Read a little U.S. history and you'll see the term "postwar era" used to describe the years after 1945. 

World War II was over, and Americans came home from the fighting and went back to work. The interstate highway system as we know it today was originally imagined as a way to assist those men in securing jobs in major city centers, while facilitating the growth of suburbs. They bought homes and started families, and created a new suburban middle class in cookie-cutter housing developments. America's economy grew almost as fast as its population. Boy, the postwar years were great, weren't they?

Well, no. 

The term "postwar era" isn't really accurate. One war was over, yes, but another began immediately on its heels: the Cold War. The U.S. and the Soviet Union, with their different ideas about capitalism and communism, were fighting each other for world dominance. Oh, yeah, and they both had nuclear weapons. 

Americans were paranoid that the U.S. would be destroyed from within by hidden Soviet spies. A "Red Scare" swept the nation and had people worried that their own neighbor, coworker, or even wife could be a "commie." 

To distract ourselves from our fears of nuclear annihilation, we went shopping: for sun hats, vacuum cleaners, glazed hams, and Tupperware. American consumerism ran rampant as a growing economy, disposable income, and anxiety about the nuclear world both rose. 

But you probably won't be surprised when we tell you that was only one side of the story. The real story of postwar America was a tale of two nations: America One and America Two. America One really was rich and thriving; America Two was poor and struggling. America One assumed that every American had equal opportunity to succeed; America Two knew better. 

Most white people had far greater opportunity, education, and protection under the law than Black people, but not all white people did. Poor whites struggled to get electricity and running water in their homes, and white women struggled to get employers to take them seriously as more than "pretty girls" to watch men do the real work. 

Black "girls" had even fewer options than white "girls." For many, the closest they got to white affluence was serving as maids. All Black Americans suffered the effects of racism and institutional discrimination, as did the Latin American immigrants who were starting to come to the U.S. in greater numbers. 

All that said, it's pretty safe to generalize and say that America One was made up of middle class, white-collar, college-educated, suburban white people. America Two was made up of everyone else.

Welcome to America in the postwar world of war, everybody.

Would you believe that today, far more Americans live in suburbs than in cities? In fact, if you're an American, it's more than likely that you live in a suburb. If you don't, you probably have friends or relatives that do, or you shop, go to school, work, or play there.

You're certainly familiar with the suburban landscape and lifestyle in some way, even if you don't realize it.

That's because for over half a century, Americans—in droves—have been migrating to neighborhoods miles and miles from urban centers. And what helped facilitate this exodus? Highways, and lots of them, crisscrossing all over the nation, through its cities, and across its plains, valleys, and mountains. 

Sure, it's true that cars moved people long before the interstate highway system existed. But since World War II, these new sprawling roadways have promoted the transportation of people to and from the suburbs, so much so that they ultimately widened the social, cultural, and economic gap between those who could afford an automobile and those who couldn't.

In addition, America's interstate highways have contributed to the growth of many of the country's most iconic cultural phenomena: the shopping mall, the motel, the diner, fast food, the drive-in theater, Disneyland, the family car, the muscle car, and even rock and roll culture. 

It's the rise of the suburbs that ties all of these things together, and by learning more about the development of "suburbia," we can learn how.

By exploring the history of suburbia and the interstate highway system, we might realize that not much has changed. In many ways, these developments have laid the foundation for the American present. But it wasn't always a smooth ride, and in many ways, the history of American suburbs and highways is marred by political, social, racial, and environmental controversy. 

As a result, many of us may have negative preconceived notions about "suburbia." These ideas have been reinforced by popular images in film and television. Remember The Stepford Wives, or Edward Scissorhands? How about "Desperate Housewives"?

• Where exactly do these notions of "suburbia"—as a place of conformity, complacency, conservatism, boredom, and racism—come from?
• Are these notions largely fact or fiction?
• And how does "suburbia" fit into our conception of America?
• Does it contradict the nation's essential values, or is it truly a very "American" sort of thing?

That'll be for you to decide, but we'll offer you some stories to help you sort out these answers.