American Stories

The three decades spanning the 1940's through the 1960's were influential in creating present day America. Beginning with the Manhattan Project and continuing to the Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon, the country experienced change on an unparalleled basis: the G.I. Bills in the 1940's, the development of suburbia and the supermarket in the 1950's, the emergence of television and fast food franchises in the 1960's, all led to vast changes in how Americans lived and worked. And, of course, there was the campaign against polio, along with the VISA Card and the push toward a cashless society. It was also a period that saw major league baseball migrant to California, the Cold War blow up in Korea, and the battle to save the Redwoods and our national parks for future generations. It was also a time when America's greatest female athlete performed and one man stood against the Japanese "relocation camps, alone and disliked, but true to his moral compass. The enduring issue of civil rights and the need to end institutional racism painfully marked the period. The three decades were an astounding time of change with which Americans should be reacquainted.