Existing comment:
Twentieth-Century Americans: 1950-1980:
At the end of World War II, the United States stood unrivaled among its allies. Escaping war-time damage at home, the nation enjoyed continued economic prosperity. The proliferation of American television, movie, and commercial icons introduced the world to American traditions and habits. Yet despite such triumphs, significant concerns faced the nation. The 1950s brought the specter of the Cold War and the atomic bomb, while the 1960s witnessed the struggle for civil rights and increasing evidence of the environmental impact of progress. As the nation succeeded in its quest to reach the moon, the public struggled with questioned raised by American involvement in Vietnam and evidence of scandal in the White House. In the ensuing decades of the 1970s and 1980s, the productive turbulence of idealism pitted against social, technological, and economic issues proved a powerful force, shaping American culture through the diverse realms of politics, science, and the arts. |