Depression-era hardship in the 1930s was followed by the horrors of the Second World War, 1941 to 1945. In the two decades after the war, American foreign policy, society, and culture were reshaped into a new set of assumptions about our institutions and place in the world. We will examine the US role in the Cold War, creation of a new middle class, and the hard-fought victories of the Civil Rights Movement from 1945 to 1965. We will ask: what were the successes and failures of the postwar realignment?

Moderator: Christine Anderson is Professor Emerita of American History and Gender and Diversity Studies at XU. Her work focuses on women, African-Americans, and public history.