After World War II, with the defeat of the Axis countries and the decline of the strength of Britain and France, the United States and the Soviet Union became superpowers, and the world was divided into two camps. The United States and the Soviet Union and their respective camps stepped up military, political, economic and propaganda preparations, just like in wartime. This state is called "Cold War". See also Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan.
In the Second World War, the United States expanded its army to participate in the war and supplied a large amount of arms and materials to its allies, which led to wartime economic prosperity, greater development of state monopoly capital and became the arsenal of its allies. The United States took advantage of the opportunity of participating in the war to control many important strategic strongholds in the world and establish military bases; Truman administration carried out the cold war policy, put forward Truman Doctrine, formulated Marshall Plan and planned to establish North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
In terms of internal affairs, Truman put forward the program of "fair governance", but it achieved little. 1June, 950, the Korean War broke out. 1952 Republican Eisenhower was elected president of the United States with the promise of ending the Korean War. The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed in July 1953.
Under the economic crisis of 1953- 1954, the Eisenhower administration made internal and external adjustments, expanded the implementation scope of the social insurance law, strengthened the nationalization of scientific research, and further developed the aerospace industry. 1955 in July, the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union held a summit, and the international situation eased somewhat. From 65438 to 0957, the Soviet Union successfully launched the first artificial earth satellite, challenging the leading position of American cutting-edge science. 1958, the United States launched an artificial earth satellite, which made the US-Soviet arms race enter the space race. 1On July 20th, 969, the American spaceship Apollo-1 1 landed on the moon. See also: African American Civil Rights Movement, Cuban Missile Crisis.
From 1960, American history is a continuation of postwar development in many ways. In addition to the cyclical recession, the economy is still expanding; The number of people moving from the city to the suburbs continues to increase. 1970, the population living in suburbs exceeded the population living in cities. 1960, the black issue has become the most important issue in the United States.
During the Second World War and the Korean War, due to the participation of blacks in the war, the apartheid system in the army was abolished, which promoted the struggle of Chinese blacks for civil rights. 1954, the Supreme Court made a judgment in the case of Brown v. Education Bureau, declaring that the principle of "separation but equality" which has ruled the field of education for a long time is unconstitutional. 1955 65438+In February, blacks in Montgomery, Alabama, under the leadership of Martin Luther King, held a 38 1 day movement to boycott apartheid by car. Blacks sat in restaurants to protest against apartheid in this regard, and the civil rights movement flourished. In the 1960s, the Democratic Party Kennedy and Johnson came to power one after another, implemented a long-term fiscal deficit policy, expanded military spending, increased welfare spending, and the economy continued to rise. At the same time, because of their involvement in the Vietnam War, they paid huge military expenses, consumed a lot of American wealth and greatly weakened the economic strength of the United States, while the economies of the Federal Republic of Germany and Japan developed rapidly and gradually became competitors of the United States.
In the 1960s, due to the unpopularity of the Vietnam War, domestic society was in turmoil. 196 1 year, black and white citizens jointly launched the "free passengers" movement. 1963 In April, Martin Luther King launched a large-scale demonstration, petition, sit-in and demonstration in Birmingham. In August, 250,000 blacks and whites held demonstrations to protest against racial discrimination, and Martin Luther King gave a speech. Driven by the black civil rights movement, Congress passed the civil rights law in June 1964. See Nixon Doctrine, Normalization of Sino-US Relations.
1969 After Nixon came to power, the United States was deeply involved in the Vietnam War. The recurrent fiscal deficit and huge military expenditure aggravate inflation and are in a dilemma. From 65438 to 0969, Nixon took "partnership, strength and negotiation" as the new strategy of American foreign policy. From 65438 to 0972, President Nixon visited China and published the Shanghai Communique. 1On August 9, 974, Nixon was forced to resign due to the Watergate incident, and Vice President Ford became the 38th president. 1975 In May, the Vietnam War officially ended.
1 979 65438+1October1The communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States came into effect and relations between the two countries were normalized. On the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union, after Nixon put forward a new "peace" strategy, the two countries strengthened their dialogue. 1972 In May, Nixon visited the Soviet Union and signed the Treaty on the Limitation of Strategic Arms. In the 1980s, the US-Soviet arms race shifted from quantity to quality. Starting from 1985, after continuous negotiations, the United States and the Soviet Union finally exchanged the instruments of ratification of the Intermediate-Range Missile Treaty in Moscow in June 1988. The relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union tends to be further eased. See: first oil crisis, second oil crisis.
The cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union has never stopped until this period. During this period, the United States and the Soviet Union launched a series of space races. The Soviet Union sent Gagarin, the world's first astronaut, into space, while the United States sent an astronaut to the moon for the first time.
War broke out in Vietnam in the 1970s, and North Vietnam went to war with South Vietnam. In order to prevent the expansion of the Soviet Union and the communist forces, the United States resolutely intervened in the Vietnam War. In the meantime, the number of casualties of American troops increased, and finally North Vietnam unified Vietnam, but the attempt of American troops failed to be realized.
In the early 1970s, the economic depression caused by the energy crisis was the worst in history. In the mid-1970s, the American economy once recovered. But in the late 1970s, inflation reappeared.
1973 10 The deterioration of relations between Israel and a series of countries in the Middle East triggered the Middle East war. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced an oil embargo and suspended exports to attack its rival Israel and countries that support Israel, which led to an increase in oil prices. The price of crude oil rose from less than $3 per barrel in 1973 to more than $0/3 in 1974, and the United States had to issue gasoline ration tickets in1974. This is the first oil crisis. The surge in crude oil prices has led to economic recession in developed countries, including the United States. It is estimated that during this period, the GDP growth of the United States decreased by 4.7%.
A few years later, the Islamic revolution broke out in Iran, and then Iran and Iraq went to war. The daily output of crude oil has fallen sharply, and the price of international oil market has soared. The price of crude oil per barrel rose from $65,438+$04 to $35. The second oil crisis also caused the economic recession in western industrial countries. It is estimated that the gross domestic product of the United States has dropped by about 3%.
1976, the bicentennial of the founding of the United States, various celebrations were held all over the country. The United States finally brought down the Soviet Union in the Cold War. 1981April 12, the United States successfully launched the space shuttle Columbia, bringing mankind into another new era in space. See also: Reagan, Star Wars Project.
Economically, the American economy experienced a serious recession from 65438 to 0980. 198 1 after Reagan took office, he implemented a high deficit fiscal policy, stimulated the economy and encouraged investment with large-scale tax cuts and increased defense spending, and strictly controlled the currency circulation. From 65438 to 0982, the American economy began to recover and turned to low-speed growth. 1987 10 Although the stock market plummeted in 10, the economic situation in the United States is still relatively stable, but the fiscal deficit and foreign trade deficit are still hidden concerns of the American economy.
1986165438+10, the "Iran Gate" incident broke out in the United States, revealing that the Reagan administration (members) bypassed the State Council and concealed Congress, and secretly sold weapons to Iran from 1985 to1986 in exchange. From 65438 to 0987, the United States sent military forces to the Gulf in the name of protecting navigation in the Gulf, and there were many military conflicts with Iran. 1989 65438+ 10 In October, Bush became the fourth1president of the United States.
1990 Gulf War broke out. The United States sent troops to Iraq. Forcing it to withdraw from Kuwait. 1992, Democrat Clinton was elected president. During this period, the United States and multinational forces repeatedly attacked Iraq to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.