The Rise of the Gunbelt: The Military Remapping of Industrial AmericaSince World War II, America's economic landscape has undergone a profound transformation. The effects of this change can be seen in the decline of the traditional industrial heartland and the emergence of new high tech industrial complexes in California, Texas, Boston, and Florida. The Rise of the Gunbelt demonstrates that this economic restructuring is a direct result of the rise of the military industrial complex (MIC) and a wholly new industry based on defense spending and Pentagon contacts. Chronicling the dramatic growth of this vast complex, the authors analyze the roles played by the shift from land and sea warfare to aerial combat in World War II, the Cold War, the birth of aerospace and the consequent radical transformation of the airplane industry, and labor and major defense corporations such as Boeing, Lockheed, and McDonnell Douglas. Exploring the reasons for the shifts in defense spending--including the role of lobbyists and the Department of Defense in awarding contracts--and the effects on regional and national economic development, this comprehensive study reveals the complexities of the MIC. |
Contents
The Rise of the Gunbelt | 3 |
A Theory of MilitaryIndustrial Places | 26 |
Aviation Pioneers Exit the Midwest | 51 |
Los Angeles Takes Off | 82 |
Props Jets and Avionics | 118 |
Aerospace Company City | 148 |
Generals and Boosters Build Colorado Springs | 174 |
SDI Software and Lobbying in the Nations | 211 |
Why the Gunbelt? | 230 |
Common terms and phrases
activity aerospace Air Force aircraft airframe airplane airport American Angeles Army aviation base Boeing Boeing's bomber boosters Boston branch plants building buildup Caltech capital Chicago cold cold war Colorado Springs commercial Connecticut contractors corporate costs CSOC Curtiss-Wright Dayton defense contracts defense spending Detroit early Economic electronics employees employment engineering England facilities firms Ford Ford Aerospace Fort Carson geographical growth Grumman gunbelt headquarters Hewlett-Packard high-tech Huntsville Illinois industrial heartland innovative Kaman labor labs Litton Lockheed Long Island major manufacturing Markusen Massachusetts Midwest midwestern military military-industrial complex million missile move Navy North operations Pentagon percent planes postwar Pratt & Whitney prime contracts prime-contract awards production Raytheon recruitment region relocation role Seattle share southern California Space Command strategic subcontracts Technology U.S. Congress United Washington weapons Wichita World World War II Wright York