 The Cold War began in after World War II and served to increase paranoia and concern over a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Many Americans responded by escaping into a lifestyle of heavy consumerism, which benefited automakers. President Dwight D. Eisenhower launched the Interstate Highway System by signing the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 into law. Eisenhower gained an appreciation of the German Autobahn network as a necessary component of a national defense system while he was serving as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II.
