Electronics and aerospace industry in Cold War Arizona, 1945--1968: Motorola, Hughes Aircraft, Goodyear Aircraft

This dissertation examines the history of the electronics and aerospace industries in Arizona during the opening decades of the cold war and narrates, for the first time, a comprehensive history of the state's postwar defense establishment. The study focuses on the crucial period between 1945 and 1968, when a significant number of national electronics and aerospace firms established manufacturing and production facilities in Arizona. The dissertation argues that U.S. defense needs brought profound changes to Arizona during the cold war, and that this transformation was comparable to the substantial impact of the Second World War.; The study focuses predominantly on the history of the three largest electronics and aerospace companies in Arizona: Motorola Inc., Hughes Aircraft Company, and Goodyear Aircraft Corporation. Through a series of company-oriented case studies, the dissertation analyzes both the strategic and economic motives that brought each firm to Arizona. One central finding of the study concerns the significance of industrial dispersion and decentralization. This cold war policy, which sought to remove vital defense production from the East and West coasts and scatter them inland, had a transformative effect on Arizona's industrial development. Unlike other regional studies, this dissertation argues that Arizona boosters were only mildly effective in attracting new electronics and aerospace firms to the state. The dissertation also catalogs the numerous technologies and innovations developed in Arizona during the cold war, including advancements in airborne electronics, semiconductor research, guided missiles, and radar systems. At the same time, the dissertation provides a thorough examination of the social, political, and economic ramifications of the electronics and aerospace firms. The postwar electronics and aerospace boom directly influenced the political ideology of the state, contributed to changes in the higher-education system, caused new residential and commerical growth patterns, and brought significant environmental degradation.; Finally, the dissertation relies on a multi-archival approach. Utilizing heretofore unaccessed corporate documents and previously classified technical reports obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and Mandatory Declassification Review, the study provides a unique outsider view of Arizona history.