Perils of Prosperity Review
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The Perils of Prosperity Review
William E. Leuchtenburg "is William Rand Kenan Professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and recent past president of the American Historical Association. His many works include Franklin D Roosevelt & the New Deal, 1932-1940 and In the Shadow of FDR: From Harry Truman to Bill Clinton" (Boorstin ed. cover). He has written a wonderful book that encompasses the years 1914 to 1932. In The Perils of Prosperity, Leuchtenburg relates America's entrance into WWI with its wealth. He says, "trade between the United States and the Allies flourished to such an extent that it jeopardized American neutrality. Boom times came to the United States as trade with the allies jumped" (15). He also connects American prosperity with the crash of 1929 and the depression. Farmers and workers "received wage increases disproportionately small compared to profits...