Simon Schama argues that Barack Obama's emergence as presidential candidate represents a profound change in the American psyche
"Whether or not he wins the presidency, this represents an historic shift in America's self-perception," he argues in his new series for the BBC, The American Future.
It would have been inconceivable in the 1960s that white Americans in the midst of a major economic collapse would have turned to a black man to lead them out of the crisis, Professor Schama says.
The new attitude to race is the result of a generational shift that began with the civil rights movement, and has now affected not only the"baby boomer generation" born in the 1950s but their children as well, he says.
Economic challenges
However, whether Mr Obama or any other politician is up to the challenge of dealing with the economic crisis is unclear, Professor Schama says.
One of the big problems he sees is that Americans have been taught to believe that government is the problem, not the solution.
The key, as it was in the Great Depression, is restoring America's faith in itself, he says....