by Alice Day
synopsis
During the Eisenhower era, America seemed to be experiencing a time of prosperity and well-being. Beneath the placid surface, however, a less fortunate group, including blacks, farmers, and Hispanics, were undergoing disillusionment and a life of poverty. In American Stories: The American Dream - Great Expectations, 1946-Late 1950s, a revealing series of programs documents several families who experienced good times and bad. This installment follows those featured in the series, which include an advertising executive, a sharecropper, a union activist, an aspiring politician, auto workers, migrant laborers, and a typical suburban family.
