This paper places the early history of digital computing in the United States, during the period from 1945 to 1960, in the larger historical context of American business, labor, and policy. It considers issues concerning the business sectors that chose to enter into early digital computing, the robustness of the general economy and the importance of defense as an economic driver, the scientific race with the Russians, and gendered issues of technical labor – and how each of these helped to shape the emerging mainframe computer industry.