Happy Times are Here Again

Back before World War Two, America is on the ropes, stuck in a long jobless recovery. While it has joined the big leagues of world politics, it's still just a promising upstart. By war's end, America is on top of the world.

Luckily, America never has to face the full might of Hitler's war machine, which is fully engaged against Russia. The war against the Japanese in the Pacific is long and difficult, but Japan is a weaker adversary than Germany.

America's sudden leap to the top is partly due to its fortunate geographic location. Safely out of bombing range, it's never threatened with invasion. The war boosts the economy, with surging wartime spending.
Post-war boom, 1946

  Welcome Home
As soon as the war is over, and servicemen have returned, America converts its industry back to peacetime production. With no further need for tanks, bombers or warships, manufacturers begin flooding the economy with cars, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and (now) TVs. Wartime rationing is over, and families are beginning to release pent-up purchasing power.

Europe in Ruins, 1946

  Flip-Side of the Coin
Meanwhile, Germany is a hopeless wreck from end to end, with all its industrial cities heavily damaged. London has its own special curse, the result of late-war attacks by thousands of V-1 'buzz bombs,' and much more dangerous V-2 rockets. Humanitarian problems are also huge. Food is scarce, and there are 15 million German-speaking people without homes. America comes up with the Marshall Plan, sending direct aid to help Europe rebuild.


Khrushchev and Kennedy summit, 1961

  Contest of Will
The Cold War rivalry with the Soviets becomes far more real when they select a brash, pugnacious Nikita Khrushchev to replace Stalin, who finally dies. Suddenly, Khrushchev is everywhere on the news, taking jabs at America, and seeming to taunt America's young and untested president, John F. Kennedy. Khrushchev has boldly promised to 'bury' the US. He continuously boasts that the Soviets are pulling ahead of America, having just surprised the world by detonating their own atomic bomb.