The 1930s were dominated by economic collapse, stagnation, and mass
unemployment. This crisis enabled the Democrats to recapture the White
House and embark upon a period of reform unsurpassed until the 1960s.
Roosevelt's New Deal laid the foundations of a welfare system that was
further consolidated during and after the Second World War. American
involvement in World War II helped to secure victory in Europe and in
Asia. American participation in the war led to economic recovery but
also brought with it enormous demographic and social changes. Some of
these changes continued after the war had ended, but further political
reform was to be limited due to the impact of the Cold War and the
effects of America's new role as the world's leading superpower in the
atomic age. The Historical Dictionary of the Roosevelt-Truman Era
examines significant individuals, organizations, and events in American
political, economic, social, and cultural history between 1933 and 1953.
This was a period of enormous significance in the United States due to
the impact of the Great Depression, World War II, and the onset of the
Cold War. The presidencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman
witnessed the origins of the modern American welfare system and the rise
of the United States as a world power, as well as its involvement in the
confrontation with communism that dominated the latter half of the 20th
century.
