Part one, An uneasy post-war peace. Post-war America needs a shot in the arm ; Business and entertainment industries have the answer ; Advertising can sell ideas as well as merchandise ; Now let's create the hoopla ; Which documents made the cut--Hitler didn't -- Part two, Building the train. Railroads assemble the pieces ; Guarded by the strong, staffed by the best -- Part three, Journeying down the track. Christened in Schenectady and launched from Philadelphia ; One town's freedom train experience--"Here she comes!" ; New England--freedom rallies amid labor unrest ; Mid-Atlantic States--blind students "see" it. Teenage girls kiss it ; The Deep South--segregation and culture shifts greet the Freedom Train ; Midwest states--and a celebration of the nation's railroads ; Plains states--record yield a problem and concern over displaced persons ; Southwest States--dependent on imported labor while Native American injustices linger ; West Coast and Pacific Northwest--Native Americans and a convict suit up for the visit; Freedom Train ends drought -- Part four, Compassion and politics share Freedom Train rails. Food for Europe inspires "Friendship Train" ; Presidential candidates' dueling trains (1948) -- Part five, Journeys' end. Conclusion ; Aftermath -- Appendix A: Freedom Train documents -- Appendix B: Freedom Train stops (1947-1949)

The authors present a researched look into the Freedom Train, a railroad train that traveled post-World War II United States carrying a publicly-viewable collection of documents and symbolic objects representing the country's core patriotic and founding American values