America in the Interwar Years (1919–1941)

Date adjustment: No class 5/20, final class now 6/10.

Learn more about a highly tumultuous era in American history as we study culture, politics, society, and foreign policy from the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 to the declaration of war against Japan and Germany after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Focusing on the radical changes to American culture and society in the 1920s, we’ll closely examine the presidency of FDR, the New Deal, and the many contributions of African-Americans. We will also explore the American desire for peace as Nazi Germany began to aggrandize power in the 1930s, concluding with the strong political divide between intervention and isolationism that shaped the prelude to World War II.