Today universal child care seems like a radical, unattainable, expensive dream. But America had a child care program—for years—and managed to pay for it during the most expensive war ever. And it worked! What happened?

Here’s the forgotten story about how the United States created a system of federally funded daycares and nurseries during World War II, and how President Nixon killed our last chance at universal child care 40 years later.

This is the first episode in our new educational YouTube series The Class Room, where we’ll provide context and understanding about important issues, suggesting policy solutions and dispelling myths about why we can’t have a better America. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and turn on notifications so you don’t miss any videos.