OSHER 438 - The Way We Were: The 1940s

Beginning with the U.S. entry into the Second World War and progressing through the immediate post-war period, the origins of the Cold War, a social history of the decade (including the advent of television, Bing Crosby, the early Frank Sinatra, et cetera), the Truman-Dewey presidential election of 1948, and, finally, what the late Eric Goldman called the "Year of Shocks"---1949, when the Mao Tse-tung revolution in China succeeded and the Soviet Union exploded its first nuclear device, the decade of the 1940s represented a pivotal period in 20th century history. Join this retrospective designed to recapture the remarkable developments of that era with each class period divided between a refresher presentation and ample time for discussion and sharing of personal anecdotes.