How the American Economy changed after WWII . . .
...of course, had both good and bad consequences. Many jobs were created in the early years of the boom, but once they began entering the workforce the large number of new workers decreased overall wages, lessened the value of their education and lowered the standard of living. Even still, America after World War II showed itself to be not only the leading proponent of democracy, but also a major economic power. 2. The ideology of the Cold War and its relation to the breakdown of wartime alliances after the end of WWII . . . The Cold War was a worldwide struggle between two types of opposing social systems that of private property versus state property. To state it more plainly, it was a conflict between individual controls as opposed to government control. Cold War ideology is based on the fear of capitalist against the ideas of socialization and also the worries of the working class that a capitalist system tends to invade many areas of individual privacy. This plays especially hard on the middle class. The most significant break in alliance after World War II was between the United States and West Europe. After the war, it became an economic competition, with both sides re-evaluating the other on being either an ally or enemy. Also, many inter-European alliances were being questioned based on the obvious geographical ties as well as access to necessary oil and energy supplies. Still ultimately, with all of the tensions, the question remained of whether any nation was willing to face a confrontation against the United States based on newly formed alliances in the post war era. America also had its own internal struggles and breaks during the Cold War era. A fear of communism within the government (and even Hollywood) rapidly broke out. This “red scare” was really something of a mass hysteria and led to virtual “witch hunts,” trials and persecution on the home front. 3. American Cold War policies and practices in international relations in the late 1940's to mid 1950's . . . The United States, at this time, was above all concerned with preventing the rise of a common European foreign policy that would upstage the United States on a global level. The American Cold War policies were meant to keep attempts at Soviet expan...