The Devasting Effects to the U.S. After World War II

After devastating Europe and fifty million lives lost, the Allies were victorious in World War II. Germany, Italy and Japan were defeated and their fascistic and militaristic governments overthrown. After years of war the original reasons why the European continent was thrust into armed conflict was forgotten by its end.

Poland, which was invaded by Nazi Germany to start World War II had been liberated and handed over to another tyrant, Josef Stalin. Also in Czechoslovakia, another country that was overtaken by Hitler was tightly in the Soviet Union's orbit.

Franklin Roosevelt had been ignorant throughout the War and it continued after victory was achieved. At the Teheran Conference in 1943, FDR praised Stalin saying "he won't try to annex anything and will work with me for a world of democracy and peace." He even suggested that the Eastern European governments be friendly to the Soviet Union. Only two years later at Yalta did these suggestions become a reality. Stalin had total influence throughout Eastern Europe and was granted control of Manchuria if the Soviet Army went to war against Japan. This gave communists in China a safe place and paved the way for takeover in 1949.

In Asia, Japan was decisively defeated by the United States and Allies. The war in the Pacific stemmed from the American Government's strong opposition to the Japanese invasion of China. By 1949, after the Japanese had left, China was ruled by possibly the greatest mass murderer of all time, Mao Tse-Tung. There was now indeed something worse than Japanese control of China.

The Allies sided with Stalin against the Axis Powers and paid a price for doing so for nearly a half century after World War II. The Soviet Union became a nuclear capable enemy of the West that led to trillions of dollars in defense spending along with small wars across the world, not to mention the threat of nuclear annihilation.

One of the biggest failures in post-World War II was the Marshall Plan created by Secretary of State George Marshall in 1947. This policy suggested that if billions of dollars in American aid was sent to countries in Western Europe that their economies would jump start and any idea of creating a communist government would be undercut. This idea, like any other government giveaway program, proved to be false. Germany, Italy and France began recovering before any aid was sent. Meanwhile, Austria and Greece which received great amounts of aid did not begin to recover until it was phased out. Britain received more than two times the amount of Marshall aid as Germany but still lagged far behind the German economy for over a decade. Only countries that introduced free market reforms prospered. The success myth of the Marshall Plan has been glorified by many and has also left a legacy and inspired many more foreign aid programs since then.

The United Nations, like the League of Nations before it, was another plan adopted by the Allies and other countries of the world to help stop conflict before more wars broke out throughout the globe. This global body was authorized to declare police action against aggressor countries and thus gave President's a so-called reason to disregard to constitution. After World War II, Soviet-backed North Korea invaded the South. Without authorization from Congress, President Truman sent troops to protect South Korea. Truman denied ever needing Congressional approval saying it was a police action authorized by the United Nations. This was the fear that those in Congress had when they did not ratify the League of Nations. Using Korea as a precedent, no President has ever gone to Congress to declare war, changing America forever.