"The Uncertainty of Everyday Life, 1915-1945 is a vivid chronicle of American life between the two world wars that reveals a country expanding in every direction, energetic and optimistic in the 1920s before the shock of the Great Depression and the increasingly uncertain life of the grim 1930s." "By 1915 the United States had become an increasingly urban culture, and the fortunes of the farming population were declining in income and prestige. Racism in the South was on the rise, and many blacks moved North to escape the Ku Klux Klan and its dominance of Southern attitudes. Life became more comfortable for many Americans, but as World War II began only half the population enjoyed the modern conveniences we now take for granted--running water, indoor plumbing, central heating. Consumerism became an active force in national life and, spurred by the new science of advertising, Americans bought cars, radios, and appliances. However, jobs and wages were unpredictable, labor unrest was constant, savings vanished in the stock market, and uncertainty hovered over daily life for many Americans."--Jacket.