<P> The dawning of the Space Age and Space Race were reflected in contemporary American automotive styling . Large tailfins, flowing designs reminiscent of rockets, and radio antennas that imitated Sputnik 1 were common, owing to the efforts of design pioneers such as Harley Earl . </P> <P> The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways (commonly called the Interstate system or simply the Interstate) is a network of freeways that forms a part of the National Highway System of the United States . While serving as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, Eisenhower had gained an appreciation of the German Autobahn network as an essential component of a national defense system, providing transport routes for military supplies and troop deployments . Construction was authorized by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, and the original portion was completed 35 years later . The system has contributed in shaping the United States into a world economic superpower and a highly industrialized nation . </P> <P> The Interstate grew quickly, along with the automobile industry, allowing a new - found mobility that permeated ways of American life and culture . The automobile and the Interstate became the American symbol of individuality and freedom, and, for the first time, automobile buyers accepted that the automobile they drove indicated their social standing and level of affluence . It became a statement of their personality and an extension of their self - concepts . </P> <P> The United States' investment in infrastructure such as highways and bridges coincided with the increasing availability of cars more suited to the higher speeds that better roads made possible, allowing people to live beyond the confines of major cities, and instead commute to and from work . </P>

During the 1950's american culture was often described as one of