Americans emerged from World War II more convinced than ever of the superiority of their society, their economic system, and their form of government. Most believed in a new consensus that accepted both a market economy and an expansive role for the federal government, upheld the traditional family, embraced a role for the nation as leader of the free world, and practically worshipped science and technology. The consensus would come under repeated attack from the left and the right, but ultimately held firm until the mid- to late-1960s. This course, examining the period from 1945 to 1968, will investigate both the "vital center" and its critics, and trace the rise and fall of the postwar consensus, as well as its implications for today's politics and society.
Instructors: John Moser is Associate Professor of History at Ashland University. He is the author of Twisting the Lion's Tail: American Anglophobia Between the World Wars and Right Turn: John T. Flynn and the Transformation of American Liberalism. Alan Petigny is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Florida. He is the author of the recently published The Permissive Society: America, 1941-1965.