Chapter 20 - Montana Historical Society

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1962 Cuban Missile Crisis 1964 Congress passes the Wilderness Act 1961 Air Force begins construction of Montana ICBM silos 1968 Congress passes Indian Civil Rights Act READ TO FIND OUT: ■ How the nation’s largest economic boom affected Montana ■ Why the Anaconda Company dug the Berkeley Pit ■ Why more rural Montanans moved into town ■ How fear of communism affected everyday life The Big Picture The great economic boom after World War II brought modern conveniences and new anxieties—and shaped Montana into the place we know today. In the spring of 1945 a Sheridan County farm wife named Anna Dahl strode into the federal headquarters of the Rural Electrifi cation Administration in Washington, D.C. She plunked down a fi stful of paperwork: a federal loan application that would enable the people of Sheridan County to string power lines across the northeast corner of Montana. A year later 600 families in Sheridan, Roosevelt, and Daniels Counties could switch on a light and read in bed. Many changes swept across Montana in the years after World War II. Electricity lit up rural areas. Interstate highways threaded across the land. Commercial airline travel became popular. Montanans bought their fi rst televisions. People could travel more easily and get information faster. Everybody’s life changed in some way. During this time the nation’s economy boomed like never before. After World War II, the United States enjoyed the greatest growth in prosperity in its history. The average American became wealthier than ever before. 1966 Large-scale strip mining begins at Colstrip 1965 Yellowtail Dam completed 1971 Chilean government takes possession of the Anaconda Company’s biggest mine 1972 Montana adopts new constitution 1960 1965 1970 1975 1970 First Earth Day celebrated 1970 Several major railroads merge 1975 Libby Dam completed 395 2 0 — B U I L D I N G A N E W M O N T A N A 3 9 5
FIGURE 20.2: Soldiers returned from World War II eager to get married, buy a house and a car, and build a new life. This couple is celebrating their honeymoon in Yellowstone National Park. 3 9 6 P A R T 4 : T H E M O D E R N M O N T A N A Montana’s economy boomed, too. But most of the nation’s growth happened outside Montana, and in industries Montana did not have. By the end of this period, Montana’s economy fell behind the rest of the nation’s. Meanwhile dams, strip mines, and a large open-pit mine at Butte changed the landscape. The modernization of Montana is a complicated story. Many things happened in the 1950s and 1960s that made Montanans’ lives easier. But these years also brought new diffi culties. In many ways big and small, people during this period watched their state transform into the modern Montana we know today. A Postwar Boom Sweeps the Nation The United States emerged from World War II as a superpower (a nation with greater economic, political, and military power than most nations). Its industries remained productive, its military was one of the most powerful in the world, and the GI Bill gave the nation’s economy an enormous boost (see Chapter 19). After a decade of depression and war rationing (limiting people’s access to goods or food), people were ready to spend money. Consumerism (the idea that buying consumer goods benefi ts the economy) became an economic strategy for the nation. You could help keep America strong by buying more goods. The population exploded as veterans returned from the war, got married, and started families. In 1948 a baby was born in America every 8 seconds. The baby boom (a dramatic increase in the number of babies born) created even more economic activity. Americans bought new cars, strollers, and refrigerators and built new houses, stores, hospitals, and schools. With more people spending more money than ever before, the United States experienced the largest peacetime economic expansion in its history. Never before had Americans been so well-off. Montana Supplies the Great Boom Montana’s lumber, plywood, and other timber products helped build new houses and factories. New lumber mills opened to fi ll the nation’s grow-
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Page 5 and 6: FIGURE 20.4: At 525 feet tall, the
Page 7 and 8: One Does Not Begin a Baking Project
Page 9 and 10: FIGURE 20.7: Young Montanans enjoye
Page 11 and 12: “ In the four years I spent trave
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Page 15 and 16: FIGURE 20.12: After the Air Force b
Page 19 and 20: FIGURE 20.15: College students thou
Page 23 and 24: FIGURE 20.20: Montana artist Gennie
Page 25: Credits The following abbreviations

Chapter 20 - Montana Historical Society

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