When America Became Suburban

1. The Short American Century

1 1 T h e S h o r t A m e r i ca n Ce n t u r y From the end of World War II in 1945 to the recession of the early 1970s, the United States was the most affluent and the most influential of nations. During those years, the United States realized the destiny that Henry R. Luce, one of the country’s most outspoken publishers, had famously foreshadowed in 1941. Luce had urged Americans “to accommodate themselves spiritually and practically to the fact” that “their nation became in the 20th century the most powerful and vital nation in the world.” The mantle of world leadership, he challenged, could no longer be avoided; isolationism would have to be abandoned. The subsequent projection of a U.S. presence promoted democracy, abundance, and American ideals across the globe. The American Century had ostensibly begun.1 These years were among the most prosperous in American history . Jobs were plentiful and wages were on the rise. Young married couples were confident enough of the future to flee apartments in the cities for homes with mortgages in the suburbs. There, they started families in unprecedented numbers. The gains from high productivity and a favorable balance of international trade were spread throughout the economy. The United States was a bountiful society admired throughout the world for its vast array of consumer goods and comfortable way of life. Americans celebrated the wealth of consumer products, their scienti fic achievements, the stability and openness of their government, and the myriad opportunities available to them for personal advancement. The national mood was buoyant; a shared sense of accomplishment 2 The Short American Century nurtured a federal government sure of its ability to overcome all obstacles , whether domestic or foreign. Except for paranoia about communism and the persistent challenge of race relations, Americans were satisfied with who they had become and with their prospects for the future. America, they believed, was the envy of the world. Throughout what would turn out to be a shorter American Century than Luce had envisioned, the formidable combination of prosperity, democracy, and military strength repelled all challenges to U.S. global supremacy.2 While the nation was basking in prosperity and international glory, the industrial cities were undergoing precipitous decline. Urban economies were collapsing, and residents were leaving for the suburbs in ever-rising numbers. Once-robust manufacturing firms closed their operations or moved to more favorable locations. The ripple effects produced job loss and business closings. Racial tensions, poverty, and physical decay became urban problems of seemingly overwhelming magnitude. Riots erupted in African American inner-city neighborhoods in the 1960s, and numerous city governments faced bankruptcy during the economic downturn of the early 1970s. The consequences were devastating. The remaining residents suffered , businesses from department stores to textile factories closed their doors, slums spread, and city governments were burdened with shrinking revenues and an unrelenting demand for services. Metropolitan economies dependent on these cities stagnated and demands for federal assistance increased in intensity. The country’s image was being tarnished as the consequences of decline reverberated throughout society. The nation’s cities, about which its citizens have always been ambivalent , became (to many observers) an embarrassment. A less stressful time, one beyond the urban crisis, was difficult to imagine.3 The industrial cities of the United States had enjoyed uninterrupted growth prior to World War II. Decade after decade, more and more people had taken up residence in them. Growth seemed inevitable. The belief in a never-ending expansion survived even the short-lived population declines that a few industrial cities had experienced in the 1930s. The massive loss of people and hemorrhaging of jobs and investment after the war was an abrupt departure from normality. Almost half of the fifty largest cities—places like New York City, Philadelphia, Detroit, Michigan, and St. Louis, Missouri—lost population between 1950 and 1970, with that number increasing in the 1970s. Cities such as Buffalo, New York; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Youngstown, Ohio; Gary, Indiana; Camden, New Jersey; and East St. Louis, Illinois, shed from one-third to one-half their residents. Medium-size and small cities 3 The Short American Century were similarly afflicted. A few decades earlier, only the most aberrant of cities had experienced a shrinkage in population. But postwar urban decline was more than a temporary deviation from unrelenting...