Videos

Carl H. Snyder lectures on Headlines from the 20th Century
World War II and the 1950s: 2002-09-10

Zack Bowen introduces University of Miami Chemistry profess Carl H. Snyder, who gives a humorous lecture and a slide show. He explains that he was born in 1932, during the Great Depression and Herber Hoover's presidency. He begins with the headline from the New York Times announcing that Franklin D. Roosevelt had been elected president. Snyder talks about his personal reactions to some major events of World War II and, later, hearing that Vietnam had split into North Vietnam and South Vietnam and that school segregation had been banned in the U.S. He talks about how the short Kennedy era of the 1960s differed from the Eisenhower and Truman era of the 1950s. Snyder describes seeing tanks driving down US1 just before the first American clash with the Soviet Union over Cuba at the Bay of Pigs and his shock at hearing of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He says he believes that the 1960s began with the death of Kennedy.
Time: 30 min 03 sec

Donald Spivey lectures on WWII
World War II and the 1950s: 2002-09-10

University of Miami History Department professor Donald Spivey lectures on World War II. He plays a recording of radio advertisements (in one of which, Orson Welles recommends purchasing war bonds) to illustrate the impact of the wartime economy on the American people. He explains that the war created jobs throughout the country. Recalling some slogans of the period, Spivey describes the impact of the war on civil liberties, particularly Executive Order Number 9066, passed in 1942, which permitted "relocation of Japanese Americans" on the West Coast.
Time: 8 min 35 sec

Frederick Nagle on WWII and the post-war era
World War II and the 1950s: 2002

Frederick Nagle, Professor of Geological Sciences, wearing a “Rosie the Riveter” t-shirt and a cap advertising Spam, lectures on the post-WWII era. He recalls the horror of seeing handicapped veterans returning from the War. He talks about war posters and rationing and about how Spam was a major food source for soldiers, and about other food issues such as home canning and preservation. He listened to the radio for the news when he was a boy and recalls seeing television for the first time when he was twelve. He also remembers seeing Marlon Brando playing a paraplegic veteran in the 1950 film "The Men." After the war, with new prosperity, Americans were anxious to purchase automobiles as soon as they could.
Time: 13 min 26 sec

Zack Bowen lectures on WWII, the military-industrial complex, Movietone news, the GI Bill
World War II and the 1950s: 2002-09-10

University of Miami English Department professor Zack R. Bowen lectures on conditions in the United States during and after World War II. He discusses rationing, the widespread employment of women, the draft (about which he sings a song from the times), the military-industrial complex, Movietone news, and the GI Bill. Bowen recalls the shortage of automobiles and his father, who worked for defense transportation. He describes how the movie theater was a focal gathering point for ordinary people, who wanted to hear the news and often heard propaganda.
Time: 11 min 42 sec