Perspectives on Modern America

In Perspectives on Modern America, Harvard Sitkoff brings together some of the most distinguished historians of 20th-century America to survey and analyze "The American Century". These essays offer vivid end-of-the-century snapshots of our past troubles and triumphs--of the people, ideas, events, and developments that mattered most. Each person on the impressive list of contributors--which includes such historians as William Leuchtenburg, Paul Boyer, Lizabeth Cohen, Jacqueline Jones,...
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In Perspectives on Modern America, Harvard Sitkoff brings together some of the most distinguished historians of 20th-century America to survey and analyze "The American Century". These essays offer vivid end-of-the-century snapshots of our past troubles and triumphs--of the people, ideas, events, and developments that mattered most. Each person on the impressive list of contributors--which includes such historians as William Leuchtenburg, Paul Boyer, Lizabeth Cohen, Jacqueline Jones, Sara Evans, and Charles Payne--has written a broadly interpretive essay on a key aspect of American life and how it evolved over the course of one hundred years. These eminent historians shed light on a wide range of issues including the emergence of a mass consumer society, the United States as a major power on the international scene, and the increasing flow of power to Washington and to the presidency. Here too are astute portraits of historical turning points such as the Progressive era, the Roosevelt years of the Great Depression and Second World War, the bitter battles that ravaged American society in the 1960s, and the Reagan Revolution. And there are thoughtful essays on today's rights-based liberalism and regenerative conservatism, the persistent systems of inequality and the means employed to resist oppression, the growth and decline of organized labor, and the limits of the American welfare state. The very best historians of the 20th-century United States have gathered in this volume to help us better understand the past 100 years. Equally important, they help us mine the past for valuable perspectives on current American society and shed light on where we may be headed in the new century.