We cannot understand the United States in the twentieth century, the "century of the child," without understanding the prominent part that children and adolescents have played in the American story. Much has changed for young people during this century and this is the first work to examine those developments from the turn of the century to today. Rich in detail, this work tells the story, often through the words of children themselves, of young people not only as part of the broader changes that have swept American life but as initiators of change in our everyday life, work and play, institutions and values. No other book has done this.