United States, 1945–1968
Democracy · Republic · North America · High Cold War era
Cold-War America at the height of its power, a prosperous democracy of containment abroad and civil-rights struggle at home under a large military establishment.
In the first Cold War decades the United States built a large permanent military and alliance system to contain the Soviet Union, sustained a long economic boom and mass consumer society, and expanded the federal role through the New Deal legacy. Domestically the period combined anticommunist politics, including McCarthyism, with the growing civil-rights movement that dismantled legal segregation. Democratic institutions and competitive elections remained central.
Dominant patterns
- Militarization
- External Expansion
- Democratization
- Great-Power Rivalry
- Regime Stabilization
Political-science factor profile
Each factor 0–100; higher = stronger authoritarian / crisis pole (except institutional stability, where higher = stronger institutions).
| Centralization of Power | 48 |
| Media Control | 35 |
| Repression | 40 |
| Nationalism | 65 |
| Militarization | 82 |
| Economic Stress | 28 |
| External Conflict | 75 |
| Cult of Personality | 35 |
| Elite Fragmentation | 42 |
| Institutions | 80 |
| Social Polarization | 52 |
| Corruption & Patrimonialism | 32 |
| Ideological Mobilization | 55 |
| External Sovereignty | 100 |
Economy & society
| GDP per capita | $16k (intl-$) |
| GDP growth | +3.5%/yr |
| Population | 190.0M people |
| Share of world population | 6.3% |
| Urban share | 70% |
| Territory | ~9.4M km² |
| Capital population | ~800k |
Closest historical twins
The country-eras whose structural profile most resembles United States 1945–1968, by similarity score (0–100).
- United States, 1981–1989 – similarity 96/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Democratization, Great-Power Rivalry, Regime Stabilization
- British Empire, 1901–1914 – similarity 95/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Democratization, Great-Power Rivalry, Regime Stabilization
- British Empire, 1868–1901 – similarity 93/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Democratization, Great-Power Rivalry, Regime Stabilization
- Great Britain, 1783–1815 – similarity 92/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Democratization, Regime Stabilization
- France, 1900–1914 – similarity 91/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Democratization, Great-Power Rivalry
- United States, 1941–1945 – similarity 91/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Democratization, Regime Stabilization
- Great Britain, 1688–1727 CE – similarity 90/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Democratization, Great-Power Rivalry, Regime Stabilization
- Great Britain, 1727–1760 CE – similarity 90/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Democratization, Great-Power Rivalry, Regime Stabilization
What followed
- Postwar prosperity and superpower primacy.
- Civil-rights advances expanding the democracy.