American History: The Aftermath of the World

American History:

The aftermath of the World War II from 1945 to 1965 was a period of intense change in the United States that changed socially, politically, and economically. This period was characterized by the rebuilding of various aspects in the country since the war was destructive on political, social, and economic fronts. Socially, there was the need to return to normalcy in the United States as the dislocations that resulted in the war were put aside for some time. As many men and women returned from the war and women returned home, a new generation began in the country. Since the United States was the only industrial power that was undestroyed during the war, the country experienced extraordinary economic growth after the war. America's economy was greatly stimulated by the war as new industrial complexes were developed across the country with the decisive end of depression ("Effects of World War II," n.d.). On the political front, the resolution of World War II and strong opposition to the Soviet Union forced America to embrace the democratic concept of the good.

20th Century American History:

During the period when President Truman authorized the use of atomic bombs against Japan in August 1945, America was preparing to attack the Japanese homeland. This is largely because America had noticed that the supposedly defeated enemy had lots of fight left because of the suicidal defenses of the Japanese military. Before making the decision on the use of atomic bombs, President Truman had received several suggestions from military and civilian leaders to force the surrender of Japan. This included tightening the naval blockade, negotiating a peace settlement, invasion, aerial attack of Japan, and using atomic bomb (Paulin, 2007). Some of the factors that contributed to President Truman's decision on the use of atomic bomb included the fact that he never received advice on not using the atomic bomb. The other factor behind this ultimate decision was the president's desire to end the war before any other unnecessary death of the United States service members. This concern was largely because of the extremely large estimates of casualties presented by Chiefs of Staffs regarding the bloody battles on Okinawa and Iwo Jima.

Effectiveness of the New Deal:

The New Deal by President Delano Roosevelt consisted of various programs that were geared towards alleviating problems caused by the Great Depression. Some of the major problems that the New Deal tried to resolve included the sense of despair, high unemployment, collapse of financial system, and shrinking economy. It contained a wide variety of programs with several goals including the creation of social security to prevent suffering during future depressions. While it was successful in creation of new programs that brought relief to many Americans and restoring public confidence, the New Deal did not end the Great Depression ("Assess the Effectiveness," n.d.). Politics played a major role in the New Deal since ending the Great Depression was the most significant political issue in the 1930s. Actually, attempts to achieve economic recovery were started by a Republican president followed by a Democrat and accomplished by Democrats. Minority groups or minorities remained outside the reach of the New Deal because it did not address problems related to the minorities such as discrimination and racial injustice.

Politics continued to be a main aspect in the ability of people to demand assistance and the federal government's response to such demands. This is evident from the fact that the Democratic Party became the majority party for many decades after the end of the New Deal that brought some permanent reforms in American system ("Chapter Summary," n.d.). The politicization of major issues is the major way in which politics shaped the limits of reform.