Throughout the past century, history has been reshaped countless times. Each decade has left a unique mark on our country and our world, and the aftereffects of decisions and events that happened ten, fifty or a hundred years ago still have a great impact on our lives today. But arguably few hold as great significance upon our modern world than the 1940s. In the first part of that fateful decade, America would see a transition unlike any it had yet experienced in its history "and in the face of a most terrible war, would succeed in protecting not only its own safety, but the entire world's. .
Our nation entered the decade in troubled times. The economy, and society in general, was still reeling from the turmoil of the Great Depression. However, thanks to the strong leadership of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, with his broadcasted "fireside chats- and revolutionary "New Deal- program which helped bolster American confidence and get the country out of financial disaster, people were beginning to recover; to many, the world finally seemed to be returning to the worry-free paradise that they had so enjoyed in the 1920s. .
But not for long. Looming not too distantly on the horizon was the juggernaut of World War II. In Europe, the nightmare had already begun "but many in the United States were reluctant to get involved in the new war. After the horrors experienced in the First World War, isolationism had become popular, as no one wanted to repeat the same disastrous circumstances that claimed millions of lives. Ironically, this policy is one of the reasons Adolf Hitler and his fascist dictatorship was able to gain so much power. Still, Americans remained aloof, and as in the WWI, contributed mostly with supplies for the Allied troops. Once again, history had begun to repeat itself.
Meanwhile, Americans lived under the guise of safety and in relative prosperity. One characteristic that marked the 1940s was the overwhelming rise in entertainment and the arts during that era.