Setting the Scene

World War II transformed America more than any event since the Civil War. It didn't just end the Depression — it made the USA a global superpower. Factories that built tanks now built cars. Soldiers who defeated Hitler now wanted houses and education. The GI Bill created a new middle class. Suburbs exploded. Television connected the nation. But this prosperity wasn't shared equally. Black soldiers who fought fascism abroad came home to segregation. Women who worked in factories were pushed back to the kitchen. Japanese Americans had been imprisoned without trial. Post-war America was prosperous but divided — setting the stage for the Civil Rights Movement.