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Zusatztext Wall's argument is not only effective but also well buttressed with an abundance of historical evidence.... This provocative, thoughtful work is a noteworthy contribution in US social history. Highly recommended. Informationen zum Autor Wendy L. Wall is an Assistant Professor of History at Queen's University. She was previously a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. Klappentext In the wake of World War II, Americans developed an unusually deep and all-encompassing national unity, as postwar affluence and the Cold War combined to naturally produce a remarkable level of agreement about the nation's core values. Or so the story has long been told. Inventing the "American Way" challenges this vision of inevitable consensus. Americans, as Wendy Wall argues in this innovative book, were united, not so much by identical beliefs, as by a shared conviction that a distinctive "American Way" existed and that the affirmation of such common ground was essential to the future of the nation. Moreover, the roots of consensus politics lie not in the Cold War era, but in the turbulent decade that preceded U.S. entry into World War II. The social and economic chaos of the Depression years alarmed a diverse array of groups, as did the rise of two "alien" ideologies: fascism and communism. In this context, Americans of divergent backgrounds and beliefs seized on the notion of a unifying "American Way" and sought to convince their fellow citizens of its merits. Zusammenfassung Popular thought holds that America in the affluent postwar decades avoided extremes and shared a common set of convictions that can be briefly defined as a confidence in American-style capitalism and the democratic abundance it generated; distaste for class conflict; dedication to social unity at home and to anti-communism abroad; interfaith cooperation; and, by the early 1960s, support for civil rights. In this book, Wendy Wall looks at how and why Americans of diverse backgrounds and divergent political views agreed upon a need for and put forward a unifying set of national values. She particularly focuses on three groups: businessmen and advertising executives, government officials and cultural elites, and a loose collation of activists and intellectuals. they collectively launched a sweeping campaign to educate Americans on essential civic values, using radio, television, universities, and advertising. In this detailing of what was in fact a period of culture wars, Wall exmaines the birth of such concepts as 'free enterprise' and the 'vital center' that contiue to be used by politicians today. Speaking to those in multiple fields, this book will appeal to readers who enjoyed such books as Gary Gerstle's American Crucible, Daniel Rodgers' Atlantic Crossing, Mary Dudziak's Cold War Civil Rights, and Elizabeth Borgwardt's A New Deal for the World. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction Part I: Enemies at Home and Abroad (1935-1941) Ch. 1: "Are We a Nation?" Ch. 2: Industrial Democracy vs. Free Enterprise Ch. 3: In Search of Common Ground Part II: The Politics of Unity during World War II (1942-1945) Ch. 4: The Spectre of "Divide and Conquer" Ch. 5: "The House I Live In" Part III: Shaping a Cold War Consensus (1946-1955) Ch. 6: United America Ch. 7: The Freedom Train Ch. 8: Crusading for Freedom at Home and Abroad Conclusion: The Limits of Consensus Notes ...
