A Companion to 20th-Century America

by Stephen J. Whitfield (Editor)

Overview

A Companion to 20th-Century America is an authoritative survey of the most important topics and themes of twentieth-century American history and historiography.

• Contains 29 original essays by leading scholars, each assessing the past and current state of American scholarship
• Includes thematic essays covering topics such as religion, ethnicity, conservatism, foreign policy, and the media, as well as essays covering major time periods
• Identifies and discusses the most influential literature in the field, and suggests new avenues of research, as the century has drawn to a close

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780631211006
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	01/16/2004
Series:	Wiley Blackwell Companions to American History , #20
Pages:	584
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.44(d)

About the Author

Stephen J. Whitfield is Professor of American Studies at Brandeis University where he holds the Max Richter Chair in American Civilization. Among other works, he is the author of Into the Dark: Hannah Arendt and Totalitarianism (1980), A Death in the Delta: The Story of Emmett Till (1988), and The Culture of the Cold War (1991, 1996). He has published widely in modern political and intellectual history, and particularly in American Jewish history.

Table of Contents

Notes on the contributors viii

Introduction xiii
Stephen J. Whitfield

PART I: TIME-FRAMES

1 1900 - 1914 3
Eugene E. Leach

2 1914 - 1929 19
Glen Gendzel

3 1929 - 1941 36
Michael E. Parrish

4 1941 - 1950 54
Allan M. Winkler

5 1950 - 1960 71
Richard M. Fried

6 1960 - 1974 87
Jama Lazerow

7 1974 - 1988 102
Leo P. Ribuffo

8 1988 - 2000 123
Steven M. Gillon

PART II: PLACES

9 The South 141
Raymond Arsenault

10 The West 163
Anne M. Butler

11 The Environment 179
Paul S. Sutter

12 The City 198
Jon C. Teaford

PART III: PEOPLE

13 Immigration 215
Roger Daniels

14 Ethnicity 233
Hasia R. Diner

15 Labor 249
Joseph A. McCartin

16 Race 266
Reed Ueda

17 Women 283
June Sochen

PART IV: THE POLITY AND THE ECONOMY

18 The Military 301
Jerry Cooper

19 Foreign Policy 317
Justus D. Doenecke

20 Consumption 336
Charles McGovern

21 Law 358
Norman L. Rosenberg

22 Business 377
David B. Sicilia

PART V: IMAGES AND "ISMS"

23 Journalism and Broadcasting 397
James L. Baughman

24 Religion 413
Charles H. Lippy

25 Ideas 430
Wilfred M. McClay

26 Science and Technology 449
Carroll Pursell

27 Conservatism 462
Edward S. Shapiro

28 Liberalism 478
Hans Vorlander

29 The Visual Arts 493
Douglas Tallack

Bibliography 510

Index 557

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This superb book is a treasure and a delight. Penetrating interpretive essays by almost thirty distinguished historians offer thoughtful perspectives on a turbulent century that brought sweeping changes to the United States even as the nation surged to global dominance. A Companion to 20th-century America is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the forces that have shaped contemporary America." Paul S. Boyer, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"This is an important contribution to our understanding of modern American history, with illuminating contributions by many first-rate American historians." Richard Pells, University of Texas-Austin

"An indispensable book for anyone who wants to learn what America’s best historians have written about the American century and its critics. The breadth of topics is dazzling, and fresh insights appear on nearly every page." Michael Kazin, Georgetown University

Editorial Reviews

"This superb book is a treasure and a delight. Penetrating interpretive essays by almost thirty distinguished historians offer thoughtful perspectives on a turbulent century that brought sweeping changes to the United States even as the nation surged to global dominance. A Companion to 20th-century America is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the forces that have shaped contemporary America."
—Paul S. Boyer, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"This is an important contribution to our understanding of modern American history, with illuminating contributions by many first-rate American historians."
—Richard Pells, University of Texas-Austin

"An indispensable book for anyone who wants to learn what America's best historians have written about the American century and its critics. The breadth of topics is dazzling, and fresh insights appear on nearly every page."
—Michael Kazin, Georgetown University

From the Publisher