The Century: America's Time

How did the 20th century change the ways Americans live? This program examines the early 1900s – when William McKinley was President, a loaf of bread cost only a few cents, horsepower really meant horsepower, flying to the moon was the stuff of dreams, and the average life span was only 45 years – while looking ahead to the decades of changes yet to come.

The psychological damage inflicted by the stupefying bombardments of World War I was called shell shock, a term that aptly described the feeling of the post-war world. This program illustrates America’s reluctant emergence as a world power and analyzes the impact of the wholesale sense of loss – of life, of husbands and fathers, and of sacred ideals such as honor, patriotism, and glory – that sprang from "the war to end all wars."

In the aftermath of World War I, many modern-minded Americans, particularly women, were eager to do away with outdated traditions and claim new rights and freedoms. This program investigates why the issue of women’s rights, ranging from suffrage to smoking, became so controversial – and what that said about America’s sense of self.

America – a nation that claimed ever-increasing wealth as a birthright – was rudely awakened by the Great Depression, which caused 25 percent unemployment, the closing of 9,000 banks, and the loss of $2.5 billion in deposits. This program captures a people’s struggle as they faced the collapse of prosperity and diminished hope of being able to experience the American Dream.

Safely watching Europe from across the Atlantic Ocean, many Americans observed the messianic popularity of Hitler and Mussolini and the subsequent outbreak of World War II with concern and dismay. This program explores the crucial question: could the United States resist involvement, or would American forces be sent to fight in another European war?

World War II was the first war in history that killed more civilians than soldiers, as leaders on both sides accepted noncombatant casualties as inevitable – and, to some, even desirable. This program studies the courage and the strength necessary to face and survive starvation, bombing, torpedoing, massacre, and extermination in camps specifically designed for that purpose.