| Chapter 1: | From “The Valleyof Heart’s Delight” to “Silicon Valley” |
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The bulk of defense contracts went to established corporations of the East Coast like RCA, GE, and Westinghouse (Abbott, 1993). However, the wartime effort created opportunities on the West Coast, and several companies were able to find creative ways of making a mark. HP and Eitel-McCullough were able to receive steady source of defense income, strengthening the electronics industry on the West Coast (Leslie, 2000).
After the end of the war, the San Jose Chamber of Commerce spent about $1 million to attract new industry to the area. The investment reaped rich dividends, with Ford, Lockheed, IBM, Syntax, Sylvania, Philco, Loral, and Raytheon setting up facilities in the Valley in the decade of the 1950s. By the mid-1970s, 82% of all federal R&D funds were directed to the aerospace and electronics sectors, and Silicon Valley’s leading role in these areas ensured that there was no dearth of continuing defense funding (Malecki, 1997).
Two geographers rued the rapid changes in the Valley in 1958:
It was not only the city of San Jose and the county in which it was located that was interested in procuring Department of Defense patronage. An important piece in the puzzle is the role of Stanford University and its drive toward securing military funds for its research programs. The university, under the leadership of Frederick Terman, did more than just passively obtain federal grants; it very actively engaged in the creation of the global hi-tech center that gave the region its name.