The 1940s Government, Politics, and Law: Overview

The United States emerged as a world leader during the 1940s. President Franklin D. Roosevelt knew that World War II (1939–45) would bring an end to the British Empire and reduce British influence. He managed America's involvement in the war so that the United States could replace Britain in world affairs after 1945. Roosevelt led America through the war with a minimum number of casualties. But after his death, critics blamed him for the survival of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the cold war.

The war affected almost every aspect of American life. It ended the Great Depression (1930–39), provided work for everyone, and raised incomes. By the end of the decade, the United States had a large and well-off middle class. Giant corporations had begun to dominate American business, while the federal government had immense wealth and power. All of these changes had an effect on the operation of American government and the law. But the most dramatic change in American political life was the rising power of the military.

Before 1939, the United States had no tradition of a large, professional army. World War II brought sixteen million Americans into military service. After the war, the government operated under the assumption that the country was under threat from the Soviet Union and other Communist nations. It therefore established the Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the National Security Council in the 1940s to combat this threat. The government formed alliances with weapons manufacturers to create what became known as the "military-industrial complex," a term that describes how the government, business, and major universities worked together to support military buildup. After 1945, Americans became suspicious of those countries that did not share their aims or beliefs, and they armed themselves for defense.

Before the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, most Americans were against entering the war. Even after the Japanese attack, public opinion had to be managed carefully. President Roosevelt and his advisers knew that if American casualties rose too high, the policy of total defeat for the Germans and the Japanese might fail. The federal government concentrated on armaments manufacturing. And though around eight million Americans saw combat, America's three hundred thousand casualties were small compared with those suffered by other nations. Russia, for example, lost twenty-five million citizens in the fight with Nazi Germany. Roosevelt knew the limits of his support and he stayed within them.

In the 1930s, Americans had come to appreciate the economic security that President Roosevelt's "New Deal" policies had given them. Even Republicans such as Wendell Willkie and Thomas E. Dewey argued in favor of the welfare state set up by the Democrats. They split away from conservatives in their own party. But in the strange political climate of the postwar years, the Republican right wing gained power again. Senator Joseph McCarthy and House member Richard Nixon attacked the Truman administration for not doing enough to guard against Communism. McCarthy's supporters tapped into a public mood of distrust and suspicion toward foreigners and liberals. Their methods of intimidation and accusation would raise many questions about the safety of American democracy and justice.

Although in some ways Americans became more distrustful after 1945, in other ways the war made them more open and tolerant. The death camps in Germany led to tribunals, which brought war criminals to justice. The terrible treatment of Jews, Gypsies, and other prisoners captured by the Germans and Japanese increased Americans' willingness to consider the civil rights of African Americans. The United States ended the decade with a reorganized government and a more powerful military. The American legal system, led by the Supreme Court, would have to find a balance between an increasingly open society and those who thought that such openness was dangerous.