Days of Sadness Years of Triumph: The American People 1939-1945

by Geoffrey Perret

First published in 1973, Geoffrey Perrett’s portrait of war-time America was immediately hailed as a major retrospective. Perret vividly describes the social, political, and economic fabric of American domestic life from 1939 to 1945, and argues that the World War II years precipitated a crucial, if silent social revolution at home—one that continues to reverberate today.

Genres: History, World War II, American History, Nonfiction

514 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 1974

Reviews

[CoachJim · Rating 5 out of 5]

[T]he country had been faced with and overcame a great historic challenge. And in that fact was the significance of the experience of the war years to American society and politics. For what the country really overcame in those years was less a combination of foreign enemies than itself. America triumphed over itself and its history.
(Page 433)

This is a well-written and informative history of the domestic home front in the United States during the years of World War II, 1939-1945. It is a history both broad and deep of an exciting and perhaps unappreciated period in American History. All of the important social issues and events are covered here: The Japanese internment, which was attributed to the frustration of Americans with the military losses by the Navy in early 1942 and the need for a scapegoat; with Women in the workplace and how that gave them a chance to earn a living and experience independence; with the poor health and education of the Selective Service inductees many of whom could not read or write; with the growth of the modern Civil Rights movement and the marches and rallies; and the many economic issues such as rationing and price controls.

In a previous review, Year in Peril, of a history of this period I posed the question: Why Study History? How did a country so unprepared facing two powerful, hostile countries, and just exiting the economic turmoil of the Great Depression, and divided between the Interventionists and the Isolationists emerge from World War II as the most successful, economically prosperous, well-developed, and most powerful country in the world. This book provides, I think, a plausible answer to that question.

It is said that it was the war that solved the unemployment problem. But the discussion should not end there. I have defended the New Deal in other reviews. Here I want to summarize the author’s view of this period.

The New Deal was a time of hope and experimentation. It was a triumph of “appearance over reality.” Once the war started Roosevelt was engaged in managing the war and lost interest in the social welfare of the people. Among a country’s obligations perhaps second only to national defense, is the social welfare of its citizens. The Great Depression revealed the horrible condition of a majority of this country’s citizens. A good measure of that is the condition of the inductees by the Selective Service. Despite the low standards of the Army, seventy percent of inductees were rejected for health or education reasons. The Army began hiring WPA personnel to teach reading and writing skills to some of its inductees.

However, for me the most important idea here was the change in the country and its people. According to the author a study of the home front and the social changes it spawned has been neglected. Part of the reason is that there was no mass movement, it was non-ideological and it had no dynamic leader. Also military and political histories are the areas which get historians excited.

What is missing is how people benefited from the massive government expenditures required by the war. In addition to the high paying and meaningful jobs that were now available, benefits to veterans including loans for homes and new businesses, the GI Bill providing money for education, and access to health care leading to gains in longevity helped many families. Barriers to social and economic equality were reduced and a genuine middle-class was born. Access to higher education became more democratic and supported by billions of dollars of federal money. A modern Civil Rights movement began. The only basic redistribution of national income in American history occurred. “The point is that six years of war brought more social change—desirable social change—than did six years of the New Deal.” (Page 11)

The generation that lived through this period has been labeled “The Greatest Generation”. Whether they served in the militarily or worked in the wartime industries, they shared an experience of winning a “perfect” war. Participation in the war was accepted by almost everyone as a necessary endeavor. This became even more so as the palpable evil of Nazi Germany was revealed as the concentration camps were discovered. “A wildly heterogeneous nation was more completely united in purpose and spirit than at any other time in its history.” (Page 442)


The Second World War was a shared experience that gave Americans a sense of pride. They believed their country was a decent, democratic country. There were no illusions that it was perfect, but its values and the authority of its institutions was legitimate. On that belief they saw the country as successful and that it worked. (Page 441)

Today that belief has been exhausted.

[John Karabaic · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exhaustively researched, well-written and sometimes wry look at American domestic society & politics before and during WW2.

The ending chapter is an insightful essay into the problem of legitimacy of authority, how the experience of the war made it a real thing for the generation that came of age during it, and the problems that presented in the early 70’s as that “accumulated political capital” neared “exhaustion”.

That was unexpectedly timely, as I write this in the 9th month of the USA’s most problematic modern presidency.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

The home front during world war II. Tells what was happening in the United States while the soldiers and sailors were out stopping the Japanese and German armies. An excellent insight into life in the United States.