America Following World War II World War II changed not only the landscape of the world but also how the world thought about war. Following the war, large superpowers tried to reshape world communication and prevent another war of such caliber by creating the United Nations. Even though the bulk of the war was fought in Europe, the United States saw a revolution in national power, economic livelihood, and on the home front. Following World War II, the United States emerged as a world superpower, left, along with the Soviet Union, to help repair the rubble in Europe. Prior to the war, America took an isolationism approach; however, following the war, President Roosevelt took an active role in planning for a more peaceful and prosperous …show more content…
The War Production Board, War Manpower Commission, and Office of Price Administration heavily impacted the economy. Large government contracts distributed to large companies put millions back to work: the unemployment rate dropped from 14 percent in 1940 to just 2 percent in 1943. American factories were producing an airplane, on average, every 5 minutes and a ship everyday. However, following the war America had economic anxiety because without the war, many people would lose their jobs in the factories making war products. During the time of 1946-1947, America saw a trifecta of economic upheavals. The first issue was a 33 percent inflation rate, followed by a major slump in the real gross national protect (GNP), which measures the income from overseas investment and excludes profits generated in the United States but accruing to foreign accounts. The last issue was an epidemic of strikes; furthermore, during 1946 America saw 4.6 million laborers go on strike because they were fearful that that they could not afford the goods they were manufacturing. Nevertheless, a four pronged approach got the economy back in good shape: increased tensions with Russia, inevitably leading into the Cold War Era, created an almost constant war preparation attitude and reemployed people, massive government spending on defense, roughly 10 percent of the total GNP,