Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
Audiobook23 hours
The Gifted Generation: When Government Was Good
Written by David Goldfield
Narrated by Mike Chamberlain
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
A sweeping and path-breaking history of the post-World War II decades, during which an activist federal government guided the country toward the first real flowering of the American Dream
In The Gifted Generation, historian David Goldfield examines the generation immediately after World War II and argues that the federal government was instrumental in the great economic, social, and environmental progress of the era. Following the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation, the returning vets and their children took the unprecedented economic growth and federal activism to new heights. This generation was led by presidents who believed in the commonwealth ideal: the belief that federal legislation, by encouraging individual opportunity, would result in the betterment of the entire nation. In the years after the war, these presidents created an outpouring of federal legislation that changed how and where people lived, their access to higher education, and their stewardship of the environment. They also spearheaded historic efforts to level the playing field for minorities, women, and immigrants. But this dynamic did not last, and Goldfield shows how the shrinking of the federal government shut subsequent generations off from those gifts.
In The Gifted Generation, historian David Goldfield examines the generation immediately after World War II and argues that the federal government was instrumental in the great economic, social, and environmental progress of the era. Following the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation, the returning vets and their children took the unprecedented economic growth and federal activism to new heights. This generation was led by presidents who believed in the commonwealth ideal: the belief that federal legislation, by encouraging individual opportunity, would result in the betterment of the entire nation. In the years after the war, these presidents created an outpouring of federal legislation that changed how and where people lived, their access to higher education, and their stewardship of the environment. They also spearheaded historic efforts to level the playing field for minorities, women, and immigrants. But this dynamic did not last, and Goldfield shows how the shrinking of the federal government shut subsequent generations off from those gifts.
Author
David Goldfield
David Goldfield is the Robert Lee Bailey Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. He is the author of many works and textbooks on Southern history, including Still Fighting the Civil War, Southern Histories, Black, White and Southern, and Promised Land.
Related to The Gifted Generation
Related audiobooks
Why the Right Went Wrong: Conservatism From Goldwater to the Tea Party and Beyond The Cause of All Nations: An International History of the American Civil War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nixon's War at Home: The FBI, Leftist Guerrillas, and the Origins of Counterterrorism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Coming of Democracy: Presidential Campaigning in the Age of Jackson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Promised Land: How the Rise of the Middle Class Transformed America, 1929-1968 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Fabulous Failure: The Clinton Presidency and the Transformation of American Capitalism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Free Enterprise: An American History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Invisible Hands: The Making of the Conservative Movement from the New Deal to Reagan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Anti-Oligarchy Constitution: Reconstructing the Economic Foundations of American Democracy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When the New Deal Came to Town: A Snapshot of a Place and Time with Lessons for Today Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Politicians and the Egalitarians: The Hidden History of American Politics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To the Promised Land: Martin Luther King and the Fight for Economic Justice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Death of Conservatism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Point of No Return: American Democracy at the Crossroads Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings1968: The Rise and Fall of the New American Revolution Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson: The White House Years Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Indelible Ink: The Trials of John Peter Zenger and the Birth of America's Free Press Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Branding of Right-Wing Activism: The News Media and the Tea Party Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Tour of Duty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5History of Supreme Court Vacancies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCollision 2012: Obama vs. Romney and the Future of Elections in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Perfecting the Union: National and State Authority in the US Constitution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Men and the Moment: The Election of 1968 and the Rise of Partisan Politics in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRealistic Visionary: A Portrait of George Washington Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Washington: The Making of the American Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jimmy Carter and the Birth of the Marathon Media Campaign Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReal Americans: National Identity, Violence, and the Constitution Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bought and Paid For: The Unholy Alliance Between Barack Obama and Wall Street Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSandra Day O'Connor Explores SCOTUS Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
