ABSTRACT
279Since building construction is so vitally dependent on periods of strong economic growth, the course of development of American architecture has often been shifted by strong economic and political changes. This has been the case especially during periods of prolonged military campaigns when the nation’s energies were nearly or almost wholly devoted to the war effort. During the Civil War, civilian construction was signifi-cantly curtailed, and very much the same happened during 1916–1918 and 1940–1945 when the United States became involved in international conflicts; civilian construction gradually slowed and then virtually stopped in each of these situations, and when building resumed, it took off in a new direction.
