life of the U.S. from 1945 to 1949 |
American consumers were eager to spend their money, on everything from big-ticket items like homes, cars and furniture to appliances, clothing, shoes and everything else in between. U.S. factories answered their call, beginning with the automobile industry. New car sales quadrupled between 1945 and 1955, and by the end of the 1950s some 75 percent of American households owned at least one car.
These color slides from Ryan Khatam that show life of an American woman named Mary, her family and friends from 1945 to 1949. Mary is the woman in the hula outfit.
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| Hats, 1945 |
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| Barbecue breakfast, 1946 |
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| Barbecue breakfast, 1947 |
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| Barbecue breakfast, 1947 |
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| Barbecue breakfast, 1947 |
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| Barbecue breakfast, 1947 |
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| Barbecue breakfast, 1947 |
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| Chairs and laugh, 1947 |
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| Easter breakfast – group, 1947 |
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| Easter breakfast – hats, 1947 |
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| Easter breakfast – umbrella, 1947 |
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| Easter breakfast, 1947 |
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| Easter breakfast, 1947 |
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| Rush breakfast – talking, 1948 |
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| Rush breakfast – talking, 1948 |
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| Rush breakfast, 1948 |
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| Mary and Skipper, 1949 |
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| Skipper and Claudia, 1949 |
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| Family portrait, 1940s |
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| Girls and tree, 1940s |
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| Hula girl, 1940s |
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| Hula girl, 1940s |
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| La Posada Hotel, Winslow, Arizona, 1940s |
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| Ladies sitting on the grass, 1940s |
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| Ladies sitting on the grass, 1940s |
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| Lady and fountain, 1940s |
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| Old couple, 1940s |
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| People laughing, 1940s |
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| People laughing, 1940s |
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| Portraits of three ladies, 1940s |
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| Smiling, 1940s |
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| Three happy girls, 1940s |
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| Three happy girls, 1940s |
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| Three happy girls, 1940s |
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| Trail to Moro Rock, California, 1940s |
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| Woman and house, 1940s |
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| Woman in green, 1940s |
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| Women and fountain, 1940s |
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| Women standing on the grass, 1940s |
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| Portraits of five ladies, 1940s |
