In an essay published in Life magazine, media impresario Henry Luce declared the 20th Century to be the American Century. That was before Pearl Harbor, in February 1941. Luce was trying to buck up his fellow citizens to meet the challenges ahead. After all, U.S. troops turned the tide of World War I. Capitalism was creating jobs. The Progressive Movement and the Jazz Age burnished America’s image. Inventions were changing the quality of life and opening new vistas. America was on the make.
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