David Halberstam's Thesis On The Fifties

David Halberstam's Thesis On The Fifties

David Halberstam’s Thesis: the Fifties
Halberstam’s thesis was that the increased affluence of America post World War Two led to a massive surge to build and obtain houses; Americans especially veterans and their families were desperate to own houses and men such as Bill Levitt seized upon this and utilized methods of mass production to satisfy the gap in the market therefore stimulating suburbanization. The massive development of the auto industry was a sign of what came post World War Two, the car had been the thing to buy, but the new status symbol would owning your own house. After the war with the veterans return to society imminent there was a severe lack of housing, the amount of houses needed was estimated at around “5 million”. Throughout the 30’s and early 40’s the housing market had been neglected, a drastic new program was required to supply the massive demand, a federal housing bill was produced that encouraged the “real estate guys” to build by insuring them by federal mortgage guarantees. Bill Levitt whose experience before the war, such as failure in Norfolk led to refinement and scientific streamlining of the building processes (he decided that the tradition of building houses with a basement was slowing down the building process to much). He also formed his views on how to pay his workers for their rate of production, to increase the productivity. He believed firmly that unions were for the lazy and unskilled worker, this was against the popular feeling at the time, and therefore he only employed workers not in unions. However he paid his workers as much twice as much as comparable worker in different firms, therefore eliminating the need for unions among his workers. Another way, in which Bill Levittown tried to increase the profit and efficiency of the building process, was by limiting the roles of middlemen as much as possible by producing their own materials. Some of the “Levittowns” which were produced were so uniform...