American History

The Second World War certainly set the United States of America on a new track to follow.  Certainly the war itself was horrendous in many ways from the Holocaust to the Rape of Nanking.  However, the major national changes could be seen in the U.S.  Certainly the American nation was a growing power before the war, but no other event in history set the nation onto a path of such power that only empires have known.

Prior to the war, the nation was in a great economic depression that was caused to a collapse in the stock market and overproduction of goods.  This is due to the fact that if too many goods are produced, and no market for them to be sold, then naturally this economy will falter.  The entry into the war against Japanese and German expansion was the perfect opportunity to solve the problem.
Not only were massive amounts of munitions, ships, and tanks were needed to defeat the Axis Powers, but a large workforce would be needed as well.  With all the young men enlisting and being drafted for service, the only labor force to draw upon was the female population.  This certainly helped womens rights in America.  As before, women were once perceived to be the homemaker, now they were eligible candidates doing their national duty by supporting the war economy.

The massive economy produced as a result of the war-effort, changed the very power of the United States like none other.  It was labeled a super power, and as such, had the funds and resources to wage a cold war against the communist nations.  This required billions of dollars for investing in the rebuilding of West Europe.  Furthermore, a whole range of wars and skirmishes would be fought in the hopes of containing communism just as the British attempted to maintain their empire.  From Korea to the Bay of Pigs, America was now and empire.

America in the Atomic Age
The United States had a mission to win the Cold War without the use of nuclear weapons.  Unlike the Second World War, this was a shocking success.   From the start of the Cold War, the US remained the only atomic power, but the Eastern Bloc was trying to create their own.  Thats why US mentality was in every way more aggressive than Americas previous foreign policy.

In order to ensure more nations did not succumb to communism, President Truman implemented the Marshall Plan, designed to economically boost those nations in Europe still in great decline from Hitlers regime.  Sides were taken in civil wars raged in Turkey and Greece.  The largest move at the time, however, was the intervention in the Korean War.

Though the war was started by the communists, the US military complex certainly had an aggressive stance on the war.  Even General MacArthur suggested using nuclear bombs against the Chinese aiding the North Koreans, despite the Soviets having developed nuclear weaponry of their own at this point.  

Regardless, this didnt happen and an armistice was eventually signed after President Eisenhower forced the issue with the possibility of nuclear warfare.  When Khrushchev came to power, the Soviet Union, now having fully secured its influence in the Eastern Bloc, decided to play tough too.  Sending nuclear arms to Castros regime in Cuba put quite a scare to the American public.  Rockets would only be miles off the coast, but negotiations allowed for the arms to be rescinded as Turkeys, a Nato ally, nuclear capabilities were eradicated by the US.

It was at this time did both powers become more negotiable.  Anti-nuclear weapons treaties were signed under Nixon.  The prospect for peaceful coexistence was truly taken hold and by the time 1989, it was all too obvious that the Cold War would no longer exist after the fall of the Berlin Wall.