History For You
The Secret History of the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Palestine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Five Rings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All the Sinners Bleed: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Endurance Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Demon Copperhead: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Korean War: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mary Magdalene: Women, the Church, and the Great Deception Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Restaurant: A History of Eating Out Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Razorblade Tears: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Swingtime for Hitler: Goebbels’s Jazzmen, Tokyo Rose, and Propaganda That Carries a Tune Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story of Art Without Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cuba (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize): An American History Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/577 Days of February: Living and Dying in Ukraine, Told by the Nation’s Own Journalists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Small Mercies: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Related podcast episodes
76: Reconstruction (Part 4): The Battle of Liberty Place and the Mississippi Plan 0% found this document usefulGary W. Gallagher: Civil War Myths and Misinformation 0% found this document usefulDavid Pepper on Saving Democracy 0% found this document usefulCliff Sloan, "The Court at War" 0% found this document usefulEpisode 329: David Grann: David Grann is a staff writer for the New Yorker. His new book is "The White Darkness." 0% found this document usefulA devastating indictment of the Republican Party: An insider perspective on the GOP’s march to Trumpism 0% found this document usefulYascha Mounk Warns Against a Misguided New Ideology 100% found this document usefulBehind the panic in white, Christian America 0% found this document useful117: Jennifer Rubin 0% found this document usefulEpisode 122: Lessons from FDR's Court: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t. 0% found this document usefulGeorge Will makes the conservative case against democracy 0% found this document usefulMichael Wolff: Brian Braiker talks with Michael Wolff 0% found this document usefulMatthew Continetti On Conservatism 0% found this document usefulThe Black Congressmen of Reconstruction: Death of Representation 0% found this document usefulInside A Jim Crow-Era Asylum 0% found this document useful
Related articles
Bernie Sanders Offers a Foreign Policy for the Common Man The AtlanticArticle
Bernie Sanders Offers a Foreign Policy for the Common Man
Oct 15, 2018
7 min readThe Other Way Trump Could Destroy the Next Presidency The AtlanticArticle
The Other Way Trump Could Destroy the Next Presidency
Aug 12, 2020
6 min readHow William Monroe Trotter Mobilized Black Americans Across Class Lines Literary HubArticle
How William Monroe Trotter Mobilized Black Americans Across Class Lines
Nov 26, 2019
8 min readIf Watergate Happened Now, It Would Stay a Secret Literary HubArticle
If Watergate Happened Now, It Would Stay a Secret
Jul 13, 2018
7 min readThe Supreme Court Is Not Supposed to Have This Much Power The AtlanticArticle
The Supreme Court Is Not Supposed to Have This Much Power
Jun 8, 2022
7 min readAuthors Richard And Leah Rothstein Discuss New Book On Racial Segregation In Housing Chicago TribuneArticle
Authors Richard And Leah Rothstein Discuss New Book On Racial Segregation In Housing
Jun 8, 2023
7 min readListening to Robert F. Kennedy The AtlanticArticle
Listening to Robert F. Kennedy
Jun 13, 2020
8 min readBrain Fog, Phantom Smells And Tinnitus: My 4 Months (and Counting) Of Covid-19 | Hannah Davis The GuardianArticle
Brain Fog, Phantom Smells And Tinnitus: My 4 Months (and Counting) Of Covid-19 | Hannah Davis
Aug 5, 2020
5 min readThe Rise of Ron DeSantis The AtlanticArticle
The Rise of Ron DeSantis
Apr 23, 2021
5 min readHow We Came Together The American ScholarArticle
How We Came Together
Jun 1, 2020
5 min readThe Atlantic Daily: What Would It Take to End the Lost Cause’s Twisted Narratives? The AtlanticArticle
The Atlantic Daily: What Would It Take to End the Lost Cause’s Twisted Narratives?
May 10, 2021
1 min readReagan Used Her, The Country Hated Her. Decades Later, The Welfare Queen Of Chicago Refuses To Go Away Chicago TribuneArticle
Reagan Used Her, The Country Hated Her. Decades Later, The Welfare Queen Of Chicago Refuses To Go Away
Jun 12, 2019
9 min readPoison Pill American HistoryArticle
Poison Pill
Feb 22, 2022
13 min readWhat In The World Happened To The Supreme Court? The AtlanticArticle
What In The World Happened To The Supreme Court?
