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Title: An American Chronicle
Subtitle: (Vol. 2) A Comprehensive History of the United States of America An American Chronicle: A Comprehensive History of the United States of America from 1941 through the Present is the second of a two-volume work on the social, cultural, political, technological and economic history of the United States. The first and second volumes cover the entirety of US history from the early prehistoric settlement of North America by the earliest Native Americans to President Biden's inauguration on January 20, 2021.
This second volume consists of 10 chapters offering a detailed, fact-based, year-by-year presentation of the key events that have marked American history since 1941. Each chapter begins with an introduction explaining how each successive period is bound to those which precede and follow. These books have been designed to serve as a convenient ready-reference and guide. Extensive contextualization and cross-referencing have been incorporated to assist the reader in making complex links between various events which are sometimes separated by decades or even centuries. This will help the reader understand developments which, at first glance, may appear totally unrelated. This technique aims to demonstrate the underlying continuity and cohesion which unifies US history.
Several major periods are covered in volume 2. The first presents the Second World War and, after the defeat of the Axis powers, the rise of the United States as the world's foremost economic and military power.
The decades following the Allied victory are marked by the Cold War against the USSR, the People's Republic of China and their proxies which is divided into two phases. The first outlines the Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon presidencies and provides a detailed presentation of not only the political events linked to the Korean and Vietnam Wars but also the cultural, religious and social transformation of the US.
The Second phase of the Cold War covers the Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush 41 presidencies and culminates with the First Gulf War, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of its Empire. President Clinton's mandate can be viewed as an interlude with America being viewed internationally as the world's sole super-power.
The third and final part of Volume II covers the years from 2000 to the present. President Bush's election in 2000 marks the beginning of a series of traumatic events which pose serious challenges to the United States on multiple fronts which have serious effects on the unity of the nation. After the 9/11 attacks and Bush's declaration of 'War on Terror', the United States is locked in two seemingly endless guerrilla wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the discrete but steady rise of China as a determined economic but also potential strategic competitor is an additional menace. By 2008, Russia, under Vladimir Putin, has reconstituted much of its military power and poses other threats to the United States in Europe and the Middle East.
The last phase of this final period covers the turbulent Presidencies of Obama and, especially, Trump. What begins as a celebration of democracy in America in 2008 is tarnished by the subprime disaster which cripples the US and western economies. After his re-election in 2012, he is faced with a geo-political crisis linked to the rise of a virulent new form of Islamic terrorism resulting from the creation of the Islamic Caliphate in Syria and Iraq (DAESH/ ISIS).
Socially, the United States is increasingly divided along ethnic, religious, geographic and socio-economic lines which profoundly splits the nation into two mutually hostile camps. The remarkable demographic changes during this period add fuel to the fire. President Trump's election crystalizes many of the longstanding conflicts and divisions that have been simmering for decades and which pit competing visions of America's ideals and values.
