ABSTRACT
An appreciation of the US government's roles with regard to technology during World War II and its aftermath is necessary to a full understanding of the progress of technology in the postwar period. A tracing of the history of many of the technologies that support the civilian economy in the early twenty-first century reveals the activity of the government. This criticism has at least a superficial appeal in light of the ubiquity of government support for invention, especially since 1940. In addition to its role as a direct consumer of technology, government interaction with technology took several major forms: direct fostering, regulation, and tax policy. Research and Development Corporation is credited with developing the science of systems analysis, which became a centerpiece of a variety of research efforts in the postwar world. Generally, the government has done very well with encouraging technology when it has attempted only narrow objectives, such as possessing itself of weapons systems.
