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America in the 1950s: Stunning Color Photos that will Take You Back to Post-War America

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After World War II, the United States became one of the two dominant superpowers, moving away from isolationism and toward international engagement. The United States influenced economic, political, military, cultural, and technological affairs globally.

Following the war, American society became affluent in a way that most people could not have imagined in their wildest dreams before or during the war. With public policy, like the so-called GI Bill of Rights passed in 1944, veterans could attend college, buy houses, and buy farms. These public policies had a virtually incalculable impact overall but certainly helped return veterans better themselves, begin forming families, and have children in unprecedented numbers.

The expanding opportunities and growing prosperity did not equally benefit Americans. Before and after the war, Americans who had been mainly excluded from the American Dream and its whole meaning were not blind to the image and reality of overall economic prosperity. After the war, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and American women became more aggressive in seeking full freedoms and civil rights guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

Here are some stunning color photos that show cities, towns, and everyday life in the United States after World War II.

#5 Robert Kross (1920-2011) with his photo prints and negatives at Elmhurst, Illinois, 1952

Robert Kross (1920-2011) with his photo prints and negatives at Elmhurst, Illinois, 1952

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#19 Pat Sullivan and anthurium in the new building of the DuPage Division, Chicago Title & Trust, Wheaton, Illinois, 1954

Pat Sullivan and anthurium in the new building of the DuPage Division, Chicago Title & Trust, Wheaton, Illinois, 1954

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#27 Passengers disembarking from TWA Lockheed Constellation at Midway Airport, Chicago, 1958

Passengers disembarking from TWA Lockheed Constellation at Midway Airport, Chicago, 1958

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#58 The main shopping street, Christiansted, Saint Croix, Virgin Islands, 1950s

The main shopping street, Christiansted, Saint Croix, Virgin Islands, 1950s

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#60 One of the steep streets on the hillsides, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, 1950s

One of the steep streets on the hillsides, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, 1950s

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#62 Sylvia Sweets Tea Room, corner of School and Main streets, Brockton, Massachusetts, 1950s

Sylvia Sweets Tea Room, corner of School and Main streets, Brockton, Massachusetts, 1950s

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#65 Boy building a model airplane as girl watches, FSA camp, Robstown, Texas, 1950s

Boy building a model airplane as girl watches, FSA camp, Robstown, Texas, 1950s

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#66 Street corner, Dillon, Mont. Dillon is the trading center for a prosperous cattle and sheep country, 1950s

Street corner, Dillon, Mont. Dillon is the trading center for a prosperous cattle and sheep country, 1950s

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#70 Steel and concrete go into place rapidly as a new steel mill takes form, Columbia Steel Co., Geneva, Utah, 1950s

Steel and concrete go into place rapidly as a new steel mill takes form, Columbia Steel Co., Geneva, Utah, 1950s

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#72 Japanese-American camp, war emergency evacuation, Tule Lake Relocation Center, Newell, California, 1950s

Japanese-American camp, war emergency evacuation, Tule Lake Relocation Center, Newell, California, 1950s

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#76 Rockefeller Plaza, exhibit for United Nations by OWI, New York, N.Y., 1950s

Rockefeller Plaza, exhibit for United Nations by OWI, New York, N.Y., 1950s

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#77 Woman putting on her lipstick in a park with Union Station behind her, Washington, D.C., 1950s

Woman putting on her lipstick in a park with Union Station behind her, Washington, D.C., 1950s

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#78 A noontime rest for a full-fledged assembly worker at the Long Beach, Calif., plant of Douglas Aircraft Company. Nacelle parts for a heavy bomber form the background, 1950s

A noontime rest for a full-fledged assembly worker at the Long Beach, Calif., plant of Douglas Aircraft Company. Nacelle parts for a heavy bomber form the background, 1950s

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#81 Arm owned by James Pompey, who 20 years ago came from Italy on the advice of a brother, Southington, Connecticut, 1950s

Arm owned by James Pompey, who 20 years ago came from Italy on the advice of a brother, Southington, Connecticut, 1950s

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#82 Children stage a patriotic demonstration, Southington, Connecticut, 1950s

