Days of sadness, years of triumph : the American people, 1939-1945

First published in 1973, Geoffrey Perrett’s portrait of war-time America was immediately hailed as a major retrospective. Perret vividly describes the social, political, and economic fabric of American domestic life from 1939 to 1945, and argues that the World War II years precipitated a crucial, if silent social revolution at home—one that continues to reverberate today. Contents Introduction Part One. The Time Between, September, 1939—December, 1941 I It Is War II To Arms! Ill Miracle at Philadelphia-Sort of IV Quarrel at a Crossroads V Creating a Defense Economy VI Year of Meteors! Brooding Year! VII Who’s Hysterical? VIII Knowledge Is Power IX The Meaning of It All X Life Goes On XI Negroes, Blacks and (( Persons of Color” XII Isolation and the Rediscovery of Latin America XIII Action in the North Atlantic XIV XIV “Arsenal of Democracy” XV And So to War Part II: The Most Incredible Year, December, 1941—December, 1942 XVI Pearl Harbor Christmas XVII What Newsjrom the Front? XVIII We Lose, They Toy XIX What Can I Do? XX Life and Leisure in Wartime XXI Turnabout, Turnabout XXII Sonorous Metal Blowing Martial Sounds XXIII Onto the Offensive Part Three. Remaking of a Nation, January, 1943—August, 1945 XXIV New Horizons XXV Turn to the Right XXVI Economics of War and Peace XXVII Black Man, Brown Man XXVIII Social Welfare, the American Way XXIX The Civil Liberties Disaster XXX Wartime School Days XXXI Life, Literature and Leisure; Art, Architecture and Aviation XXXII Winding Down a Miracle XXXIII America First-Everywhere XXXIV Science Works Its Wonders XXXV Past and Present Notes Selected Bibliography Glossary Index