The economy had certainly improved since the 1930s. The New Deal programs of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (thirty-second President of the United States, serving from 1933–1945) combined with the enormous financial boost of World War II to pull the United States out of the nightmare of the Great Depression. Between 1941 and 1945, the years of America's involvement in the war, average individual weekly earnings had increased from $24.20 to $44.39. Workers faced a full-time workweek of forty-eight hours, but that would soon be reduced to a forty-hour week, often with no loss of pay, following an example set by the federal government.
Women had contributed significantly to the war effort by filling jobs in industry as well as serving in the armed forces. Some chose to continue with professional careers, an important step in the emancipation of women in the twentieth century. Others chose to return to traditional roles as housewives, opening more jobs for the returning men. This process took time, and the wait was difficult for many individuals. The strain was buffered by the GI Bill but exacerbated by inflation.
