Brilliantly written by a prize-winning historian, The Unfinished Journey, Ninth Edition, considers both the paradoxes and the possibilities of postwar America. William H. Chafe portrays the significant cultural and political themes that have colored our country's past and present, including issues of race, class, gender, foreign policy, and economic and social reform. The new edition offers a greatly enhanced visual program, with over 40 new photos and 20 new maps, graphs, and tables.

Table of Contents:
Preface Timeline 1. The War Years Making the War Real on the Home Front Mobilizing the Economy Women Black Americans Other Minorities Politics at Home Conclusion 2. Origins of the Cold War The Historical Context The War Years Negotiating Peace Finding a Path of Mutual Accommodation Cold War Issues Conclusion 3. Truman and the Cold War The Challenge of the Presidency Nuclear Weapons and American Lives The Soviet Agenda Declaration of the Cold War "Two Camps" Causes and Interpretations 4. "The Other Half of the Walnut" Social Reform and Activism in the Postwar Years The Politics of 1945 The Experience of Women The Black Experience The Experience of Labor The Politics of Anticommunism The Election of 1948 Consequences "The Other Half of the Walnut" 5. The Paradox of Change American Society in the Postwar Years Economic Growth Suburbia and Consumerism Family Life and Sex Roles TV and Popular Culture Politics of the Fifties The Critique of Conformity Conclusion 6. The Civil Rights Movement "The Gods Bring Threads to Webs Begun" The Court Fight The Response to Brown White Southern Resistance The Montgomery Movement The Sit-in Movement The Movement Spreads Conclusion 7. John F. Kennedy The Reality and the Myth The Kennedy Career The Kennedy Frame of Reference The Kennedy Record Kennedy's Foreign Policy The Year of Promise Conclusion 8. LBJ The Trial of Consensus The Early Years Domination, Control, and Consensus A New President Takes Hold Transcending Regional Conflict The Great Society and the War on Poverty Community Action Programs Conclusion 9. Vietnam-The Early Years The Cold War and Korea "Aggression Doesn't Pay" The History of American Involvement in Vietnam 1950-61 American Policy in Vietnam The Kennedy Years Conclusion 10. "Lyndon's War" The Johnson Approach to Foreign Policy The Road to Disaster "Into the Big Muddy" The Dissenters The Quagmire Gets Deeper Conclusion 11. Coming Apart at Home From Civil Rights to Black Power-A Paradigm The Student Movement The Emergence of Women's Liberation The Counter-response The White House Response Conclusion 12. 1968 January and February The Struggle of Robert F. Kennedy Lyndon Johnson Martin Luther King, Jr., RFK, and Eugene McCarthy The Year Comes to a Climax-The Conventions and Election Conclusion 13. "Bringing Us Together" The Nixon Presidency: Rhetoric and Reality Nixon's Southern Strategy Foreign Policy White House Control over Foreign Affairs "Us" Against "Them" The Demise of the Left An Appeal to "Middle Americans" The Downfall of the Imperial President Conclusion 14. An Era of Political Malaise Political Bewilderment A "Trusteeship" The Reagan Revolution The "New Right" Conclusion 15. A Divided Culture, a Divided Society The Positive Legacy of the 1960s The Other Side of the Coin American Attitudes Toward Welfare A New Economy Conclusion 16. The Reagan Years The Reagan Credo The Domestic and Foreign Policy Agendas Prosperity Returns The 1984 Election Falling Apart Long-Term Consequences Reaching New Heights 17. The 1990s A Referendum on the Post-World War II Years The Reagan Legacy-George Bush The 1992 Presidential Election The First Clinton Administration Topsy-Turvy: The 1994 Elections Clinton/Dole-A Decision or a Stand-off? The Second Clinton Presidency The Basic Issues 18. 2000 and Beyond The 2000 Election The 2000 Post-Election Debacle The First Bush Administration September 11, 2001 The Bush Response The Aftermath The 2004 Election The Second Term Reflections 19. Barack Obama A Utopian Vision Confronts Political Reality The Election The First Two Years The Second Two Years A Nuanced Approach to Foreign Policy Who Would Win? Obama's Victory Conclusion 20. The Trump Years The 2016 Election "Making America Great Again" The Trump Administration and North Korea A Nation in Crisis The 2020 Election Breaking Old Rules Epilogue Bibliographical Essay Index