Political America
42. Truman and Civil Rights: Harry Truman: True Man of Steel by Vivian Ding
...ocuses on Truman’s undying support for federal civil rights reform, capitalizing on Truman’s moral righteousness and how it affected his decisions to instigate civil rights reform in the 1940’s and 1950’s. In Gardner’s view, Truman’s political motive for advocating the civil rights of African Americans was virtually nonexistent. Depicting Truman as a saint, Gardner emphasizes how Truman pushed federal civil rights reform at his own political risk and treated e...
43. Jackie Robinson: The Player that Changed America by Jeffrey Deklotz
... the face of desegregation and a powerful figure for African-Americans to admire. He was thrust into the troubled world of segregated sports and emerged in flying colors. Despite unfavorable odds and much adversity, Robinson overcame the racial barrier with his own distinctive style. But Jackie Robinson does not encapsulate the entire story of the desegregation of baseball. Though he was the primary figurehead, many other players and baseball executives were vital in the success of African-Ameri...
44. The G.I Bill and/or the Fair Deal: The Rise of the Modern Yeomen by Tiffany Wang
...tion of independent, middle-class citizens and “the revival of the old belief that Americans should be yeomen.”2 The GI Bill created self-sustaining people by offering veterans bonuses, long-term loans, and first-class educational benefits, enabling them to make new lives in their pursuits of happiness. In the book When Dreams Came True: The GI Bill and the Making of Modern America, by Michael Bennett, the congressional battle to pass the bill, as well as the full range of effects the bill h...
45. The Election of 1948: Defying Expectations by Daniel Nguyen
...st his rival candidate, the Republic nominee, Thomas E. Dewey. Under ordinary circumstances, Dewey’s victory over Truman seemed inevitable; however, the election of 1948 was anything but ordinary. In the case of changing times and new technology, traditional campaigns involving public speeches addressed to crowds of hundreds of thousands decreased with the introduction of radio and television, broadcasting the candidates’ voices across the nation. This technological revolution brough...
Social America
46. Post-War Housing: Levittown: A View from the Inside by David Yu
...g upon his childhood and compares it to the defaming accusations against his home. Bergsman refers to the “mythology of the suburban lifestyle” almost as a one sided mirror, where the actuality of the situation is hidden from the world.1
Steve Bergsman begins by setting up a few general misconceptions about Levittown. He makes reference to Malvina Reynolds’ song “Little Boxes,” in which it has an almost “unmistakable” reference to Levittown. The s...
47. The Origins of Television: It's everywhere you want to be by Lauren Yi
...of inspiration” or the “sole prize of a single nation.” Television was not an immediate success, but it took multiple efforts, new technology, and billions of dollars before television worked its way into the hearts of every American. After finally making a name for itself, television became the glue that brought communities and families together. Television had lofty goals of banishing illiteracy and ignorance and brought people closer to a better world. In The History of Tele...
48. Music of the 1940's by Rohit Banerjee
...nt and rejuvenation, this can clearly be heard from the jazz lyrics and quick beats of the time.
Hal Leonard’s Songs of the 1940s; A Decade Series allows the reader to have a first-hand conception of the music from the era by direct lyrics and music from the time. This book is a compilation of songs that were the greatest hits from major artists of the time, in their respective mainstreams. The main focus of the book is almost always The Big Band phenomenon, a time when mass orc...
49. Literature of the 1940's: The South's Plight: A Cry for Change by Angelica Fermin
...aming others for their misfortunse. The South in Black and White: Race, Sex, and Literature in the 1940s by McKay Jenkins shows how Southern writings of the time were affected by these issues. Jenkins analyzes the writings of four Southern writers: Wilbur J. Cash, William Alexander Percy, Lillian Smith, and Carson McCullers. It attempts to put together “cultural and literary history; biographical narrative and commentary; and contemporary racial and cultural theory- to create a picture of ...