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The Growth of American

Power Through Cold and

Hot Wars

W

orld War II was a great cause of transformation on many levels. The
U. S. began the war in an economic depression, but came out of it
stronger than any of the other countries that had fought. It was a middle-
level military power in the late 1930s, but had overwhelming dominance by

1945. America was about to enter a period of prosperity, consumerism, polit-
      ical influence, and military supremacy greater than any it had ever experi-
      enced, or the world had ever seen. It was also the beginning of the Cold War,
      a term used for a half-century to describe the political and economic rivalry
      between the U.S. and Communist states, especially the Soviet Union and later
      China. It would called a “cold” war to point out that the conflict was not
      military, but political and economic, that it was not a “hot” war with the U.S.
      and Russia fighting against each other. The consequences, however, were
      equally powerful and, in areas outside of Europe, wars did indeed become
      “hot” with some frequency.

Origins of the Cold War and Global Power

The United States announced its newfound world power and sent a clear
message to any potential competitor nations in the way it ended World War