USA after the Second World War: history, characteristics and interesting facts

With the end of World War II, the US, along with the USSR, became one of the world's two superpowers. The states helped to raise Europe from the ruins, survived the economic and demographic boom. The process of rejection of segregation and racial discrimination began in the country. At the same time, anti-communist propaganda campaign of supporters of Senator McCarthy developed in American society. Nevertheless, despite all internal and external tests, the country managed to maintain and consolidate its status as the main democracy of the Western world.

The new superpower

When in 1939 in Europe a bloody war began, the US authorities tried to stay away from a large-scale conflict. However, the longer the confrontation continued, the fewer opportunities existed for conducting isolationist policies. Finally, in 1941 there was an attack on Pearl Harbor. The treacherous attack of the Japanese forced Washington to reconsider its plans. So the role of the United States after the Second World War was determined in advance. American society rallied in the "crusade" of the twentieth century, whose goal was to defeat the Nazis and their allies.

The Third Reich was defeated, leaving Europe in ruins. The primary economic and political significance of the Old World (primarily Britain and France) was shaken. After the Second World War, the United States occupied a vacant niche. In all respects, the country, relatively weakly affected by the horrors of recent years, deservedly began to be considered a superpower.

The Marshall Plan

In 1948, the "European Recovery Program" proposed by the US Secretary of State George Marshall, also called the "Marshall Plan", began to operate. Its goal was economic assistance to the countries of a ruined Europe. Through this program, the United States after the Second World War not only supported its allies, but also secured its dominant status in the Western world.

Money for the restoration of industry and other important infrastructure was allocated to 17 countries. The Americans offered their assistance to the socialist states of Eastern Europe, but under the pressure of the Soviet Union, they refused to participate in the program. In a special order, money was given to West Germany. American funds went to this country together with a parallel charge of indemnity for the former crimes of the Nazi regime.

The growth of contradictions with the USSR

In the USSR, the "Marshall Plan" was treated negatively, believing that with the help of the US, after the Second World War, it presses on the Soviet Union. This view was also widespread in the West. It was also followed by former American Vice President Henry Wallace, who criticized the program of assistance to Europe.

Every year the growing confrontation between the USSR and the US became more acute. Powers that stood on one side of the barricades in the fight against the Nazi threat, now themselves began to openly quarrel. The contradictions between the communist and democratic ideologies affected. Western Europe and the United States after the Second World War created a military alliance of NATO, and Eastern Europe and the USSR - the Organization of the Warsaw Pact.

Internal problems

The internal development of the United States after the Second World War was accompanied by contradictions. The fight against Nazi evil for several years rallied society and made him forget about his own problems. However, almost immediately after the victory, these difficulties have manifested themselves again. First of all, they consisted in relation to ethnic minorities.

The social policy of the United States after the Second World War changed the way of life of the Indians. In 1949, the authorities abandoned the previous Law on Self-Determination. In the past, there were reservations. Assimilation with the society of Native Americans has accelerated. Often the Indians moved to cities under pressure. Many of them did not want to abandon the way of life of their ancestors, but they had to compromise their principles because of the radically changed country.

Combating segregation

The problem of the relationship between the white majority and the black minority remained acute. Segregation persisted. In 1948, it was abolished in the Air Force. In the Second World War, many African Americans served in aviation and became famous for their amazing exploits. Now they could give their homeland homeland in the same conditions with whites.

1954 gave the United States another important social victory. Due to the long-ripening decision of the Supreme Court, the history of the United States after the Second World War was marked by the abolition of separate education in schools on the basis of race. Then Congress officially confirmed the status of citizens for blacks. Gradually, the US embarked on a path leading to a complete rejection of segregation and discrimination. This process was completed in the 1960s.

Economy

The accelerated economic development of the United States after World War II led to an unprecedented economic boom, sometimes called the "golden age of capitalism." It was caused by several reasons, for example the crisis in Europe. The period 1945-1952. Is also considered the age of Keynes (John Keynes is the author of the famous economic theory, according to which the United States lived in those years).

Through the efforts of the United States, the Bretton Woods system was created. Its institutions facilitated international trade and allowed the implementation of the "Marshall Plan" (the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, etc.). The economic boom in the US led to a baby boom - a demographic explosion, which resulted in a rapidly growing population of the whole country.

The beginning of the Cold War

In 1946, while on a private visit to the United States, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered a famous speech in which he described the USSR and communism as threats to the Western world. Today historians consider this event the beginning of the Cold War. In the States at the time, Harry Truman became president. He, like Churchill, believed that the USSR should adhere to a rigid line of conduct. During his presidency (1946-1953), the division of the world between two opposing political systems was finally consolidated.

Truman became the author of the "Truman Doctrine", according to which the Cold War was a confrontation between the democratic American and totalitarian Soviet systems. The first real apple of discord for the two superpowers was Germany. By decision of the United States, West Berlin was included in the "Marshall Plan". The Soviet Union in response to this arranged a blockade of the city. The crisis lasted until 1949. As a result of it, East Germany was created GDR.

At the same time, a new round of the arms race began. After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there were no more attempts to use nuclear warheads in wars - they ceased after the first. World War II, the US was enough to realize the lethal nature of the new missiles. However, the arms race has already started. In 1949, the USSR tested a nuclear bomb, and a little later - a hydrogen bomb. The Americans lost their arms monopoly.

McCarthyism

With the deterioration of relations both in the USSR and in the United States, propaganda campaigns were launched to create the image of a new enemy. The "Red Menace" has become an agenda for millions of Americans. The most ardent anti-communist was Senator Joseph McCarthy. He accused many high-ranking politicians and public figures of sympathy for the Soviet Union. McCarthy's paranoid rhetoric was quickly picked up by the media.

In the aftermath of World War II, the United States experienced an anticommunist hysteria, the victims of which were people who were far from the left. The McCarthyists blamed traitors in all the troubles of American society. They were attacked by trade unions and supporters of negotiations with the socialist bloc. Truman though was a critic of the USSR, but differed from McCarthy with more liberal views. With a scandalous senator, Republican Dwight Eisenhower approached, winning the next presidential election in 1952.

The victims of the McCarthyites were many scientists and cultural figures: composer Leonard Bernstein, physicist David Bohm, actress Lee Grant, etc. Spouses-communists Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for espionage. The propaganda campaign to find internal enemies, however, soon choked. In late 1954, McCarthy was sent to shameful resignation.

Caribbean crisis

France, Great Britain, the United States after the Second World War, together with other Western countries, created a military bloc of NATO. Soon these countries came out in support of South Korea in its struggle against the Communists. The latter, in turn, helped the USSR and China. The Korean War continued in 1950-1953. This was the first armed peak of confrontation between the two world political systems.

In 1959, a revolution took place in the neighboring Cuba. The Communists led by Fidel Castro came to power on the island. Cuba enjoyed the economic support of the USSR. Moreover, the Soviet nuclear weapons were placed on the island. Its appearance near the United States led to the Caribbean crisis - the apogee of the Cold War, when the world stood on the threshold of new nuclear bombings. Then, in 1962, American President John Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev managed to agree and not exacerbate the situation. The fork was passed. The policy of gradual detente began.