ABSTRACT
The dates chosen to limit the period studied in this volume are usually associated with wars: 1865 marked the end of the American Civil War and 1940 the year in which the United States began to prepare seriously for the Second World War by introducing conscription. For American social and economic historians, however, these dates have an additional significance. The year 1865 is normally taken to indicate the beginning of the aptly named Gilded Age — a period of unparalleled industrializ ation that involved the transformation of almost every aspect of American life. On the other hand, 1940 finally brought an end to the Great Depression - arguably the worst economic slump in history, certainly when it is contrasted with the degree of expansion that had preceded it.
