The 1940s (Decades of the 20th and 21st Centuries)

A decade of invention, adaptation, and creation, the 1940s were also a time of world conflict. From big band music, bobbysoxers, and Frank Sinatra to World War II, Rosie the Riveter, and the atomic bomb, readers will trace the changing attitudes of Americans through the decade. See how World War II helped end the poverty and despair of the Great Depression, ushering in a new time of prosperity in which Americans felt comfortable pursuing dreams of home ownership and family.