#% Grand Expectations The United States 1945 1974

What a period to cover, the pace and extent of change is incredible when you look at the critical events between 1945 and 1974. I have read each of the entries in this Oxford History of the United States series and Grand Expectations deals with a fascinating period. The author cannot be blamed for the fact that there is just so much to cover and, as a result, some areas receive less than required attention.



The U.S. was suddenly turbo-charged economically following WW2. Add to that the fact that the country felt it was their destiny to lead the world and you have a combination of runaway materialism and idealized hubris. The prosperity following the war was astonishing: the U.S. possessed 42% of the world's income in the late 1940's and produced half of the manufacturing output with only 7% of the world's population.



Young people were so optimistic that they took on significant debt to fund lifestyles unthinkable in their parent's generation (this actually horrified their parents). Opportunity was everywhere and Americans became famously mobile moving about the country chasing their dreams. In fact, 20% of the population moved every year between the 1940's and 1970's. I myself witnessed this trait when working for an American company in the early 1990's and observed colleagues moving between Los Angeles and New York for a $5,000 raise (I am Canadian and we are far more sedentary).



This era kicked off conspicuous consumption as "stuff" like frozen food, Polaroid cameras, electric clothes dryers, vinyl floors, Styrofoam containers, and televisions became available. Not to mention cars, cars, cars. In 1945, there were 69,500 cars sold, in 1949 sales jumped to 5.1 million. How people lived was influenced by this mobile society with suburban homes designed with the garages on the front rather than in back lane.



Patterson does a great job in the early part of this period covering Truman and Eisenhower. Truman deserves more credit than he receives as president and the author tries to correct that in the book. He exposed me to a different Eisenhower - one who was "more ambitious, crafty, and egotistical than most recognized". Patterson also credits Ike with being the first politician to truly grasp the important of television when most credit Kennedy. I was also surprised by the fact that Ike decreased significantly the armed forces in the 1950's when one expects an ex-General facing the Soviets would be ramping it up. But based on his faith in the nuclear deterrent he actually cut troop levels by 671,000 between 1953 and 1959.



Having read a few histories on the Korean War I found Patterson's work on the topic particularly good. The fluidity and savageness in the first year of the three year war is well covered as is the startlingly high four million civilian deaths the war produced. He does an equally fine job on Vietnam where U.S. troops killed sixteen of the enemy for every one of their casualties. However, body counts were not the way to win this conflict if there ever was one. In the end 11.7 million Americans served during the ten years of the conflict, 2.1 ended up in Vietnam, and 1.6 million saw combat. Of those who fought their average age was 19 compared with 27 in WW2 and the Korean War.



What fascinated me most was how the strong economy impacted society and behavior. Patterson writes, "The majority of Americans, their basic needs more secure, developed ever-larger expectations about life". This led to "rampant commercialization, mindless mass entertainment". Television and advertising exploded. T.S. Eliot wrote at the time that TV is a "medium of entertainment which permits millions of people to listen to the same joke at the same time, and yet remain lonesome."



Patterson points out that the turbulent 1960's disrupted all convention and unsettled the historic societal structure. This disarray influenced almost every facet of daily life. People spoke of rights but seem to have confused that notion with material wants and personal entitlement. It produced a period where trust in institutions was lost, fear of revolution apparent, and nuclear annihilation possible.



Patterson touches on all of the issues from the period one would expect: race and civil rights, sex, Cold War spying, feminism, music, McCarthyism, movies, the pill, Operation Mongoose, the missile crisis, the labor movement, Berlin, the Great Society, Vietnam, and Watergate. But the timeframe and its events are just too broad to detail adequately. He seems to lose steam halfway through the 1960's. However, the book redeems itself in the overall effort, provides insights I had not come across before, and is entertaining and honest. It is both credible for academic research and enjoyable for pleasure reading.
(22 customers reviews )
Customers Rating=4.0 / 5.0

More Detail For Grand Expectations The United States 1945 1974

Interesting Products
James Madison The American Presidents



The Cartoon History of the United States