Macro

1. America: brink of war
The start of the war is generally held to be September 1, 1939, with the German invasion of Poland and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by most of the countries in the British Empire and Commonwealth, and by France. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II

In November 1939, the American Neutrality Act was amended to allow 'Cash and carry' purchases by the Allies. A large majority of the American public continued to oppose any direct military intervention into the conflict well into 1941. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II

This reflects the everyday American's reluctance to enter the war, giving insight to the then- current attitudes.

2.President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Often referred to by his initials FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States. He was a central figure of the 20th century during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war. Elected to four terms in office, he served from 1933 to 1945 and is the only U.S. president to have served more than two terms.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt

Shortly after President Roosevelt was inaugurated in 1933, drought and erosion combined to cause the Dust Bowl, shifting hundreds of thousands of displaced persons off their farms in the Midwest. New Deal programs sought to stimulate demand and provide work and relief for the impoverished through increased government spending and the institution of financial reforms.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression#Turning_point_and_recovery

F.D.R.'s impact on the American psyche is undeniable. With fireside chats and t.v. appearences, he was the most accessible, and arguably, most influential U.S. President to date.

3. Depression Aftermath

The Great Depression originated in the United States; historians most often use a starting date of when the stock market crashed of October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday. Continuing drought conditions in the North Eastern US causing mass crop failure and hardship in 1939.
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1939.html

Roosevelt introduced a number of major changes in the structure of the American economy, using increased government regulation and massive public-works projects to promote a recovery. But despite this active intervention, mass unemployment and economic stagnation continued, though on a somewhat reduced scale, with about 15 percent of the work force still unemployed in 1939 at the outbreak of World War II.

After that, unemployment dropped rapidly as American factories were flooded with orders from overseas for armaments and munitions. The depression ended completely soon after the United States' entry into World War II in 1941. http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/about.htm

This provides information on the bleak economic climate of the time which greatly affected typical family life and leisure across the nation.

4.New York World's Fair Opens
In April of 1939 the New York World's Fair, "Building The World of Tomorrow," opened on what was once a marshy wasteland in Flushing Meadows, just east of the great metropolis. From its inception to its closing ceremonies, the Fair promoted one of the last great metanarratives of the Machine Age: the unqualified belief in science and technology as a means to economic prosperity and personal freedom. Wedged between the greatest economic disaster in America and the growing international tension that would result in World War II, The World of Tomorrow was a much-needed antidote to the depression and confusion of the times. It provided the one saving grace which all of America needed - it provided hope. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s/display/39wf/frame.htm

President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the opening day address, and as a reflection of the wide range of technological innovation on parade at the fair, his speech was not only broadcast over the various radio networks but also was televised. In addition to Roosevelt's speech, Albert Einstein gave a speech which discussed cosmic rays.

The World Fair excited a petrified nation into hoping for a better tomorrow, it would have been discussed in schools and offices across the board in 1939.

5.Adolf Hitler (1939)
Jan 20th - Hitler proclaims to German parliament to exterminate all European Jews. By late August, the path to conquest was cleared for Hitler by the Non-Aggression Pact with Stalin, insuring that Germany would not have to fight a war on two fronts. It was now, Hitler announced, his "irrevocable decision" to go to war. http://www.historyorb.com/events/date/1939http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/triumph/tr-last.htm

This was the first year in which the American public really started to grasp the severity of Hitler's actions which, ultimately, leads them to war.

6.Bombs Away
Albert Einstein writes President Franklin Roosevelt in 1939 about developing the Atomic Bomb using Uranium. This led to the creation of the Manhattan Project. http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1939.html

The project's roots lay in scientists' fears since the 1930s that Nazi Germany was also investigating nuclear weapons of its own.It resulted in the creation of multiple production and research sites that operated in secret.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_project

The Manhattan Project helps depict the fearsome state of the U.S. government leading up to the war.

7.Enter television
Regular television broadcasts began in the United States.http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1939.html

Television in the United States made its formal debut at the World's Fair in New York City on Sunday April 30, 1939 with the first Presidential address on Television by Franklin D. Roosevelt with an estimated 200,000 TVs operating in the U.S. that year.
They received channels 1 to 5. Although shoppers were curious, sales were disappointing.
http://www.mztv.com/newframe.asp?content=http://www.mztv.com/worldhome.html

Televisions served as a status symbol in 1939, their early usage devoted primarily to news coverage. Therefore, outdoor recreation and other activities would have occupied the typical family's time.

8.Days of War
The Spanish Civil war ended in April 1939 with the victory of the rebel forces, the overthrow of the Republican government, and the founding of a dictatorship led by General Francisco Franco. The war increased international tensions in Europe in the lead-up to World War II, and was largely seen as a proxy war between the Communist Soviet Union, the Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Civil_War

The Second Sino-Japanese War (July 7, 1937 — September 9, 1945) was a military conflict fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the war merged into the greater conflict of World War II as a major front in the Pacific Theatre. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Japanese_War_(1937-1945)

France, Australia and the United Kingdom declare war on Germany (Sept. 3) after it's invasion of Poland in 1939 beginning World War II. Over seventy million people, the majority of whom were civilians, were killed, making it the deadliest conflict in human history.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II

Understanding the foundations for World War II could help further explain America's early neutral stance.

9.Technological Advances
Naturwissenschaften publishes evidence that nuclear fission has been achieved by Otto Hahn.

A Heinkel 178, the first turbojet-powered aircraft, flies for the first time with Captain Erich Warsitz in command.

CBS Television begins transmission.

Kirlian photography is invented by Semyon Kirlian.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939

Technology aids in gaining perspective to a particular culture in a set time. Understanding what they did or did not often leads to a greater comprehension of that society as a whole.

10. Civil Rights
NAACP forms its first state organization, headed by Reverend A.W. Wright as president. Other leaders include Levi S. Byrd of Cheraw and Reverend James M. Hinton of Columbia.
http://www.knowitall.org/roadtrip/cr-html/facts/timelines/cr/1939.cfm

Eleanor Roosevelt defies segregation laws when she sits between whites and blacks at the Southern Conference for Human Welfare in Birmingham, Alabama; She arranges for Marian Anderson to sing at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eleanor/timeline/index_3.html

Civil Rights events and attitudes toward them outlines the racial tensions in America at that time. The knowledge of where segregation was most prominent, etc. would paint a better picture of setting.