Nov 14, 2022
14 min readTrump's Foreign-Policy 'Adhocracy' The AtlanticArticle
Trump's Foreign-Policy 'Adhocracy'
Jun 27, 2017
2 min readThe Second Amendment Does Not Transcend All Others The AtlanticArticle
The Second Amendment Does Not Transcend All Others
Mar 8, 2018
6 min readThe 30-year Secret She Hid From The World New IdeaArticle
The 30-year Secret She Hid From The World
Jan 3, 2021
2 min read'Heirs Of The Founders' Profiles The 'Second Generation' Of Great American Leaders The Christian Science MonitorArticle
'Heirs Of The Founders' Profiles The 'Second Generation' Of Great American Leaders
Nov 13, 2018
In his latest historical spellbinder, bestselling author and scholar H.W. Brands profiles Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John Calhoun, as well as the decades leading up to the Civil War.
3 min readAnthony Bourdain's Legacy Shines On In Cajun Country NPRArticle
Anthony Bourdain's Legacy Shines On In Cajun Country
Jun 28, 2018
4 min readIs America’s Media Divide Destroying Democracy? The Christian Science MonitorArticle
Is America’s Media Divide Destroying Democracy?
Apr 16, 2019
Separate media spheres create separate realities – and a challenge for unity. Seventh in our “Democracy Under Strain” series.
10 min read'Nixon: The Life' Humanizes — But Doesn't Rehabilitate NPRArticle
'Nixon: The Life' Humanizes — But Doesn't Rehabilitate
Apr 12, 2017
3 min readNative American Minority Contracts Are Under Scrutiny As Officials Vow Strict Enforcement Los Angeles TimesArticle
Native American Minority Contracts Are Under Scrutiny As Officials Vow Strict Enforcement
Jul 2, 2019
LOS ANGELES - Federal and state lawmakers and regulators have called for inquiries and tighter minority-certification rules after a Los Angeles Times investigation found more than $300 million in government contracts went to businesses that made unsu
4 min readThe Original Roe V. Wade Ruling Was Leaked, Too NPRArticle
The Original Roe V. Wade Ruling Was Leaked, Too
May 3, 2022
Leaks of any kind are rare at the Supreme Court, but in 1973, the original Roe decision was leaked to the press before the court formally announced it. The chief justice was furious.
3 min readThere May Be Two Trillion Other Galaxies NautilusArticle
There May Be Two Trillion Other Galaxies
Oct 14, 2016
3 min readBefore History Devolves Into Mythology: 2020’s Best Books On World War II The Christian Science MonitorArticle
Before History Devolves Into Mythology: 2020’s Best Books On World War II
Dec 2, 2020
Historians grapple with the grimmest, toughest questions surrounding the war, about culpability, morality, and demagoguery during a fraught time.
4 min read'The Problem Of Democracy' Looks At Personality's Roll In U.S. Leadership NPRArticle
'The Problem Of Democracy' Looks At Personality's Roll In U.S. Leadership
Apr 17, 2019
3 min readHere's Every Word Of The First Jan. 6 Committee Hearing On Its Investigation NPRArticle
Here's Every Word Of The First Jan. 6 Committee Hearing On Its Investigation
Jun 10, 2022
Read the full transcript from the June 9 hearing of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6th Capitol attack.
48 min readOpinion: Companies Have A Duty To Defend Democracy NPRArticle
Opinion: Companies Have A Duty To Defend Democracy
Jul 7, 2020
4 min readAfter the Storm Guernica MagazineArticle
After the Storm
Oct 22, 2019
9 min readTrump's Peculiar Understanding of the Civil War The AtlanticArticle
Trump's Peculiar Understanding of the Civil War
May 1, 2017
5 min read
Reviews for The Gifted Generation
Rating: 3.3333333333333335 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
3 ratings1 review
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Did not finish, not because it was that bad (it wasn’t) but because I didn’t feel that I was learning anything from this history of the mid-20th century from the perspective of the (often non-WASP) US whites who benefited from an expansive, helpful government … and then oversaw its erosion into what it is now. I guess that’s appropriate, because it seems like most of us didn’t learn anything from that history, either.