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The Building of Suburbia
by, Wendy Elkis Girnis, Class of 1977
From 1941 until 1945, the United States was involved in WWII. It was fought in Europe, as well as in the Pacific. During those years, 16 million Americans served in the Armed Forces. Back at home, life consisted of rubber drives, steel drives, and book drives, as well as the rationing of food and other items. Housing construction had stopped to allocate building supplies to the war effort. In 1944, the Veterans Administration home loan program came into existence. This program had a major impact on the housing market, and led to the growth of suburban areas including Levittown and Hicksville.