Children stage a patriotic demonstration, Southington, Connecticut, 1950s

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#83 The water stretching machine of an eastern parachute manufacturer stretches shroud lines so as to make them more adaptable to the finished product, Manchester, Connecticut, 1950s

The water stretching machine of an eastern parachute manufacturer stretches shroud lines so as to make them more adaptable to the finished product, Manchester, Connecticut, 1950s

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#84 The utmost precision is required of these operators who are cutting and drilling parachute packs in an eastern factory, Manchester, 1950s

The utmost precision is required of these operators who are cutting and drilling parachute packs in an eastern factory, Manchester, 1950s

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#85 Sailor and girl at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Washington, D.C., 1950s

Sailor and girl at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Washington, D.C., 1950s

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#87 Men working on telephone lines, probably near a TVA dam hydroelectric plant, 1950s

Men working on telephone lines, probably near a TVA dam hydroelectric plant, 1950s

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#88 Mrs. Viola Sievers, one of the wipers at the roundhouse giving a giant “H” class locomotive a bath of live steam, Clinton, Iowa, 1950s

Mrs. Viola Sievers, one of the wipers at the roundhouse giving a giant "H" class locomotive a bath of live steam, Clinton, Iowa, 1950s

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#89 Women workers employed as wipers in the roundhouse having lunch in their rest room, C. & N.W. R.R., Clinton, Iowa, 1950s

Women workers employed as wipers in the roundhouse having lunch in their rest room, C. & N.W. R.R., Clinton, Iowa, 1950s

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#90 Formerly an aircraft dock, this huge building — thought to be the largest in the world with no interior supports, 1950s

Formerly an aircraft dock, this huge building -- thought to be the largest in the world with no interior supports, 1950s

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#91 Freight Depot of the U.S. Army consolidating station, Chicago, Illinois, 1950s

Freight Depot of the U.S. Army consolidating station, Chicago, Illinois, 1950s

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#93 Workers on the Liberator Bombers, Consolidated Aircraft Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, 1950s

Workers on the Liberator Bombers, Consolidated Aircraft Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, 1950s

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#94 War production workers at the Vilter [Manufacturing] Company making M5 and M7 guns for the U.S. Army, Milwaukee, Wis. Ex-housewife, age 24, filing small parts, 1950s

War production workers at the Vilter [Manufacturing] Company making M5 and M7 guns for the U.S. Army, Milwaukee, Wis. Ex-housewife, age 24, filing small parts, 1950s

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#95 Mrs. Eloise J. Ellis has been appointed by civil service to be senior supervisor in the Assembly and Repairs Department at the Naval Air Base, Corpus Christi, Texas, 1950s

Mrs. Eloise J. Ellis has been appointed by civil service to be senior supervisor in the Assembly and Repairs Department at the Naval Air Base, Corpus Christi, Texas, 1950s

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#96 Painting the American insignia on airplane wings is a job that Mrs. Irma Lee McElroy, a former office worker, does with precision and patriotic zeal, 1950s

Painting the American insignia on airplane wings is a job that Mrs. Irma Lee McElroy, a former office worker, does with precision and patriotic zeal, 1950s

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#97 Co-op orange packing plant, Redlands, Calif. Workman is doing the preliminary sorting, picking out the discards, 1950s

Co-op orange packing plant, Redlands, Calif. Workman is doing the preliminary sorting, picking out the discards, 1950s

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#98 General view of part of the South Water Street freight depot of the Illinois Central Railroad, Chicago, Illinois, 1950s

General view of part of the South Water Street freight depot of the Illinois Central Railroad, Chicago, Illinois, 1950s

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#99 Santa Fe R.R. freight train about to leave for the West Coast from Corwith yard, Chicago, Illinois, 1950s

Santa Fe R.R. freight train about to leave for the West Coast from Corwith yard, Chicago, Illinois, 1950s

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#111 Helena Rubinstein Beauty School. New York City, 1958

Helena Rubinstein Beauty School. New York City, 1958

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Husband + Father + librarian + Poet + Traveler + Proud Buddhist. I love you with the breath, the smiles and the tears of all my life.

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