How 1954 Changed History - Michael Flamm torrent

Category: History, Lecture
Language: English
Keywords: The Great Courses

Written by Michael Flamm
Read by Michael Flamm
Format: M4B
Bitrate: 32 Kbps

Welcome to 1954: a remarkable year of optimism and tumult that set the stage for the 1960s. It began in January with the celebrity marriage heard ‘round the world of Marilyn Monroe and baseball player Joe DiMaggio and then progressed through a series of major political, social, and cultural milestones that would echo throughout the next several decades.

The years following World War II were a time of renewed wealth and confidence, years that saw the rise of a solid, increasingly powerful middle class in America. With rising wages, major developments in consumer goods and entertainment, increasing opportunities for housing and education, amazing medical breakthroughs, and the spread of interstate highways, the 1950s brought a sense of hope for many after the horrors of depression and war. But the decade was also marked by escalating Cold War paranoia and unrest among disenfranchised Americans who were not experiencing the same freedom and prosperity as their fellow citizens.

With the 10 lectures of How 1954 Changed History, listeners will travel back to a pivotal year in a decade that is often viewed in terms of the black-and-white simplicity of cheerful mid-century sitcoms. However, the issues of the decade were actually as vibrant and contradictory as any other period in American history. Professor Michael Flamm takes listeners through the battle against polio, the Red Scare that gripped the nation, the domestic impact of foreign conflicts, and the groundbreaking case of Brown v. Board of Education. As listeners examine these events and many more, they will learn how the year 1954 showcases both some of the best and some of the worst times of 20th-century America.