¶ … War's Effect on the United States and the World
The Second World War (1939-1945) was a watershed event in the history of the 20th century. It saw the emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as the two major world powers and the eclipse of the Great Britain as the premier Colonial power. The defeat of the Axis Alliance (Germany, Italy, and Japan) in the war signaled the end of fascism as a trend in global politics. It revamped the world order through the creation of the United Nations
but also gave rise to the start of a Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union -- a period of heightened tension between the two superpowers that lasted until the late nineteen eighties.
Though it entered the War late (in December 1941) on the side of the Allies, the U.S. played a crucial role in the defeat of the Axis powers. Its formidable military might was backed by an even more impressive industrial base that provided the necessary equipment for the war effort. Domestically, the War enabled the U.S. To climb out of a severe economic depression through massive mobilization of its workforce, and helped to change the fortunes of the American women and the blacks who participated in the war effort on the home front as well as the battlefields.
Why was the U.S. able to Position itself as the Dominant World Power
The United States assumed the role of a dominant world power after the war as it had amply demonstrated its formidable military and economic might during the war. Politically too it decided to shed its traditional 'isolationist role' in global politics as is evident in the declaration by President Roosevelt in 1944 that "... there is literally no question, political or military, in which the United States is not interested." (Quoted by Bell, p. 55) With Britain having exhausted itself militarily and economically during the war, the U.S. assumed the role of a leading world power, which purported to represent the ideals of democracy, individual liberty and capitalism.
Work Cited
Bell, P.M.H. "The World since 1945 -- An International History" 2001. Oxford University Press Inc.: New York
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